Nanomaterials-Mediated Immunomodulation for Cancer Therapeutics

Inflammatory response of nanoparticles: Mechanisms, consequences, and strategies for mitigation

Numerous nano-dimensioned materials have been generated as a result of several advancements in nanoscale science such as metallic nanoparticles (mNPs) which have aided in the advancement of related research. As a result, several significant nanoscale materials are being produced commercially. It is expected that in the future, products that are nanoscale, like mNPs, will be useful in daily life. Despite certain benefits, widespread use of metallic nanoparticles and nanotechnology has negative effects and puts human health at risk because of their continual accumulation in closed biological systems, along with their complex and diverse migratory and transformation pathways. Once within the human body, nanoparticles (NPs) disrupt the body's natural biological processes and trigger inflammatory responses. These NPs can also affect the immune system by activating separate pathways that either function independently or interact with one another. Cytotoxic effects, inflammatory response, genetic material damage, and mitochondrial dysfunction are among the consequences of mNPs. Oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation caused by mNPs depend upon a multitude of factors that allow NPs to get inside cells and interact with biological macromolecules and cell organelles. This review focuses on how mNPs cause inflammation and oxidative stress, as well as disrupt cellular signaling pathways that support these effects. In addition, possibilities and problems to be reduced are addressed to improve future research on the creation of safer and more environmentally friendly metal-based nanoparticles for commercial acceptance and sustainable use in medicine and drug delivery.

Nanomaterial-Driven Precision Immunomodulation: A New Paradigm in Therapeutic Interventions

Immunotherapy is a rapidly advancing field of research in the treatment of conditions such as cancer and autoimmunity. Nanomaterials can be designed for immune system manipulation, with precise targeted delivery and improved immunomodulatory efficacy. Here, we elaborate on various strategies using nanomaterials, including liposomes, polymers, and inorganic NPs, and discuss their detailed design intricacies, mechanisms, and applications, including the current regulatory issues. This type of nanomaterial design for targeting specific immune cells or tissues and controlling release kinetics could push current technological frontiers and provide new and innovative solutions for immune-related disorders and diseases without off-target effects. These materials enable targeted interactions with immune cells, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of checkpoint inhibitors, cancer vaccines, and adoptive cell therapies. Moreover, they allow for fine-tuning of immune responses while minimizing side effects. At the intersection of nanotechnology and immunology, nanomaterial-based platforms have immense potential to revolutionize patient-centered immunotherapy and reshape disease management. By prioritizing safety, customization, and compliance with regulatory standards, these systems can make significant contributions to precision medicine, thereby significantly impacting the healthcare landscape.

Determining toxicity of europium oxide nanoparticles in immune cell components and hematopoiesis in dominant organs in mice: Role of lysosomal fluid interaction

Extensive application of rare earth element oxide nanoparticles (REE NPs) has raised a concern over the possible toxic health effects after human exposure. Once entering the body, REE NPs are primarily processed by phagocytes in particular macrophages and undergo biotic phosphate complexation in lysosomal compartment. Such biotransformation affects the target organs and in vivo fate of REE NPs after escaping the lysosomes. However, the immunomodulatory effects of intraphagolysosomal dissolved REE NPs remains insufficient. Here, europium oxide (Eu2O3) NPs were pre-incubated with phagolysosomal simulant fluid (PSF) to mimic the biotransformation of europium oxide (p-Eu2O3) NPs under acid phagolysosome conditions. We investigated the alteration in immune cell components and the hematopoiesis disturbance on adult mice after intravenous administration of Eu2O3 NPs and p-Eu2O3 NPs. Our results indicated that the liver and spleen were the main target organs for Eu2O3 NPs and p-Eu2O3 NPs. Eu2O3 NPs had a much higher accumulative potential in organs than p-Eu2O3 NPs. Eu2O3 NPs induced more alterations in immune cells in the spleen, while p-Eu2O3 NPs caused stronger response in the liver. Regarding hematopoietic disruption, Eu2O3 NPs reduced platelets (PLTs) in peripheral blood, which might be related to the inhibited erythrocyte differentiation in the spleen. By contrast, p-Eu2O3 NPs did not cause significant disturbance in peripheral PLTs. Our study demonstrated that the preincubation with PSF led to a distinct response in the immune system compared to the pristine REE NPs, suggesting that the potentially toxic effects induced by the release of NPs after phagocytosis should not be neglected, especially when evaluating the safety of NPs application in vivo.

Nano-Drug Delivery Systems Targeting CAFs: A Promising Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer

Currently, pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the most lethal malignant tumors. PC is typically diagnosed at a late stage, exhibits a poor response to conventional treatment, and has a bleak prognosis. Unfortunately, PC's survival rate has not significantly improved since the 1960s. Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) are a key component of the pancreatic tumor microenvironment (TME). They play a vital role in maintaining the extracellular matrix and facilitating the intricate communication between cancer cells and infiltrated immune cells. Exploring therapeutic approaches targeting CAFs may reverse the current landscape of PC therapy. In recent years, nano-drug delivery systems have evolved rapidly and have been able to accurately target and precisely release drugs with little or no toxicity to the whole body. In this review, we will comprehensively discuss the origin, heterogeneity, potential targets, and recent advances in the nano-drug delivery system of CAFs in PC. We will also propose a novel integrated treatment regimen that utilizes a nano-drug delivery system to target CAFs in PC, combined with radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Additionally, we will address the challenges that this regimen currently faces.

Research Progress of Nanomaterials Acting on NK Cells in Tumor Immunotherapy and Imaging

The prognosis for cancer patients has declined dramatically in recent years due to the challenges in treating malignant tumors. Tumor immunotherapy, which includes immune target inhibition and chimeric antigen receptor cell treatment, is currently evolving quickly. Among them, natural killer (NK) cells are gradually becoming another preferred cell immunotherapy after T cell immunotherapy due to their unique killing effects in innate and adaptive immunity. NK cell therapy has shown encouraging outcomes in clinical studies; however, there are still some problems, including limited efficacy in solid tumors, inadequate NK cell penetration, and expensive treatment expenses. Noteworthy benefits of nanomaterials include their chemical specificity, biocompatibility, and ease of manufacturing; these make them promising instruments for enhancing NK cell anti-tumor immune responses. Nanomaterials can promote NK cell homing and infiltration, participate in NK cell modification and non-invasive cell tracking and imaging modes, and greatly increase the effectiveness of NK cell immunotherapy. The introduction of NK cell-based immunotherapy research and a more detailed discussion of nanomaterial research in NK cell-based immunotherapy and molecular imaging will be the main topics of this review.

Advances in Pancreatic Cancer Treatment by Nano-Based Drug Delivery Systems

Pancreatic cancer represents one of the most lethal cancer types worldwide, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 5%. Due to the inability to diagnose it promptly and the lack of efficacy of existing treatments, research and development of innovative therapies and new diagnostics are crucial to increase the survival rate and decrease mortality. Nanomedicine has been gaining importance as an innovative approach for drug delivery and diagnosis, opening new horizons through the implementation of smart nanocarrier systems, which can deliver drugs to the specific tissue or organ at an optimal concentration, enhancing treatment efficacy and reducing systemic toxicity. Varied materials such as lipids, polymers, and inorganic materials have been used to obtain nanoparticles and develop innovative drug delivery systems for pancreatic cancer treatment. In this review, it is discussed the main scientific advances in pancreatic cancer treatment by nano-based drug delivery systems. The advantages and disadvantages of such delivery systems in pancreatic cancer treatment are also addressed. More importantly, the different types of nanocarriers and therapeutic strategies developed so far are scrutinized.

Inducing a Proinflammatory Response with Bioengineered Yeast Vacuoles with TLR2-Binding Peptides (VacT2BP) as a Drug Carrier for Daunorubicin Delivery

Immune adjuvants have roles in immune activation for cancer therapy, and adjuvants derived from microbes have been applied. In this study, we propose the use of bioengineered vacuoles, derived from recombinant yeast with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) specificity and having a TLR-2-binding peptide (VacT2BP) on their surface, to induce a proinflammatory response as a dual-function nanomaterial for daunorubicin (DNR) delivery. Our results demonstrate that nanosized, isolated VacT2BP induced HL-60 cell-specific DNR delivery and apoptosis. Furthermore, we observed the selective release of high-mobility group box 1 from apoptotic HL-60 cells by DNR@VacT2BP. We concluded that DNR@VacT2BP exhibited target selectivity, and the indiscriminate occurrence of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) was inhibited by the VacT2BP carrier. The therapeutic efficacy of DNR@VacT2BP was confirmed in AML xenograft mice, with about 82% tumor growth inhibition. Following drug delivery, apoptotic cells and DAMPs with residual VacT2BP (apopDNR@VacT2BP) upregulated the proinflammatory immune response of macrophages. In addition, apopDNR@VacT2BP enhanced phagocytosis activity. Macrophages stimulated by apopDNR@VacT2BP suppressed cancer proliferation by about 40%. In summary, our results suggest that dual-functional vacuoles with a target-specific peptide can be a potential strategy for selective drug delivery and construction of an immune environment to fight cancer, thereby improving prognosis.

Utilizing nanozymes for combating COVID-19: advancements in diagnostics, treatments, and preventative measures

The emergence of human severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) poses significant challenges to global public health. Despite the extensive efforts of researchers worldwide, there remains considerable opportunities for improvement in timely diagnosis, specific treatment, and effective vaccines for SARS-CoV-2. This is due, in part, to the large number of asymptomatic carriers, rapid virus mutations, inconsistent confinement policies, untimely diagnosis and limited clear treatment plans. The emerging of nanozymes offers a promising approach for combating SARS-CoV-2 due to their stable physicochemical properties and high surface areas, which enable easier and multiple nano-bio interactions in vivo. Nanozymes inspire the development of sensitive and economic nanosensors for rapid detection, facilitate the development of specific medicines with minimal side effects for targeted therapy, trigger defensive mechanisms in the form of vaccines, and eliminate SARS-CoV-2 in the environment for prevention. In this review, we briefly present the limitations of existing countermeasures against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We then reviewed the applications of nanozyme-based platforms in the fields of diagnostics, therapeutics and the prevention in COVID-19. Finally, we propose opportunities and challenges for the further development of nanozyme-based platforms for COVID-19. We expect that our review will provide valuable insights into the new emerging and re-emerging infectious pandemic from the perspective of nanozymes.

Nanoparticle Enhancement of Natural Killer (NK) Cell-Based Immunotherapy

Simple Summary

Natural killer cells are a part of the native immune response to cancer. NK cell-based immunotherapies are an emerging strategy to kill tumor cells. This paper reviews the role of NK cells, their mechanism of action for killing tumor cells, and the receptors which could serve as potential targets for signaling. In this review, the role of nanoparticles in NK cell activation and increased cytotoxicity of NK cells against cancer are highlighted.

Abstract

Natural killer (NK) cells are one of the first lines of defense against infections and malignancies. NK cell-based immunotherapies are emerging as an alternative to T cell-based immunotherapies. Preclinical and clinical studies of NK cell-based immunotherapies have given promising results in the past few decades for hematologic malignancies. Despite these achievements, NK cell-based immunotherapies have limitations, such as limited performance/low therapeutic efficiency in solid tumors, the short lifespan of NK cells, limited specificity of adoptive transfer and genetic modification, NK cell rejection by the patient’s immune system, insignificant infiltration of NK cells into the tumor microenvironment (TME), and the expensive nature of the treatment. Nanotechnology could potentially assist with the activation, proliferation, near-real time imaging, and enhancement of NK cell cytotoxic activity by guiding their function, analyzing their performance in near-real time, and improving immunotherapeutic efficiency. This paper reviews the role of NK cells, their mechanism of action in killing tumor cells, and the receptors which could serve as potential targets for signaling. Specifically, we have reviewed five different areas of nanotechnology that could enhance immunotherapy efficiency: nanoparticle-assisted immunomodulation to enhance NK cell activity, nanoparticles enhancing homing of NK cells, nanoparticle delivery of RNAi to enhance NK cell activity, genetic modulation of NK cells based on nanoparticles, and nanoparticle activation of NKG2D, which is the master regulator of all NK cell responses.

Nanomedicine approaches for treatment of hematologic and oncologic malignancies

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide. Nowadays, the therapies are inadequate and spur demand for improved technologies. Rapid growth in nanotechnology and novel nanomedicine products represents an opportunity to achieve sophisticated targeting strategies and multi-functionality. Nanomedicine is increasingly used to develop new cancer diagnosis and treatment methods since this technology can modulate the biodistribution and the target site accumulation of chemotherapeutic drugs, thereby reducing their toxicity. Cancer nanotechnology and cancer immunotherapy are two parallel themes that have emerged over the last few decades while searching for a cure for cancer. Immunotherapy is revolutionizing cancer treatment, as it can achieve unprecedented responses in advanced-stage patients, including complete cures and long-term survival. A deeper understanding of the human immune system allows the establishment of combination regimens in which immunotherapy is combined with other treatment modalities (as in the case of the nanodrug Ferumoxytol). Furthermore, the combination of gene therapy approaches with nanotechnology that aims to silence or express cancer-relevant genes via one-time treatment is gradually progressing from bench to bedside. The most common example includes lipid-based nanoparticles that target VEGF-Α and KRAS pathways. This review focuses on nanoparticle-based platforms utilized in recent advances aiming to increase the efficacy of currently available cancer therapies. The insights provided and the evidence obtained in this paper indicate a bright future ahead for immuno-oncology applications of engineering nanomedicines.

The interaction between nanoparticles and immune system: application in the treatment of inflammatory diseases

Nanoparticle (NP) is an emerging tool applied in the biomedical field. With combination of different materials and adjustment of their physical and chemical properties, nanoparticles can have diverse effects on the organism and may change the treating paradigm of multiple diseases in the future. More and more results show that nanoparticles can function as immunomodulators and some formulas have been approved for the treatment of inflammation-related diseases. However, our current understanding of the mechanisms that nanoparticles can influence immune responses is still limited, and systemic clinical trials are necessary for the evaluation of their security and long-term effects. This review provides an overview of the recent advances in nanoparticles that can interact with different cellular and molecular components of the immune system and their application in the management of inflammatory diseases, which are caused by abnormal immune reactions. This article focuses on the mechanisms of interaction between nanoparticles and the immune system and tries to provide a reference for the future design of nanotechnology for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Applying Synthetic Biology with Rational Design to Nature’s Greatest Challenges: Bioengineering Immunotherapeutics for the Treatment of Glioblastoma

Improvements in bioengineering methodology and tools have allowed for significant progress in the development of therapeutics and diagnostics in medicine, as well as progress in many other diverse industries, such as materials manufacturing, food and agriculture, and consumer goods. Glioblastomas present significant challenges to adequate treatment, in part due to their immune-evasive and manipulative nature. Rational-design bioengineering using novel scaffolds, biomaterials, and inspiration across disciplines can push the boundaries in treatment development to create effective therapeutics for glioblastomas. In this review, we will discuss bioengineering strategies currently applied across diseases and disciplines to inspire creative development for GBM immunotherapies.

Unveiling the Potential Role of Nanozymes in Combating the COVID-19 Outbreak

The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak is considered as one of the biggest public health challenges and medical emergencies of the century. A global health emergency demands an urgent development of rapid diagnostic tools and advanced therapeutics for the mitigation of COVID-19. To cope with the current crisis, nanotechnology offers a number of approaches based on abundance and versatile functioning. Despite major developments in early diagnostics and control of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), there is still a need to find effective nanomaterials with low cost, high stability and easy use. Nanozymes are nanomaterials with innate enzyme-like characteristics and exhibit great potential for various biomedical applications such as disease diagnosis and anti-viral agents. Overall the potential and contribution of nanozymes in the fight against SARS-CoV-2 infection i.e., rapid detection, inhibition of the virus at various stages, and effective vaccine development strategies, is not fully explored. This paper discusses the utility and potential of nanozymes from the perspective of COVID-19. Moreover, future research directions and potential applications of nanozymes are highlighted to overcome the challenges related to early diagnosis and therapeutics development for the SARS-CoV-2. We anticipate the current perspective will play an effective role in the existing response to the COVID-19 crisis.