HMOX1 and neoplasm: The result indicated that under NIR laser irradiation, MPC NPs and MPCZ NPs groups upregulated HO-1 expression more significantly than various groups (PBS, MPC NPs, MPCZ NPs) without NIR laser irradiation as shown in Fig. 5A. This shows that MPC NPs and MPCZ NPs may enhance oxidative stress response of tumor cells under NIR laser irradiation.