A context-aware artificial metabzyme in intervertebral disc degeneration metabolic convergence therapy
Yunbing Wang
Nature Communications, Published online: 05 May 2026; doi:10.1038/s41467-026-72653-9 Hypoxia-driven dysregulated lactate metabolism is a feature of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), but biological metabzymes and most biomimetic counterparts are ineffective under hypoxic conditions and often yield harmful metabolites. Here, the authors report a biogenic Fe-N-C artificial metabzyme for IDD metabolic therapy that reprograms lactate metabolism and corrects metabolic dysfunction.