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Ai X, Yang J, Liu Z, Guo T, Feng N. Recent progress of microneedles in transdermal immunotherapy: A review. Int J Pharm 2024; 662:124481. [PMID: 39025342 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2024.124481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2024] [Revised: 07/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
Since human skin is an immune organ, a large number of immune cells are distributed in the epidermis and the dermis of the skin. Transdermal immunotherapy shows great therapeutic advantages in innate immunotherapy and adaptive immunotherapy. To solve the problem that macromolecules are difficult to penetrate into the skin, the microneedle technology can directly break through the skin barrier using micron-sized needles in a non-invasive and painless way for transdermal drug delivery. Therefore, it is considered to be an effective technology to increase drug transdermal absorption. In this review, the types of preparation, the combinations with different techniques and the mechanisms of microneedles in transdermal immunotherapy were summarized. Compared with traditional immunotherapy like intramuscular injection and subcutaneous injection, the microneedle has many advantages in transdermal immunotherapy, such as reducing patient pain, enhancing vaccine stability, and inducing stronger immune responses. Although there are still some limitations to be solved, the application of microneedle technology in transdermal immunotherapy is undoubtedly a promising means of drug delivery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyi Ai
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Jiayi Yang
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Zhenda Liu
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Teng Guo
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China.
| | - Nianping Feng
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai 201203, China.
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Shah SA, Oakes RS, Jewell CM. Advancing immunotherapy using biomaterials to control tissue, cellular, and molecular level immune signaling in skin. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2024; 209:115315. [PMID: 38670230 PMCID: PMC11111363 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2024.115315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Immunotherapies have been transformative in many areas, including cancer treatments, allergies, and autoimmune diseases. However, significant challenges persist in extending the reach of these technologies to new indications and patients. Some of the major hurdles include narrow applicability to patient groups, transient efficacy, high cost burdens, poor immunogenicity, and side effects or off-target toxicity that results from lack of disease-specificity and inefficient delivery. Thus, there is a significant need for strategies that control immune responses generated by immunotherapies while targeting infection, cancer, allergy, and autoimmunity. Being the outermost barrier of the body and the first line of host defense, the skin presents a unique immunological interface to achieve these goals. The skin contains a high concentration of specialized immune cells, such as antigen-presenting cells and tissue-resident memory T cells. These cells feature diverse and potent combinations of immune receptors, providing access to cellular and molecular level control to modulate immune responses. Thus, skin provides accessible tissue, cellular, and molecular level controls that can be harnessed to improve immunotherapies. Biomaterial platforms - microneedles, nano- and micro-particles, scaffolds, and other technologies - are uniquely capable of modulating the specialized immunological niche in skin by targeting these distinct biological levels of control. This review highlights recent pre-clinical and clinical advances in biomaterial-based approaches to target and modulate immune signaling in the skin at the tissue, cellular, and molecular levels for immunotherapeutic applications. We begin by discussing skin cytoarchitecture and resident immune cells to establish the biological rationale for skin-targeting immunotherapies. This is followed by a critical presentation of biomaterial-based pre-clinical and clinical studies aimed at controlling the immune response in the skin for immunotherapy and therapeutic vaccine applications in cancer, allergy, and autoimmunity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shrey A Shah
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, 8278 Paint Branch Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Robert S Oakes
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, 8278 Paint Branch Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA; Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Maryland Health Care System, 10. N Green Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Christopher M Jewell
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, 8278 Paint Branch Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA; Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Maryland Health Care System, 10. N Green Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA; Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices, 8278 Paint Branch Drive, College Park, MD 20742, USA; Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA; Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, 22 S. Greene Street, Suite N9E17, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA.
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Price SL, Oakes RS, Gonzalez RJ, Edwards C, Brady A, DeMarco JK, von Andrian UH, Jewell CM, Lawrenz MB. Microneedle array delivery of Yersinia pestis recapitulates bubonic plague. iScience 2024; 27:108600. [PMID: 38179062 PMCID: PMC10765063 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Fleas transmit Yersinia pestis directly within the dermis of mammals to cause bubonic plague. Syringe-mediated inoculation is widely used to recapitulate bubonic plague and study Y. pestis pathogenesis. However, intradermal needle inoculation is tedious, error prone, and poses a significant safety risk for laboratorians. Microneedle arrays (MNAs) are micron-scale polymeric structures that deliver materials to the dermis, while minimizing the risk of needle sticks. We demonstrated that MNA inoculation is a viable strategy to recapitulate bubonic plague and study bacterial virulence by defining the parameters needed to establish a lethal infection in the mouse model and characterizing the course of infection using live-animal optical imaging. Using MNAs, we also demonstrated that Y. pestis must overcome calprotectin-mediated zinc restriction within the dermis and dermal delivery of an attenuated mutant has vaccine potential. Together, these data demonstrate that MNAs are a safe alternative to study Y. pestis pathogenesis in the laboratory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L. Price
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Robert S. Oakes
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Rodrigo J. Gonzalez
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Camilla Edwards
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Amanda Brady
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Jennifer K. DeMarco
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Ulrich H. von Andrian
- Department of Immunology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- The Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Christopher M. Jewell
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
- Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
- Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| | - Matthew B. Lawrenz
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
- Center for Predictive Medicine for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA
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Edwards C, Shah SA, Gebhardt T, Jewell CM. Exploiting Unique Features of Microneedles to Modulate Immunity. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023; 35:e2302410. [PMID: 37380199 PMCID: PMC10753036 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202302410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
Microneedle arrays (MNAs) are small patches containing hundreds of short projections that deliver signals directly to dermal layers without causing pain. These technologies are of special interest for immunotherapy and vaccine delivery because they directly target immune cells concentrated in the skin. The targeting abilities of MNAs result in efficient immune responses-often more protective or therapeutic-compared to conventional needle delivery. MNAs also offer logistical benefits, such as self-administration and transportation without refrigeration. Thus, numerous preclinical and clinical studies are exploring these technologies. Here the unique advantages of MNA, as well as critical challenges-such as manufacturing and sterility issues-the field faces to enable widespread deployment are discussed. How MNA design parameters can be exploited for controlled release of vaccines and immunotherapies, and the application to preclinical models of infection, cancer, autoimmunity, and allergies are explained. Specific strategies are also discussed to reduce off-target effects compared to conventional vaccine delivery routes, and novel chemical and manufacturing controls that enable cargo stability in MNAs across flexible intervals and temperatures. Clinical research using MNAs is then examined. Drawbacks of MNAs and the implications, and emerging opportunities to exploit MNAs for immune engineering and clinical use are concluded.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilla Edwards
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Shrey A Shah
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Thomas Gebhardt
- Department of Microbiology & Immunology, The University of Melbourne at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection & Immunity, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
| | - Christopher M Jewell
- Fischell Department of Bioengineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
- US Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Maryland Health Care System, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
- Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
- Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center, Baltimore, MD, 21201, USA
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