Photothermal nanobomb blocking metabolic adenosine-A2AR potentiates infiltration and activity of T cells for robust antitumor immunotherapy

2D nanomaterials-based delivery systems and their potentials in anticancer synergistic photo-immunotherapy

As the field of cancer therapeutics evolves, integrating two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials with photo-immunotherapy has emerged as a promising approach with significant potential to augment cancer treatment efficacy. These 2D nanomaterials include graphene-based 2D nanomaterials, 2D MXenes, 2D layered double hydroxides, black phosphorus nanosheets, 2D metal-organic frameworks, and 2D transition metal dichalcogenides. They exhibit high load capacities, multiple functionalization pathways, optimal biocompatibility, and physiological stability. Predominantly, they function as anti-tumor delivery systems, amalgamating diverse therapeutic modalities, most notably phototherapy and immunotherapy, and the former is a recognized non-invasive treatment modality, and the latter represents the most promising anti-cancer strategy presently accessible. Thus, integrating phototherapy and immunotherapy founded on 2D nanomaterials unveils a novel paradigm in the war against cancer. This review delineates the latest developments in 2D nanomaterials as delivery systems for synergistic photo-immunotherapy in cancer treatment. We elaborate on the burgeoning realm of photo-immunotherapy, exploring the interplay between phototherapy and enhanced immune cells, immune response modulation, or immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments. Notably, the strategies to augment photo-immunotherapy have also been discussed. Finally, we discuss the challenges and future perspectives of these 2D nanomaterials in photo-immunotherapy.

Light-Activated In Situ Vaccine with Enhanced Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Infiltration and Function for Potent Cancer Immunotherapy

In situ cancer vaccination is an attractive strategy that stimulates protective antitumor immunity. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) are major mediators of the adaptive immune defenses, with critical roles in antitumor immune response and establishing immune memory, and are consequently extremely important for in situ vaccines to generate systemic and lasting antitumor efficacy. However, the dense extracellular matrix and hypoxia in solid tumors severely impede the infiltration and function of CTLs, ultimately compromising the efficacy of in situ cancer vaccines. To address this issue, a robust in situ cancer vaccine, Au@MnO2 nanoparticles (AMOPs), based on a gold nanoparticle core coated with a manganese dioxide shell is developed. The AMOPs modulated the unfavorable tumor microenvironment (TME) to restore CTLs infiltration and function and efficiently induced immunogenic cell death. The Mn2+-mediated stimulator of the interferon genes pathway can be activated to further augment the therapeutic efficacy of the AMOPs. Thus, the AMOPs vaccine successfully elicited long-lasting antitumor immunity to considerably inhibit primary, recurrent, and metastatic tumors. This study not only highlights the importance of revitalizing CTLs efficacy against solid tumors but also makes progress toward overcoming TME barriers for sustained antitumor immunity.

Biomimetic nanodrug blocks CD73 to inhibit adenosine and boosts antitumor immune response synergically with photothermal stimulation

Combination of tumor immunotherapy with photothermal therapy (PTT) is a feasible tactic to overcome the drawback of immunotherapy such as poor immune response. Via triggering the immunogenic cells death (ICD), PTT can stimulate the activity of immune cells, but meanwhile, the level of adenosine is elevated via the CD73-induced decomposition of ATP which is overexpressed accompanying with the PTT process, resulting in negative feedback to impair the immune stimulation. Herein, we developed a novel biomimetic photothermal nanodrug to specifically block CD73 for inhibition of adenosine production and more efficient priming of the suppressive immune microenvironments. The nanodrug, named as AptEM@CBA, is constructed by encapsulation of photothermal agent black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) and selective CD73 inhibitor α, β-Methyleneadenosine 5'-diphosphate (AMPCP) in chitosan nanogels, which are further covered with aptamer AS1411 modified erythrocyte membrane (EM) for biomimetic camouflage. With AS1411 induced active targeting and EM induced long blood circulation time, the enrichment of the nanodrug tumor sites is promoted. The photothermal treatment promotes the maturation of dendritic cells. Meanwhile, the release of AMPCP suppress the adenosine generation via CD73 blockade, alleviating the impairment of adenosine to dendritic cells and suppressing regulatory T cells, synergically stimulate the activity of T cells. The combination of CD73 blockade with PTT, not only suppresses the growth of primary implanted tumors, but also boosts strong antitumor immunity to inhibit the growth of distal tumors, providing good potential for tumor photoimmunotherapy.

Recent advances in nanomedicine for metabolism-targeted cancer therapy

Metabolism denotes the sum of biochemical reactions that maintain cellular function. Different from most normal differentiated cells, cancer cells adopt altered metabolic pathways to support malignant properties. Typically, almost all cancer cells need a large number of proteins, lipids, nucleotides, and energy in the form of ATP to support rapid division. Therefore, targeting tumour metabolism has been suggested as a generic and effective therapy strategy. With the rapid development of nanotechnology, nanomedicine promises to have a revolutionary impact on clinical cancer therapy due to many merits such as targeting, improved bioavailability, controllable drug release, and potentially personalized treatment compared to conventional drugs. This review comprehensively elucidates recent advances of nanomedicine in targeting important metabolites such as glucose, glutamine, lactate, cholesterol, and nucleotide for effective cancer therapy. Furthermore, the challenges and future development in this area are also discussed.

Four Ounces Can Move a Thousand Pounds: The Enormous Value of Nanomaterials in Tumor Immunotherapy

The application of nanomaterials in healthcare has emerged as a promising strategy due to their unique structural diversity, surface properties, and compositional diversity. In particular, nanomaterials have found a significant role in improving drug delivery and inhibiting the growth and metastasis of tumor cells. Moreover, recent studies have highlighted their potential in modulating the tumor microenvironment (TME) and enhancing the activity of immune cells to improve tumor therapy efficacy. Various types of nanomaterials are currently utilized as drug carriers, immunosuppressants, immune activators, immunoassay reagents, and more for tumor immunotherapy. Necessarily, nanomaterials used for tumor immunotherapy can be grouped into two categories: organic and inorganic nanomaterials. Though both have shown the ability to achieve the purpose of tumor immunotherapy, their composition and structural properties result in differences in their mechanisms and modes of action. Organic nanomaterials can be further divided into organic polymers, cell membranes, nanoemulsion-modified, and hydrogel forms. At the same time, inorganic nanomaterials can be broadly classified as nonmetallic and metallic nanomaterials. The current work aims to explore the mechanisms of action of these different types of nanomaterials and their prospects for promoting tumor immunotherapy.

A PD-L1 targeting nanotheranostic for effective photoacoustic imaging guided photothermal-immunotherapy of tumor

Tumor immunotherapy has been partly effective for specific cancers. However, problems such as low immune response, limited antitumor effectiveness, and high antibody costs still persist. Synergistic therapeutic approaches, such as immune checkpoint inhibition in conjunction with photothermal therapy and photoacoustic imaging, are expected to provide approaches for more precise and efficient immunotherapy of tumors. Furthermore, developing alternatives for antibodies, such as PD-L1 aptamers and nanocarriers, would reduce the cost of tumor immunotherapy. Herein, we develop a PD-L1-targeting nanotheranostic to block immune checkpoints for synergistic photothermal-immunotherapy against tumors, along with effective photoacoustic (PA) imaging. The nanotheranostic is synthesized by the modification of gold nanorods (GNRs) with the PD-L1 aptamer (APDL1), which can sensitively and specifically recognize PD-L1 on the tumor cell surface, and mediate nanoparticle accumulation and strong PA signals in tumors. The aptamer is released from GNR through a competition of glutathione (GSH) and is then functionalized as a PD-L1 blockade. In collaboration with the concurrent photothermal therapy, antitumor immunity is significantly augmented by enhancing the filtration of matured dendritic cells and suppressing regulatory T cells, followed by the activation of cytotoxic T cells and inhibition of T cell exhaustion. Such a nanotheranostic modality effectively suppresses tumor growth in mice, representing an appealing platform for both biological imaging and photoimmunotherapy of tumors.

Anti-BCMA surface engineered biomimetic photothermal nanomissile enhances multiple myeloma cell apoptosis and overcomes the disturbance of NF-κB signaling in vivo

Conventional chemotherapy for multiple myeloma (MM) faces the challenges of a low complete remission rate and transformation to recurrence/refractory. The current MM first-line clinical drug Bortezomib (BTZ) faces the problem of enhanced tolerance and nonnegligible side effects. B cell maturation antigen (BCMA), for its important engagement in tumor signaling pathways and novel therapy technologies such as Chimeric antigen receptor T-Cell immunotherapy (CAR-T) and Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC), has been identified as an ideal target and attracted attention in anti-MM therapy. Emerging nanotechnology provided feasible methods for drug delivery and new therapeutic strategies such as photothermal therapy (PTT). Herein, we developed a BCMA-Targeting biomimetic photothermal nanomissile BTZ@BPQDs@EM @anti-BCMA (BBE@anti-BCMA) by integration of BTZ, black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs), Erythrocyte membrane (EM) and BCMA antibody (anti-BCMA). We hypothesized that this engineered nanomissile could attack tumor cells in triple ways and achieve effective treatment of MM. Consequently, the intrinsic biomimetic nature of EM and the active targeting property of anti-BCMA enhanced the accumulation of therapeutic agents in the tumor site. Besides, owing to the decrease in BCMA abundance, the potential apoptosis-inducing ability was revealed. With the support of BPQDs' photothermal effect, Cleaved-Caspase-3 and Bax signal increased significantly, and the expression of Bcl-2 was inhibited. Furthermore, the synergistic photothermal/chemo therapy can effectively inhibit tumor growth and reverse the disorder of NF-κB in vivo. Importantly, this biomimetic nanodrug delivery system and antibody induced synergistic therapeutic strategy efficiently killed MM cells with ignorable systemic toxicity, which is a promising method for the future anticancer treatment of hematological malignancies in clinics.