The first CD73-instructed supramolecular hydrogel.

Enzymatic supramolecular hydrogelation is a simple, controllable, and novel strategy for preparation of soft colloidal materials, which allows the integration of self-assembly with enzyme associated biological processes. The development of more enzymes involve in hydrogelation is a subject of developing useful soft colloids. In this work, an ectoenzyme, CD73, was found to trigger the formation of nanofibers as matrices of hydrogels. CD73 is an important cell surface enzyme which converts extracellular adenosine monophosphate (AMP) to adenosine. It is broadly expressed in many cancer cells and participates in tumor growth. The successful application of CD73 in self-assembly and hydrogelation may provide new strategies for CD73-guided materials and therapies.