Reverse Engineering the Intracellular Self-Assembly of a Functional Mechanopharmaceutical Device

Weakly basic, poorly soluble chemical agents could be exploited as building blocks for constructing sophisticated molecular devices inside the cells of living organisms. Here, using experimental and computational approaches, we probed the relationship between the biological mechanisms mediating lysosomal ion homeostasis and the self-assembly of a weakly basic small molecule building block (clofazimine) into a functional, mechanopharmaceutical device (intracellular Crystal-Like Drug Inclusions – “CLDIs”) in macrophage lysosomes. Physicochemical considerations indicate that the intralysosomal stabilization of the self-assembled mechanopharmaceutical device depends on the pH(max) of the weakly basic building block and its affinity for chloride, both of which are consistent with the pH and chloride content of a physiological lysosomal microenvironment. Most importantly, in vitro and in silico studies revealed that high expression levels of the vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase), irrespective of the expression levels of chloride channels, are necessary and sufficient to explain the cell-type dependent formation, stabilization, and biocompatibility of the self-assembled mechanopharmaceutical device within macrophages.