Morphologically virus-like fullerenol nanoparticles act as the dual-functional nanoadjuvant for HIV-1 vaccine

Clinical translation of nanomedicine with integrated digital medicine and machine learning interventions

Nanomaterials based therapeutics transform the ways of disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment with increasing sophistications in nanotechnology at a breakneck pace, but very few could reach to the clinic due to inconsistencies in preclinical studies followed by regulatory hinderances. To tackle this, integrating the nanomedicine discovery with digital medicine provide technologies as tools of specific biological activity measurement. Hence, overcome the redundancies in nanomedicine discovery by the on-site data acquisition and analytics through integrating intelligent sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML). Integrated AI/ML wearable sensors directly gather clinically relevant biochemical information from the subject's body and process data for physicians to make right clinical decision(s) in a time and cost-effective way. This review summarizes insights and recommend the infusion of actionable big data computation enabled sensors in burgeoning field of nanomedicine at academia, research institutes, and pharmaceutical industries, with a potential of clinical translation. Furthermore, many blind spots are present in modern clinically relevant computation, one of which could prevent ML-guided low-cost new nanomedicine development from being successfully translated into the clinic was also discussed.

Manganese-Modified Aluminum Adjuvant Enhances both Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses

Aluminum adjuvants remain the most commonly used vaccine adjuvants. Being rather effective in triggering humoral immunity, however, aluminum adjuvants usually show limited abilities in activating cellular immunities. Herein, by adding manganese ions during the preparation of aluminum adjuvant, a manganese-modified aluminum (Mn-Al) adjuvant is obtained, which can effectively stimulate both humoral and cellular immune responses. Such Mn-Al adjuvant can enhance antigen adsorption and promote antigen internalization by dendritic cells (DCs). Subsequently, the released Mn2+ can activate the cyclic guanosine monophosphate-adenosine monophosphate synthase-stimulator of interferon genes pathway to further promote DC activation. When combines with the model antigen ovalbumin (OVA), the Mn-Al-adjuvantes vaccine can induce high levels of antigen-specific antibody titers and high proportions of antigen-specific cytotoxic T cells in vivo. Moreover, the Mn-Al-adjuvanted vaccine elicited stronger antigen-specific humoral and cellular immune responses than high-dose of the aluminum-based adjuvant. Additionally, immunization of mice with OVA in the presence of the Mn-Al adjuvant significantly inhibited the growth of B16-OVA tumors. Furthermore, when formulated with human papillomavirus antigens, Mn-Al-adjuvanted vaccines show better in vivo vaccination performance than aluminum-adjuvanted vaccines. Therefore, the manganese-modified aluminum adjuvant may thus become a new vaccine adjuvant with the potential to replace conventional aluminum adjuvants.

Design Principles for Immunomodulatory Biomaterials

The immune system is imperative to the survival of all biological organisms. A functional immune system protects the organism by detecting and eliminating foreign and host aberrant molecules. Conversely, a dysfunctional immune system characterized by an overactive or weakened immune system causes life-threatening autoimmune or immunodeficiency diseases. Therefore, a critical need exists to develop technologies that regulate the immune system to ensure homeostasis or treat several diseases. Accumulating evidence shows that biomaterials─artificial materials (polymers, metals, ceramics, or engineered cells and tissues) that interact with biological systems─can trigger immune responses, offering a materials science-based strategy to modulate the immune system. This Review discusses the expanding frontiers of biomaterial-based immunomodulation, focusing on principles for designing these materials. This Review also presents examples of immunomodulatory biomaterials, which include polymers and metal- and carbon-based nanomaterials, capable of regulating the innate and adaptive immune systems.

Fullerenols Ameliorate Social Deficiency and Rescue Cognitive Dysfunction of BTBR T+Itpr3tf/J Autistic-Like Mice

Background

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects social interaction and communication and can cause stereotypic behavior. Fullerenols, a type of carbon nanomaterial known for its neuroprotective properties, have not yet been studied for their potential in treating ASD. We aimed to investigate its role in improving autistic behaviors in BTBR T+Itpr3tf/J (BTBR) mice and its underlying mechanism, which could provide reliable clues for future ASD treatments.

Methods

Our research involved treating C57BL/6J (C57) and BTBR mice with either 0.9% NaCl or fullerenols (10 mg/kg) daily for one week at seven weeks of age. We then conducted ASD-related behavioral tests in the eighth week and used RNA-seq to screen for vital pathways in the mouse hippocampus. Additionally, we used real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) to verify related pathway genes and evaluated the number of stem cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) by Immunofluorescence staining.

Results

Our findings revealed that fullerenols treatment significantly improved the related ASD-like behaviors of BTBR mice, manifested by enhanced social ability and improved cognitive deficits. Immunofluorescence results showed that fullerenols treatment increased the number of DCX+ and SOX2+/GFAP+ cells in the DG region of BTBR mice, indicating an expanded neural progenitor cell (NPC) pool of BTBR mice. RNA-seq analysis of the mouse hippocampus showed that VEGFA was involved in the rescued hippocampal neurogenesis by fullerenols treatment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our findings suggest that fullerenols treatment improves ASD-like behavior in BTBR mice by upregulating VEGFA, making nanoparticle- fullerenols a promising drug for ASD treatment.

Injectable Hydrogel Mucosal Vaccine Elicits Protective Immunity against Respiratory Viruses

Intranasal vaccines, eliciting mucosal immune responses, can prevent early invasion, replication, and transmission of pathogens in the respiratory tract. However, the effective delivery of antigens through the nasal barrier and boosting of a robust systematic and mucosal immune remain challenges in intranasal vaccine development. Here, we describe an intranasally administered self-healing hydrogel vaccine with a reversible strain-dependent sol-gel transition by precisely modulating the self-assembly processes between the natural drug rhein and aluminum ions. The highly bioadhesive hydrogel vaccine enhances antigen stability and prolongs residence time in the nasal cavity and lungs by confining the antigen to the surface of the nasal mucosa, acting as a "mucosal mask". The hydrogel also stimulates superior immunoenhancing properties, including antigen internalization, cross-presentation, and dendritic cell maturation. Furthermore, the formulation recruits immunocytes to the nasal mucosa and nasal-associated lymphoid tissue (NALT) while enhancing antigen-specific humoral, cellular, and mucosal immune responses. Our findings present a promising strategy for preparing intranasal vaccines for infectious diseases or cancer.

Assembling Au8 clusters on surfaces of bifunctional nanoimmunomodulators for synergistically enhanced low dose radiotherapy of metastatic tumor

BACKGROUND

Radiotherapy is one of the mainstays of cancer therapy and has been used for treating 65-75% of patients with solid tumors. However, radiotherapy of tumors has two limitations: high-dose X-rays damage adjacent normal tissue and tumor metastases cannot be prevented.

RESULTS

Therefore, to overcome the two limitations of radiotherapy, a multifunctional core-shell R837/BMS@Au8 nanoparticles as a novel radiosensitizer were fabricated by assembling Au8NCs on the surface of a bifunctional nanoimmunomodulator R837/BMS nanocore using nanoprecipitation followed by electrostatic assembly. Formed R837/BMS@Au8 NP composed of R837, BMS-1, and Au8 clusters. Au8NC can enhance X-ray absorption at the tumor site to reduce X-ray dose and releases a large number of tumor-associated antigens under X-ray irradiation. With the help of immune adjuvant R837, dendritic cells can effectively process and present tumor-associated antigens to activate effector T cells, meanwhile, a small-molecule PD-L1 inhibitor BMS-1 can block PD-1/PD-L1 pathway to reactivate cytotoxic T lymphocyte, resulting in a strong systemic antitumor immune response that is beneficial for limiting tumor metastasis. According to in vivo and in vitro experiments, radioimmunotherapy based on R837/BMS@Au8 nanoparticles can increase calreticulin expression on of cancer cells, reactive oxygen species generation, and DNA breakage and decrease colony formation. The results revealed that distant tumors were 78.2% inhibited depending on radioimmunotherapy of primary tumors. Therefore, the use of a novel radiosensitizer R837/BMS@Au8 NPs realizes low-dose radiotherapy combined with immunotherapy against advanced cancer.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the multifunctional core-shell R837/BMS@Au8 nanoparticles as a novel radiosensitizer effectively limiting tumor metastasis and decrease X-ray dose to 1 Gy, providing an efective strategy for the construction of nanosystems with radiosensitizing function.

Nanovaccines for Advancing Long-Lasting Immunity against Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases, particularly life-threatening pathogens such as small pox and influenza, have substantial implications on public health and global economies. Vaccination is a key approach to combat existing and emerging pathogens. Immunological memory is an essential characteristic used to evaluate vaccine efficacy and durability and the basis for the long-term effects of vaccines in protecting against future infections; however, optimizing the potency, improving the quality, and enhancing the durability of immune responses remains challenging and a focus for research involving investigation of nanovaccine technologies. In this review, we describe how nanovaccines can address the challenges for conventional vaccines in stimulating adaptive immune memory responses to protect against reinfection. We discuss protein and nonprotein nanoparticles as useful antigen platforms, including those with highly ordered and repetitive antigen array presentation to enhance immunogenicity through cross-linking with multiple B cell receptors, and with a focus on antigen properties. In addition, we describe how nanoadjuvants can improve immune responses by providing enhanced access to lymph nodes, lymphnode targeting, germinal center retention, and long-lasting immune response generation. Nanotechnology has the advantage to facilitate vaccine induction of long-lasting immunity against infectious diseases, now and in the future.

Fullerol rescues the light-induced retinal damage by modulating Müller glia cell fate

Excessive light exposure can damage photoreceptors and lead to blindness. Oxidative stress serves a key role in photo-induced retinal damage. Free radical scavengers have been proven to protect against photo-damaged retinal degeneration. Fullerol, a potent antioxidant, has the potential to protect against ultraviolet-B (UVB)-induced cornea injury by activating the endogenous stem cells. However, its effects on cell fate determination of Müller glia (MG) between gliosis and de-differentiation remain unclear. Therefore, we established a MG lineage-tracing mouse model of light-induced retinal damage to examine the therapeutic effects of fullerol. Fullerol exhibited superior protection against light-induced retinal injury compared to glutathione (GSH) and reduced oxidative stress levels, inhibited gliosis by suppressing the TGF-β pathway, and enhanced the de-differentiation of MG cells. RNA sequencing revealed that transcription candidate pathways, including Nrf2 and Wnt10a pathways, were involved in fullerol-induced neuroprotection. Fullerol-mediated transcriptional changes were validated by qPCR, Western blotting, and immunostaining using mouse retinas and human-derived Müller cell lines MIO-M1 cells, confirming that fullerol possibly modulated the Nrf2, Wnt10a, and TGF-β pathways in MG, which suppressed gliosis and promoted the de-differentiation of MG in light-induced retinal degeneration, indicating its potential in treating retinal diseases.

Designing Selenium Nanoadjuvant as Universal Agent for Live-Killed Virus-Based Vaccine

Inactivated virus vaccines with whole antigen spectra and good safety are the commonly used modality for preventing infections. However, the poor immunogenicity greatly limits its clinical applications. Herein, by taking advantages of the crucial roles of Se in the functions of immune cells and its biomineralization property, it successfully in-situ synthesized Se nanoadjuvant on inactivated viruses such as porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), pseudorabies virus (PRV), and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in a facile method, which is universal to construct other inactivated virus vaccines. The nanovaccine can highly effectively enhance the uptake of PEDV/PRV/PRRSV into dendritic cells (DCs) and activate DCs via triggering TLR4 signaling pathways and regulating selenoproteins expressions. Furthermore, it exhibited better activities in triggering macrophages and natural killer cells-mediated innate immunity and T cells-mediated cellular immunity compared to PEDV and the commercial inactivated PEDV vaccine on both mice and swine models. This study provides a universal Se nanoadjuvant for developing inactivated viruses-based nanovaccines for preventing virus infections.

Application of microneedles combined with dendritic cell-targeted nanovaccine delivery system in percutaneous immunotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer

This work aims at developing a strategy to activate the antigen-presenting cells to enhance the effect of immunotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) through the dissolving microneedle patch (DMNP). In present study, mannosylated chitosan (MCS) nanoparticles (NPs) were designed to target dendritic cells (DCs), and the immunotherapy effect was enhanced by the adjuvant Bacillus Calmette-Guerin polysaccharide (BCG-PSN), achieving the purpose of transdermal immunotherapy for TNBC. Vaccination studies with mice demonstrated that MCS NPs effectively induce DCs maturation in the tumor-draining lymph nodes to stimulate strong immune responses in TNBC. Overall, chitosan-based DMNPs with complex adjuvant constituted a new potent transdermal vaccine delivery platform capable of exploiting more DCs in the skin for effective immunization.

Universal Fe/Mn Nanoadjuvant with T1/T2 MRI Self-Navigation and Gas Generation for Ideal Vaccines with Precise Tracking

Because of the distinguished properties between nanovaccine and traditional vaccine, the precise guidelines for nanovaccines with an optimal vaccination strategy to induce ideal immunities are greatly desired for combating major diseases, including cancer and infections. Herein, we designed and synthesized a self-navigating nanoadjuvant composed of Fe-doped manganese carbonate and its nanovaccine via a facile method. First, the degradation of the nanoadjuvant under acidic milieu of immune cells in lymph nodes would generate T1 and T2 MR imaging (MRI) signals to reflect the transformation dynamics of the nanovaccine and inform us when the next vaccination needed. Under this guideline, nanovaccines with a precise vaccination strategy triggered robust antigen-specific immune responses and immunological memory to effectively prevent ovalbumin (OVA)-expressing melanoma relapse by activating dendritic cells via a stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling pathway and inducing antigen cross-presentation by shaping lysosome integrity with CO2 generation and upregulating transporter associated antigen processing 1 (TAP-1) transporter. This study provides a universal nanoadjuvant with imaging self-guidance, immunopotentiating, and cross-priming activities for developing precise vaccines with an optimal immunization strategy to combat major diseases.

Nanoparticles that Transcytosed through Cancer Cells Can Elicit Immune Response

Transcytosis is a crucial process that nanomedicines can experience in various delivery stages. However, little was known about whether it endows biofunctions to the nanomedicines. Here, we reported that transporting photodynamic nanoparticles across cancer cells via the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-Golgi pathway formulated them with abundant neoantigens and damage-associated molecular patterns. The resultant nanoparticles (Tran-NPs) were potent in dendritic cell maturation and T cell activation. Meanwhile, the photodynamic Tran-NPs maintained their primary function of repolarizing immunosuppressive cells. The immune responses were observed in melanoma B16F10 tumor models. Our work suggested that the transcytosis process reprogrammed the nanoparticles with immunological properties, which might shed light on the design of nanomedicines.

3D culture boosting fullerenol nanoparticles to induce calreticulin exposure on MCF-7 cells for enhanced macrophage-mediated cell removal

Calreticulin (CRT) on the cell surface that acts as an "eat me" signal is vital for macrophage-mediated programmed cell removal. The polyhydroxylated fullerenol nanoparticle (FNP) has appeared as an effective inducer to cause CRT exposure on cancer cell surface, but it failed in treating some cancer cells such as MCF-7 cells based on previous findings. Here, we carried out the 3D culture of MCF-7 cells, and interestingly found that the FNP induced CRT exposure on cells in 3D spheres via re-distributing CRT from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to cell surface. Phagocytosis experiments in vitro and in vivo illustrated the combination of FNP and anti-CD47 monoclonal antibody (mAb) further enhanced macrophage-mediated phagocytosis to cancer cells. The maximal phagocytic index in vivo was about three times higher than that of the control group. Moreover, in vivo tumorigenesis experiments in mice proved that FNP could regulate the progress of MCF-7 cancer stem-like cells (CSCs). These findings expand the application of FNP in tumor therapy of anti-CD47 mAb and 3D culture can be used as a screening tool for nanomedicine.

Nano-vaccines for gene delivery against HIV-1 infection

INTRODUCTION

Over the last four decades, human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection has been a major public health concern. It is acknowledged that an effective vaccine remains the best hope for eliminating the HIV-1 pandemic. The prophylaxis of HIV-1 infection remains a central theme because of the absence of an available HIV-1 vaccine. The incapability of conventional delivery strategies to induce potent immunity is a crucial task to overcome and ultimately lead to a major obstacle in HIV-1 vaccine research.

AREAS COVERED

The literature search was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase. Nano-platforms based vaccines have proven prophylaxis of various diseases for effectively activating the immune system. Nano-vaccines, including non-viral and viral vectored nano-vaccines, are in a position to improve the effectiveness of HIV-1 antigen delivery and enhance the innate and adaptive immune responses against HIV-1. Compared to traditional vaccination strategies, genetic immunization can elicit a long-term immune response to provide protective immunity for HIV-1 prevention.

EXPERT OPINION

The research progress on nano-vaccines for gene delivery against HIV-1 was discussed. The vaccine strategies based on nano-platforms that are being applied to stimulate effective HIV-1-specific cellular and humoral immune responses were particularly emphasized.

Multistep Transformation from Amorphous and Nonporous Fullerenols to Highly Crystalline Microporous Materials

The structural and morphological properties of fullerenols upon exposure to heat treatment have yet to be understood. Herein, the temperature-driven structural and morphological evolutions of fullerenols C₆₀ (OH) and C₇₀ (OH) were investigated. In situ spectroscopic techniques, such as variable-temperature X-ray diffraction and coupled thermogravimetric Fourier-transform infrared analysis, were used to elucidate the structural transformation mechanism of fullerenols. Both fullerenols underwent four-step structural transformation upon heating and cooling, including amorphous-to-crystalline transition, thermal expansion, structural compression, and new crystal formation. Compared to the initially nonporous amorphous fullerenol, the crystalline product exhibited microporosity with a surface area of 114 m²  g^-1 and demonstrated CO₂ sorption capability. These findings show the potential of fullerene derivatives as adsorbents.

[Adjuvant effect of dispersed fullerene C60 on the immune response to constructs harboring amino acid and nucleotide sequences of hepatitis C virus nonstructural NS5B protein]

INTRODUCTION

A vaccine against hepatitis C has not yet been developed. Recombinant proteins and plasmids encoding hepatitis C virus (HCV) proteins, the components of candidate vaccines, induce a weak immune response and require the use of adjuvants. The aim of the work was to study the adjuvant action of an aqueous solution of fullerene C60 during immunization of mice with HCV recombinant protein NS5B (rNS5B) that is an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, or with NS5B-encoding pcNS5B plasmid.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

An aqueous solution of dispersed fullerene (dnC60) was obtained by ultrafiltration. C57BL/6 mice were immunized with rNS5B subcutaneously, pcNS5B intramuscularly mixed with different doses of dnC60 three times, then the humoral and cellular response to HCV was evaluated.

RESULTS

Mice immunization with rNS5B in a mixture with dnC60 at doses of 250 g/mouse significantly induced humoral response: a dose-dependent increase in IgG1 antibody titers was 720 times higher than in the absence of fullerene. There was no increase in the cellular response to rNS5B when administered with dnC60. The humoral response to DNA immunization was weak in mice of all groups receiving pcNS5B. The cellular response was suppressed when the plasmid was injected in a mixture with dnC60.

CONCLUSIONS

Dispersed fullerene dnC60 is a promising adjuvant for increasing the immunostimulating activity of weakly immunogenic proteins including surface and other HCV proteins, important for a protective response. Further research is needed to enhance the ability of dnC60 to boost the cellular immune response to the components of the candidate vaccine.

Potential Medical Use of Fullerenols After Two Decades of Oncology Research

Fullerenes are carbon molecules that are found in nature in various forms. They are composed of hexagonal and pentagonal rings that create closed structures. Almost 4 decades ago, fullerenes were identified in the form of C60 and C70, and following the award of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this discovery in 1996, many laboratories started working on their water-soluble derivatives that could be used in different industries, including pharmaceutical industries. One of the first fullerene forms that was the focus of different research groups was fullerenol, C60(OH)n (n  =  2-44). Both in-vitro and in-vivo studies have shown that polyhydroxylate fullerene derivatives can potentially be used as either antioxidative agents or cytostatics (depending on their co-administration, forms, and concentration/dose) in biological systems. The current review aimed to present a critical view of the potential applications and limitations of fullerenols in oncology, as understood from the past 2 decades of research.

Recent applications of immunomodulatory biomaterials for disease immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is used to regulate systemic hyperactivation or hypoactivation to treat various diseases. Biomaterial-based immunotherapy systems can improve therapeutic effects through targeted drug delivery, immunoengineering, etc. However, the immunomodulatory effects of biomaterials themselves cannot be neglected. In this review, we outline biomaterials with immunomodulatory functions discovered in recent years and their applications in disease treatment. These biomaterials can treat inflammation, tumors, or autoimmune diseases by regulating immune cell function, exerting enzyme-like activity, neutralizing cytokines, etc. The prospects and challenges of biomaterial-based modulation of immunotherapy are also discussed.

Harnessing DNA for immunotherapy: Cancer, infectious diseases, and beyond

Despite the rapid development of immunotherapy, low response rates, poor therapeutic outcomes and severe side effects still limit their implementation, making the augmentation of immunotherapy an important goal for current research. DNA, which has principally been recognized for its functions of encoding genetic information, has recently attracted research interest due to its emerging role in immune modulation. Inspired by the intrinsic DNA-sensing signaling that triggers the host defense in response to foreign DNA, DNA or nucleic acid-based immune stimulators have been used in the prevention and treatment of various diseases. Besides that, DNA vaccines allow the synthesis of target proteins in host cells, subsequently inducing recognition of these antigens to provoke immune responses. On this basis, researchers have designed numerous vehicles for DNA and nucleic acid delivery to regulate immune systems. Additionally, DNA nanostructures have also been implemented as vaccine delivery systems to elicit strong immune responses against pathogens and diseased cells. This review will introduce the mechanism of harnessing DNA-mediated immunity for the prevention and treatment of diseases, summarize recent progress, and envisage their future applications and challenges.

Advanced Light Source Analytical Techniques for Exploring the Biological Behavior and Fate of Nanomedicines

Exploration of the biological behavior and fate of nanoparticles, as affected by the nanomaterial-biology (nano-bio) interaction, has become progressively critical for guiding the rational design and optimization of nanomedicines to minimize adverse effects, support clinical translation, and aid in evaluation by regulatory agencies. Because of the complexity of the biological environment and the dynamic variations in the bioactivity of nanomedicines, in-situ, label-free analysis of the transport and transformation of nanomedicines has remained a challenge. Recent improvements in optics, detectors, and light sources have allowed the expansion of advanced light source (ALS) analytical technologies to dig into the underexplored behavior and fate of nanomedicines in vivo. It is increasingly important to further develop ALS-based analytical technologies with higher spatial and temporal resolution, multimodal data fusion, and intelligent prediction abilities to fully unlock the potential of nanomedicines. In this Outlook, we focus on several selected ALS analytical technologies, including imaging and spectroscopy, and provide an overview of the emerging opportunities for their applications in the exploration of the biological behavior and fate of nanomedicines. We also discuss the challenges and limitations faced by current approaches and tools and the expectations for the future development of advanced light sources and technologies. Improved ALS imaging and spectroscopy techniques will accelerate a profound understanding of the biological behavior of new nanomedicines. Such advancements are expected to inspire new insights into nanomedicine research and promote the development of ALS capabilities and methods more suitable for nanomedicine evaluation with the goal of clinical translation.

Too advanced for assessment? Advanced materials, nanomedicine and the environment

Advanced materials, and nanomaterials, are promising for healthcare applications and are in particular in the spotlight of medical innovation since rapidly developed nano-formulated vaccines provide relief in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Further increased rapid growth is to be expected as more and more products are in development and reach the market, beneficial for human health. However, the human body is not a dead end and these products are likely to enter the environment, whereas their fate and effects in the environment are unknown. This part of the life-cycle of advanced medicinal products tends to be overlooked, if the perspective is human-centered and excludes the connectedness of human activity with, and consequences for our environment. Gaps are reviewed that exist in awareness, perspective taking, inclusion of environmental concerns into research and product development and also in available methodologies and regulatory guidance. To bridge these gaps, possible ways forward start to emerge, that could help to find a more integrative way of assessing human and environmental safety for advanced material medicinal products and nanomedicines.

Metallo-alginate hydrogel can potentiate microwave tumor ablation for synergistic cancer treatment

Microwave ablation (MWA) as a local tumor ablation strategy suffers from posttreatment tumor recurrence. Development of adjuvant biomaterials to potentiate MWA is therefore of practical significance. Here, the high concentration of Ca²⁺ fixed by alginate as Ca²⁺-surplus alginate hydrogel shows enhanced heating efficiency and restricted heating zone under microwave exposure. The high concentration of extracellular Ca²⁺ synergizes with mild hyperthermia to induce immunogenic cell death by disrupting intracellular Ca²⁺ homeostasis. Resultantly, Ca²⁺-surplus alginate hydrogel plus MWA can ablate different tumors on both mice and rabbits at reduced operation powers. This treatment can also elicit antitumor immunity, especially if synergized with Mn²⁺, an activator of the stimulation of interferon genes pathway, to suppress the growth of both untreated distant tumors and rechallenged tumors. This work highlights that in situ-formed metallo-alginate hydrogel could act as microwave-susceptible and immunostimulatory biomaterial to reinforce the MWA therapy, promising for clinical translation.

Nano-bio interactions: A major principle in the dynamic biological processes of nano-assemblies

Controllable nano-assembly with stimuli-responsive groups is emerging as a powerful strategy to generate theranostic nanosystems that meet unique requirements in modern medicine. However, this prospective field is still in a proof-of-concept stage due to the gaps in our understanding of complex-(nano-assemblies)-complex-(biosystems) interactions. Indeed, stimuli-responsive assembly-disassembly is, in and of itself, a process of nano-bio interactions, the key steps for biological fate and functional activity of nano-assemblies. To provide a comprehensive understanding of these interactions in this review, we first propose a 4W1H principle (Where, When, What, Which and How) to delineate the relevant dynamic biological processes, behaviour and fate of nano-assemblies. We further summarize several key parameters that govern effective nano-bio interactions. The effects of these kinetic parameters on ADMET processes (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and transformation) are then discussed. Furthermore, we provide an overview of the challenges facing the evaluation of nano-bio interactions of assembled nanodrugs. We finally conclude with future perspectives on safe-by-design and application-driven-design of nano-assemblies. This review will highlight the dynamic biological and physicochemical parameters of nano-bio interactions and bridge discrete concepts to build a full spectrum understanding of the biological outcomes of nano-assemblies. These principles are expected to pave the way for future development and clinical translation of precise, safe and effective nanomedicines with intelligent theranostic features.

Nanostructured particles assembled from natural building blocks for advanced therapies

Advanced treatments based on immune system manipulation, gene transcription and regulation, specific organ and cell targeting, and/or photon energy conversion have emerged as promising therapeutic strategies against a range of challenging diseases. Naturally derived macromolecules (e.g., proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, and polyphenols) have increasingly found use as fundamental building blocks for nanostructured particles as their advantageous properties, including biocompatibility, biodegradability, inherent bioactivity, and diverse chemical properties make them suitable for advanced therapeutic applications. This review provides a timely and comprehensive summary of the use of a broad range of natural building blocks in the rapidly developing field of advanced therapeutics with insights specific to nanostructured particles. We focus on an up-to-date overview of the assembly of nanostructured particles using natural building blocks and summarize their key scientific and preclinical milestones for advanced therapies, including adoptive cell therapy, immunotherapy, gene therapy, active targeted drug delivery, photoacoustic therapy and imaging, photothermal therapy, and combinational therapy. A cross-comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of different natural building blocks are highlighted to elucidate the key design principles for such bio-derived nanoparticles toward improving their performance and adoption. Current challenges and future research directions are also discussed, which will accelerate our understanding of designing, engineering, and applying nanostructured particles for advanced therapies.

From Bench to the Clinic: The Path to Translation of Nanotechnology-Enabled mRNA SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines

During the last decades, the use of nanotechnology in medicine has effectively been translated to the design of drug delivery systems, nanostructured tissues, diagnostic platforms, and novel nanomaterials against several human diseases and infectious pathogens. Nanotechnology-enabled vaccines have been positioned as solutions to mitigate the pandemic outbreak caused by the novel pathogen severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. To fast-track the development of vaccines, unprecedented industrial and academic collaborations emerged around the world, resulting in the clinical translation of effective vaccines in less than one year. In this article, we provide an overview of the path to translation from the bench to the clinic of nanotechnology-enabled messenger ribonucleic acid vaccines and examine in detail the types of delivery systems used, their mechanisms of action, obtained results during each phase of their clinical development and their regulatory approval process. We also analyze how nanotechnology is impacting global health and economy during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Two dimensional nanosheets as immunoregulator improve HIV vaccine efficacy

Two-dimensional (2D) nanosheets as carriers have shown promising potential for surface-displaying or loading various drugs. Nevertheless, developing sheet-like materials themselves into an immunoregulator has never been realized so far. In this study, we take advantage of the immunoregulatory effects of rare earth elements themselves and develop water-soluble erbium-dysprosium 2D nanosheets (2D NSs). Such 2D NSs can target lymph nodes and activate macrophages to improve vaccine efficacy in mice significantly. Transcriptome analysis further reveals that six critical molecules (Msr1, Ccr2, Serpinb9, Klrk1, Klrd1, Klrc1) closely correlate with 2D NS-mediated immunoregulation in vivo. For the first time, the present work realizes a proof-of-concept for designing immunoregulatory 2D NSs and shows a promising potential of 2D NSs for improving the immunoprophylaxis/immunotherapy of vaccines.

Surface-Functionalized Silica-Coated Calcium Phosphate Nanoparticles Efficiently Deliver DNA-Based HIV-1 Trimeric Envelope Vaccines against HIV-1

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection remains one of the worst crises in global health. The prevention of HIV-1 infection is a crucial task that needs to be addressed due to the absence of a licensed vaccine against HIV-1. DNA vaccines present a promising alternative approach to combat HIV-1 infection due to their excellent safety profile, lack of severe side effects, and relatively rapid fabrication. Traditional vaccines composed of a monomeric envelope or peptide fragments have been indicated to lack protective efficacy mediated by inducing HIV-1-specific neutralizing antibodies in clinical trials. The immunogenicity and protection against HIV-1 induced by DNA vaccines are limited due to the poor uptake of these vaccines by antigen-presenting cells and their ready degradation by DNases and lysosomes. To address these issues of naked DNA vaccines, we described the feasibility of CpG-functionalized silica-coated calcium phosphate nanoparticles (SCPs) for efficiently delivering DNA-based HIV-1 trimeric envelope vaccines against HIV-1. Vaccines comprising the soluble BG505 SOSIP.664 trimer fused to the GCN4-based isoleucine zipper or bacteriophage T4 fibritin foldon motif with excellent simulation of the native HIV-1 envelope were chosen as trimer-based vaccine platforms. Our results showed that SCP-based DNA immunization could significantly induce both broad humoral immune responses and potent cellular immune responses compared to naked DNA vaccination in vivo. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to assess the feasibility of CpG-functionalized SCPs for efficiently delivering DNA vaccines expressing a native-like HIV-1 trimer. These CpG-functionalized SCPs for delivering DNA-based HIV-1 trimeric envelope vaccines may lead to the development of promising vaccine candidates against HIV-1.

Biomedical Applications of Carbon Nanomaterials: Fullerenes, Quantum Dots, Nanotubes, Nanofibers, and Graphene

Carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) have received tremendous interest in the area of nanotechnology due to their unique properties and flexible dimensional structure. CNMs have excellent electrical, thermal, and optical properties that make them promising materials for drug delivery, bioimaging, biosensing, and tissue engineering applications. Currently, there are many types of CNMs, such as quantum dots, nanotubes, nanosheets, and nanoribbons; and there are many others in development that promise exciting applications in the future. The surface functionalization of CNMs modifies their chemical and physical properties, which enhances their drug loading/release capacity, their ability to target drug delivery to specific sites, and their dispersibility and suitability in biological systems. Thus, CNMs have been effectively used in different biomedical systems. This review explores the unique physical, chemical, and biological properties that allow CNMs to improve on the state of the art materials currently used in different biomedical applications. The discussion also embraces the emerging biomedical applications of CNMs, including targeted drug delivery, medical implants, tissue engineering, wound healing, biosensing, bioimaging, vaccination, and photodynamic therapy.

Nanotechnology-empowered vaccine delivery for enhancing CD8+ T cells-mediated cellular immunity

After centuries of development, using vaccination to stimulate immunity has become an effective method for prevention and treatment of a variety of diseases including infective diseases and cancers. However, the tailor-made efficient delivery system for specific antigens is still urgently needed due to the low immunogenicity and stability of antigens, especially for vaccines to induce CD8⁺ T cells-mediated cellular immunity. Unlike B cells-mediated humoral immunity, CD8⁺ T cells-mediated cellular immunity mainly aims at the intracellular antigens from microorganism in virus-infected cells or genetic mutations in tumor cells. Therefore, the vaccines for stimulating CD8⁺ T cells-mediated cellular immunity should deliver the antigens efficiently into the cytoplasm of antigen presenting cells (APCs) to form major histocompatibility complex I (MHCI)-antigen complex through cross-presentation, followed by activating CD8⁺ T cells for immune protection and clearance. Importantly, nanotechnology has been emerged as a powerful tool to facilitate these multiple processes specifically, allowing not only enhanced antigen immunogenicity and stability but also APCs-targeted delivery and elevated cross-presentation. This review summarizes the process of CD8⁺ T cells-mediated cellular immunity induced by vaccines and the technical advantages of nanotechnology implementation in general, then provides an overview of the whole spectrum of nanocarriers studied so far and the recent development of delivery nanotechnology in vaccines against infectious diseases and cancer. Finally, we look forward to the future development of nanotechnology for the next generation of vaccines to induce CD8⁺ T cells-mediated cellular immunity.

Recent Advances in Engineered Materials for Immunotherapy-Involved Combination Cancer Therapy

Immunotherapy that can activate immunity or enhance the immunogenicity of tumors has emerged as one of the most effective methods for cancer therapy. Nevertheless, single-mode immunotherapy is still confronted with several critical challenges, such as the low immune response, the low tumor infiltration, and the complex immunosuppression tumor microenvironment. Recently, the combination of immunotherapy with other therapeutic modalities has emerged as a powerful strategy to augment the therapeutic outcome in fighting against cancer. In this review, recent research advances of the combination of immunotherapy with chemotherapy, phototherapy, radiotherapy, sonodynamic therapy, metabolic therapy, and microwave thermotherapy are summarized. Critical challenges and future research direction of immunotherapy-based cancer therapeutic strategy are also discussed.

Trp2 Peptide-Assembled Nanoparticles with Intrinsically Self-Chelating 64Cu Properties for PET Imaging Tracking and Dendritic Cell-Based Immunotherapy against Melanoma

Dendritic cell-based immunotherapy, in which the antigen is effectively delivered to dendritic cells and then the dendritic cells stimulated by the antigen migrate to draining lymph nodes (DLNs) to induce the CD8⁺ T-cell immune response, shows great promise for tumor immunotherapy. In this study, we used coassembled nanoparticles formed by Trp2 antigen and the conjugates of short-chain poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and pyropheophorbide-A (PPa) (Trp2/PPa-PEGm) to deliver Trp2 to DCs. Intrinsically self-chelating ⁶⁴Cu of coassemblies could be used to sensitively image the migration of DCs in vivo by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. The coassemblies of the Trp2 antigen were efficiently engulfed by DCs without causing DC cytotoxicity in vitro and induced DC maturation. After injection of DCs labeled by coassemblies of the Trp2 antigen, the homing of DCs to DLNs in vivo could be sensitively observed by PET imaging. The C57BL/6 mice injected with DCs containing the Trp2/PPa-PEGm NP showed antigen-specific immune responses including enhanced interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production, splenocyte proliferation, and percentage of IFN-γ-secreting CD8⁺ T cells. In addition, C57BL/6 mice inoculated with B16-F10 tumor cells showed delayed tumor growth after immunization with the Trp2/PPa-PEGm NP-labeled DC vaccine and enhanced infiltration of CD8⁺ T cells in tumors.

The next generation of HCV vaccines: a focus on novel adjuvant development

INTRODUCTION

Considerable efforts have been made to treat and prevent acute and chronic infections caused by the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Current treatments are unable to protect people from reinfection. Hence, there is a need for development of both preventive and therapeutic HCV vaccines. Many vaccine candidates are in development to fight against HCV, but their efficacy has so far proven limited partly due to low immunogenicity.

AREAS COVERED

We explore development of novel and powerful adjuvants to achieve an effective HCV vaccine. The basis for developing strong adjuvants is to understand the innate immunity pathway, which subsequently stimulates humoral and cellular immune responses. We have also investigated immunogenicity of developed adjuvants that have been used in recent studies available in online databases such as PubMed, PMC, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, etc.

EXPERT OPINION

Adjuvants are used as a part of vaccine formulation to boost vaccine immunogenicity and antigen delivery. Several FDA-approved adjuvants are used in licensed human vaccines. Unfortunately, no adjuvant has yet been proven to boost HCV immune responses to the extent needed for an effective vaccine. One of the promising approaches for developing an effective adjuvant is the combination of various adjuvants to trigger several innate immune responses, leading to activation of adaptive immunity.[Figure: see text].

Engineering a self-navigated MnARK nanovaccine for inducing potent protective immunity against novel coronavirus

Effective vaccines are vital to fight against the COVID-19 global pandemic. As a critical component of a subunit vaccine, the adjuvant is responsible for strengthening the antigen-induced immune responses. Here, we present a new nanovaccine that comprising the Receptor-Binding Domain (RBD) of spike protein and the manganese nanoadjuvant (MnARK), which induces humoral and cellular responses. Notably, even at a 5-fold lower antigen dose and with fewer injections, the MnARK vaccine immunized mice showed stronger neutralizing abilities against the infection of the pseudovirus (~270-fold) and live coronavirus (>8-fold) in vitro than that of Alum-adsorbed RBD vaccine (Alu-RBD). Furthermore, we found that the effective co-delivery of RBD antigen and MnARK to lymph nodes (LNs) elicited an increased cellular internalization and the activation of immune cells, including DCs, CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. Our findings highlight the importance of MnARK adjuvant in the design of novel coronavirus vaccines and provide a rationale strategy to design protective vaccines through promoting cellular internalization and the activation of immune-related pathways.

Advances in nanomaterial vaccine strategies to address infectious diseases impacting global health

Despite the overwhelming success of vaccines in preventing infectious diseases, there remain numerous globally devastating diseases without fully protective vaccines, particularly human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), malaria and tuberculosis. Nanotechnology approaches are being developed both to design new vaccines against these diseases as well as to facilitate their global implementation. The reasons why a given pathogen may present difficulties for vaccine design are unique and tied to the co-evolutionary history of the pathogen and humans, but there are common challenges that nanotechnology is beginning to help address. In each case, a successful vaccine will need to raise immune responses that differ from the immune responses raised by normal infection. Nanomaterials, with their defined compositions, commonly modular construction, and length scales allowing the engagement of key immune pathways, collectively facilitate the iterative design process necessary to identify such protective immune responses and achieve them reliably. Nanomaterials also provide strategies for engineering the trafficking and delivery of vaccine components to key immune cells and lymphoid tissues, and they can be highly multivalent, improving their engagement with the immune system. This Review will discuss these aspects along with recent nanomaterial advances towards vaccines against infectious disease, with a particular emphasis on HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

Design and application of nanoparticles as vaccine adjuvants against human corona virus infection

In recent years, some viruses have caused a grave crisis to global public health, especially the human coronavirus. A truly effective vaccine is therefore urgently needed. Vaccines should generally have two features: delivering antigens and modulating immunity. Adjuvants have an unshakable position in the battle against the virus. In addition to the perennial use of aluminium adjuvant, nanoparticles have become the developing adjuvant candidates due to their unique properties. Here we introduce several typical nanoparticles and their antivirus vaccine adjuvant applications. Finally, for the combating of the coronavirus, we propose several design points, hoping to provide ideas for the development of personalized vaccines and adjuvants and accelerate the clinical application of adjuvants.

Advances in vaccine delivery systems against viral infectious diseases

Although vaccines are available for many infectious diseases, there are still unresolved infectious diseases that threaten global public health. In particular, the rapid spread of unpredictable, highly contagious viruses has recorded numerous infection cases and deaths, and has changed our lives socially or economically through social distancing and wearing masks. The pandemics of unpredictable, highly contagious viruses increase the ever-high social need for rapid vaccine development. Nanotechnologies may hold promise and expedite the development of vaccines against newly emerging infectious viruses. As potential nanoplatforms for delivering antigens to immune cells, delivery systems based on lipids, polymers, proteins, and inorganic nanomaterials have been studied. These nanoplatforms have been tested as a means to deliver vaccines not as a whole, but in the form of protein subunits or as DNA or mRNA sequences encoding the antigen proteins of viruses. This review covers the current status of nanomaterial-based delivery systems for viral antigens, with highlights on nanovaccines against recently emerging infectious viruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, and Zika virus.

Ultrasound-Mediated Remotely Controlled Nanovaccine Delivery for Tumor Vaccination and Individualized Cancer Immunotherapy

Vaccines are one of utmost important weapons in modern medicine to fight a wide range of diseases. To achieve optimal vaccination effects, repeated injections of vaccines are often required, which would largely decrease patient comfort. Herein, an ultrasound-responsive self-healing hydrogel system loaded with nanovaccines is designed for remotely controlled tumor vaccine release and individualized cancer immunotherapy. The gel could be transformed into sol status in response to ultrasound treatment, allowing a burst release of nanovaccines, and self-healed to gel afterward. For mice with a single subcutaneous injection of nanovaccine-loaded gel and multiple ultrasound treatments, repeatedly released nanovaccines could elicit antitumor immune responses, which in combination with immune checkpoint blockade could effectively inhibit established tumors, and prevent postoperative tumor metastases and recurrence based on our personalized nanovaccine system. This work presents an easy-to-operate strategy to realize controllable and durable delivery of vaccines against cancer and potentially other types of diseases.

Insights from nanotechnology in COVID-19 treatment

In just a few months, SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19, created a worldwide pandemic. Virologists, biologists, pharmacists, materials scientists, and clinicians are collaborating to develop efficient treatment strategies. Overall, in addition to the use of clinical equipment to assist patient rehabilitation, antiviral drugs and vaccines are the areas of greatest focus. Given the physical size of SARS-CoV-2 and the vaccine delivery platforms currently in clinical trials, the relevance of nanotechnology is clear, and previous antiviral research using nanomaterials also supports this connection. Herein we briefly summarize current representative strategies regarding nanomaterials in antiviral research. We focus specifically on SARS-CoV-2 and the detailed role that nanotechnology can play in addressing this pandemic, including i) using FDA-approved nanomaterials for drug/vaccine delivery, including further exploration of the inhalation pathway; ii) introducing promising nanomaterials currently in clinical trials for drug/vaccine delivery; iii) designing novel biocompatible nanomaterials to combat the virus via interfering in its life cycle; and iv) promoting the utilization of nanomaterials in pneumonia treatment.

Controlled release of immunotherapeutics for enhanced cancer immunotherapy after local delivery

Cancer immunotherapy has been demonstrated as a promising therapeutic strategy in clinic owing to its unique advantages. However, although more and more immunotherapeutic agents have been approved for clinical use to activate the immune system, they also could interfere with the homeostatic role of immune system at non-target sites after systemic administration, which may be associated with fatal side effects such as lifelong autoimmune diseases. Thus, it is desirable to develop local delivery systems that could be applied at the targeted sides and engineered to locally control the pharmacokinetics of various immunotherapeutics, including small molecules, macromolecules or even cells. Advancements in biomaterials, biotechnology, nanomedicine and engineering have facilitated the development of local delivery systems for enhanced cancer immunotherapy. This review will summarize the recent advances in developing different local delivery systems and discuss how these delivery systems could be designed to regulate the release behavior of different immunotherapeutics to sustainably stimulate the systemic immune system, effectively and safely inhibiting the cancer recurrence and metastasis. Furthermore, we will discuss how biomaterials-assisted local delivery systems would contribute to the development of cancer immunotherapy, together with their challenges and potential of clinical translation.

A general strategy towards personalized nanovaccines based on fluoropolymers for post-surgical cancer immunotherapy

Cancer metastases and recurrence after surgical resection remain an important cause of treatment failure. Here we demonstrate a general strategy to fabricate personalized nanovaccines based on a cationic fluoropolymer for post-surgical cancer immunotherapy. Nanoparticles formed by mixing the fluoropolymer with a model antigen ovalbumin, induce dendritic cell maturation via the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)-mediated signalling pathway, and promote antigen transportation into the cytosol of dendritic cells, which leads to an effective antigen cross-presentation. Such a nanovaccine inhibits established ovalbumin-expressing B16-OVA melanoma. More importantly, a mix of the fluoropolymer with cell membranes from resected autologous primary tumours synergizes with checkpoint blockade therapy to inhibit post-surgical tumour recurrence and metastases in two subcutaneous tumour models and an orthotopic breast cancer tumour. Furthermore, in the orthotopic tumour model, we observed a strong immune memory against tumour rechallenge. Our work offers a simple and general strategy for the preparation of personalized cancer vaccines to prevent post-operative cancer recurrence and metastasis.

Hard Nanomaterials in Time of Viral Pandemics

The SARS-Cov-2 pandemic has spread worldwide during 2020, setting up an uncertain start of this decade. The measures to contain infection taken by many governments have been extremely severe by imposing home lockdown and industrial production shutdown, making this the biggest crisis since the second world war. Additionally, the continuous colonization of wild natural lands may touch unknown virus reservoirs, causing the spread of epidemics. Apart from SARS-Cov-2, the recent history has seen the spread of several viral pandemics such as H2N2 and H3N3 flu, HIV, and SARS, while MERS and Ebola viruses are considered still in a prepandemic phase. Hard nanomaterials (HNMs) have been recently used as antimicrobial agents, potentially being next-generation drugs to fight viral infections. HNMs can block infection at early (disinfection, entrance inhibition) and middle (inside the host cells) stages and are also able to mitigate the immune response. This review is focused on the application of HNMs as antiviral agents. In particular, mechanisms of actions, biological outputs, and limitations for each HNM will be systematically presented and analyzed from a material chemistry point-of-view. The antiviral activity will be discussed in the context of the different pandemic viruses. We acknowledge that HNM antiviral research is still at its early stage, however, we believe that this field will rapidly blossom in the next period.

A Cu9S5 nanoparticle-based CpG delivery system for synergistic photothermal-, photodynamic- and immunotherapy

Despite its great potential in cancer therapy, phototherapy, including photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT), often cause metastasis of tumors. Immunotherapy has revolutionized the cancer treatment owing to the capability of activating immune system to eliminate tumors. However, the integration of phototherapy and immunotherapy in a single nanoagent for cancer therapy is still a challenging task. Here, we fabricated (Cu₉S₅@mSiO₂-PpIX@MnO₂@CpG (CSPM@CpG)) as a synergistic therapeutic model for phototherapy enhanced immunotherapy. The intracellular uptake of cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) promoted the infiltration of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in tumor tissue, further stimulating the production of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and remarkably elevating the immune response level. Excellent anti-tumor effects have been achieved by synergistic PTT/PDT/immunotherapy. The metastasis of tumors was effectively inhibited by the immune response of CpG. Thus, our proposed work provides a strategy to combine phototherapy with immunotherapy to enhance the therapeutic efficiency and further inhibit metastasis of tumors.

CpG oligonucleotides can stimulate an anticancer immune response. Zhou et al. now develop nanoparticles that can deliver CpG, which promotes cancer cell death after photothermal and photodynamic therapy in vitro and in vivo, concomitant with an immunological response.

Innate Immune Response against Hepatitis C Virus: Targets for Vaccine Adjuvants

Despite successful treatments, hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections continue to be a significant world health problem. High treatment costs, the high number of undiagnosed individuals, and the difficulty to access to treatment, particularly in marginalized susceptible populations, make it improbable to achieve the global control of the virus in the absence of an effective preventive vaccine. Current vaccine development is mostly focused on weakly immunogenic subunits, such as surface glycoproteins or non-structural proteins, in the case of HCV. Adjuvants are critical components of vaccine formulations that increase immunogenic performance. As we learn more information about how adjuvants work, it is becoming clear that proper stimulation of innate immunity is crucial to achieving a successful immunization. Several hepatic cell types participate in the early innate immune response and the subsequent inflammation and activation of the adaptive response, principally hepatocytes, and antigen-presenting cells (Kupffer cells, and dendritic cells). Innate pattern recognition receptors on these cells, mainly toll-like receptors, are targets for new promising adjuvants. Moreover, complex adjuvants that stimulate different components of the innate immunity are showing encouraging results and are being incorporated in current vaccines. Recent studies on HCV-vaccine adjuvants have shown that the induction of a strong T- and B-cell immune response might be enhanced by choosing the right adjuvant.

Co-delivery of doxorubicin and epacadostat via heparin coated pH-sensitive liposomes to suppress the lung metastasis of melanoma

High metastasis is responsible for the failure in the treatment of melanoma. Chemoimmunotherapy has shown conspicuous inhibition effects not only on the growth of tumor in situ, but also on the metastasis to distant organs. Given that the indoleamine-2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) overexpressed in the microenvironment of tumor leads to the immune escape, the combination of chemotherapeutic drug and IDO inhibitor might be a promising chemoimmunotherapy. Besides, the hematogenous metastasis mediated by platelets was supposed to be blocked by the heparin (HP). Therefore, a drug delivery system with all these elements involved might be a potential treatment for melanoma. Here, we developed a pH-sensitive liposomal dual-delivery system for doxorubicin (DOX) and epacadostat (EPA) with HP coated (HP/LDE). It was confirmed to enhance cytotoxicity and apoptosis, reverse the platelets-activated epithelial mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and prevent the invasion and migration in vitro. After systemic administration, HP/LDE provided the optimum anti-metastasis effect on the melanoma. The results of evaluation on DC maturation, CD8⁺ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) activation and T cell mediated cytotoxicity were consistent in vitro and in vivo. Taken together, our study established a functional liposomal dual-delivery system with ideal anti-metastasis efficacy on melanoma.

Engineering nanoparticles to reprogram radiotherapy and immunotherapy: recent advances and future challenges

Nanoparticles (NPs) have been increasingly studied for radiosensitization. The principle of NPs radio-enhancement is to use high-atomic number NPs (e.g. gold, hafnium, bismuth and gadolinium) or deliver radiosensitizing substances, such as cisplatin and selenium. Nowadays, cancer immunotherapy is emerged as a promising treatment and immune checkpoint regulation has a potential property to improve clinical outcomes in cancer immunotherapy. Furthermore, NPs have been served as an ideal platform for immunomodulator system delivery. Owing to enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, modified-NPs increase the targeting and retention of antibodies in target cells. The purpose of this review is to highlight the latest progress of nanotechnology in radiotherapy (RT) and immunotherapy, as well as combining these three strategies in cancer treatment. Overall, nanomedicine as an effective strategy for RT can significantly enhance the outcome of immunotherapy response and might be beneficial for clinical transformation.

Nanoparticle mediated cancer immunotherapy

The versatility and nanoscale size have helped nanoparticles (NPs) improve the efficacy of conventional cancer immunotherapy and opened up exciting approaches to combat cancer. This review first outlines the tumor immune evasion and the defensive tumor microenvironment (TME) that hinders the activity of host immune system against tumor. Then, a detailed description on how the NP based strategies have helped improve the efficacy of conventional cancer vaccines and overcome the obstacles led by TME. Sustained and controlled drug delivery, enhanced cross presentation by immune cells, co-encapsulation of adjuvants, inhibition of immune checkpoints and intrinsic adjuvant like properties have aided NPs to improve the therapeutic efficacy of cancer vaccines. Also, NPs have been efficient modulators of TME. In this context, NPs facilitate better penetration of the chemotherapeutic drug by dissolution of the inhibitory meshwork formed by tumor associated cells, blood vessels, soluble mediators and extra cellular matrix in TME. NPs achieve this by suppression, modulation, or reprogramming of the immune cells and other mediators localised in TME. This review further summarizes the applications of NPs used to enhance the efficacy of cancer vaccines and modulate the TME to improve cancer immunotherapy. Finally, the hurdles faced in commercialization and translation to clinic have been discussed and intriguingly, NPs owe great potential to emerge as clinical formulations for cancer immunotherapy in near future.

Materials for Immunotherapy

Breakthroughs in materials engineering have accelerated the progress of immunotherapy in preclinical studies. The interplay of chemistry and materials has resulted in improved loading, targeting, and release of immunomodulatory agents. An overview of the materials that are used to enable or improve the success of immunotherapies in preclinical studies is presented, from immunosuppressive to proinflammatory strategies, with particular emphasis on technologies poised for clinical translation. The materials are organized based on their characteristic length scale, whereby the enabling feature of each technology is organized by the structure of that material. For example, the mechanisms by which i) nanoscale materials can improve targeting and infiltration of immunomodulatory payloads into tissues and cells, ii) microscale materials can facilitate cell-mediated transport and serve as artificial antigen-presenting cells, and iii) macroscale materials can form the basis of artificial microenvironments to promote cell infiltration and reprogramming are discussed. As a step toward establishing a set of design rules for future immunotherapies, materials that intrinsically activate or suppress the immune system are reviewed. Finally, a brief outlook on the trajectory of these systems and how they may be improved to address unsolved challenges in cancer, infectious diseases, and autoimmunity is presented.

Pre-Treatment with Zirconia Nanoparticles Reduces Inflammation Induced by the Pathogenic H5N1 Influenza Virus

Background

New approaches are urgently needed to fight influenza viral infection. Previous research has shown that zirconia nanoparticles can be used as anticancer materials, but their antiviral activity has not been reported. Here, we investigated the antiviral effect of zirconia (ZrO₂) nanoparticles (NPs) against a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus.

Materials and Methods

In this study, the antiviral effects of ZrO₂ on H5N1 virus were assessed in vivo, and the molecular mechanism responsible for this protection was investigated.

Results

Mice treated with 200 nm positively-charged NPs at a dose of 100 mg/kg showed higher survival rates and smaller reductions in weight. 200 nm ZrO₂ activated mature dendritic cells and initially promoted the expression of cytokines associated with the antiviral response and innate immunity. In the lungs of H5N1-infected mice, ZrO₂ treatment led to less pathological lung injury, significant reduction in influenza A virus replication, and overexpression of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Conclusion

This antiviral study using zirconia NPs shows protection of mice against highly pathogenic avian influenza virus and suggests strong application potential for this method, introducing a new tool against a wide range of microbial infections.