Recent applications of immunomodulatory biomaterials for disease immunotherapy

SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein, rather than spike protein, triggers a cytokine storm originating from lung epithelial cells in patients with COVID-19

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to elucidate the factors associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) that may initiate cytokine cascades and correlate the clinical characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with their serum cytokine profiles.

METHODS

Recombinant baculoviruses displaying SARS-CoV-2 spike or nucleocapsid protein were constructed and transfected into A549 cells and THP-1-derived macrophages, to determine which protein initiate cytokine release. SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody titers and cytokine profiles of patients with COVID-19 were determined, and the results were associated with their clinical characteristics, such as development of pneumonia or length of hospital stay.

RESULTS

The SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein, rather than the spike protein, triggers lung epithelial A549 cells to express IP-10, RANTES, IL-16, MIP-1α, basic FGF, eotaxin, IL-15, PDGF-BB, TRAIL, VEGF-A, and IL-5. Additionally, serum CTACK, basic FGF, GRO-α, IL-1α, IL-1RA, IL-2Rα, IL-9, IL-15, IL-16, IL-18, IP-10, M-CSF, MIF, MIG, RANTES, SCGF-β, SDF-1α, TNF-α, TNF-β, VEGF, PDGF-BB, TRAIL, β-NGF, eotaxin, GM-CSF, IFN-α2, INF-γ, and MCP-1 levels were considerably increased in patients with COVID-19. Among them, patients with pneumonia had higher serum IP-10 and M-CSF levels than patients without. Patients requiring less than 3 weeks to show negative COVID-19 tests after contracting COVID-19 had higher serum IP-10 levels than the remaining patients.

CONCLUSION

Our study revealed that nucleocapsid protein, lung epithelial cells, and IP-10 may be potential targets for the development of new strategies to prevent, or control, severe COVID-19.

Ultrasound-driven radical chain reaction and immunoregulation of piezoelectric-based hybrid coating for treating implant infection

The poor efficiency of US-responsive coatings on implants restricts their practical application. Immunotherapy that stimulates immune cells to enhance their antibacterial activity is expected to synergize with sonodynamic therapy for treating implant infection effectively and safely. Herein, US-responsive hybrid coatings composed of the oxygen-deficient BaTiO3 nanorod arrays and l-arginine (BaTiO3-x/LA) are designed and prepared on titanium implants for sonocatalytic therapy-cooperated immunotherapy to treat Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. BaTiO3-x/LA can generate more oxidizing reactive oxygen species (ROS, hydroxyl radical (·OH)) and reactive nitrogen species (RNS, peroxynitrite anion (ONOO-)). The construction of nanorod arrays and oxygen defects balances the piezoelectric properties and sonocatalytic capability during US treatment. The generated piezoelectric electric field provides a sufficient driving force to separate electrons and holes, and the oxygen defects attenuate the electron-hole recombination efficiency, consequently increasing the yield of ROS during the US treatment. Moreover, nitric oxide (NO) released by l-arginine reacts with the superoxide radical (·O2-) to produce ONOO-. Since, this radical chain reaction improves the oxidizing ability between bacteria and radicals, the cell membrane (argB, secA2) and DNA (dnaBGXN) are destroyed. The bacterial self-repair mechanism indirectly accelerates bacterial death based on the transcriptome analysis. In addition to participating in the radical chain reaction, NO positively affects macrophage M1 polarization to yield potent phagocytosis to MRSA. As a result, without introducing an extra sonosensitizer, BaTiO3-x/LA exhibits excellent antibacterial activity against MRSA after the US treatment for 15 min. Furthermore, BaTiO3-x/LA facilitates macrophage M2 polarization after implantation and improves osteogenic differentiation. The combined effects of sonodynamic therapy and immunoregulation lead to an effective and safe treatment method for implant-associated infections.

Catalytic Dual-Mode Immunotherapy: Anisotropic AuPt Heterostructure Decorated with Starry Pt Nanoclusters for Robust Cancer Photometalloimmunotherapy

To overcome current limitations in photoimmunotherapy, such as insufficient tumor antigen generation and a subdued immune response, a novel photo-/metallo dual-mode immunotherapeutic agent (PMIA) is introduced for potent near-infrared (NIR) light-triggered cancer therapy. PMIA features a dumbbell-like AuPt heterostructure decorated with starry Pt nanoclusters, meticulously engineered for enhancing plasmonic catalysis through multi-dimensional regulation of Pt growth on Au nanorods. Under NIR laser exposure, end-tipped Pt nanoclusters induce efficient electron-hole spatial separation along the longitudinal axis, resulting in radial and axial electron distribution polarization, conferring unique anisotropic properties to PMIA. Additionally, starry Pt nanoclusters on the sides of Au nanorods augment the local electron enrichment field. Validated through finite-difference time-domain analysis and Raman scattering, this configuration fosters local electron enrichment, facilitating robust reactive oxygen species generation for potent photoimmunotherapy. Moreover, Pt nanoclusters facilitate Pt2+ ion release, instigating intranuclear DNA damage and inducing synergistic immunogenic cell death (ICD) for metalloimmunotherapy. Consequently, PMIA elicits abundant danger-associated molecular patterns, promotes T cell infiltration, and triggers systemic immune responses, effectively treating primary and distant tumors, inhibiting metastasis in vivo. This study unveils a pioneering dual-mode ICD amplification strategy driven by NIR light, synergistically integrating photoimmunotherapy and metalloimmunotherapy, culminating in potent cancer photometalloimmunotherapy.

Immunological nanomaterials to combat cancer metastasis

Metastasis causes greater than 90% of cancer-associated deaths, presenting huge challenges for detection and efficient treatment of cancer due to its high heterogeneity and widespread dissemination to various organs. Therefore, it is imperative to combat cancer metastasis, which is the key to achieving complete cancer eradication. Immunotherapy as a systemic approach has shown promising potential to combat metastasis. However, current clinical immunotherapies are not effective for all patients or all types of cancer metastases owing to insufficient immune responses. In recent years, immunological nanomaterials with intrinsic immunogenicity or immunomodulatory agents with efficient loading have been shown to enhance immune responses to eliminate metastasis. In this review, we would like to summarize various types of immunological nanomaterials against metastasis. Moreover, this review will summarize a series of immunological nanomaterial-mediated immunotherapy strategies to combat metastasis, including immunogenic cell death, regulation of chemokines and cytokines, improving the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment, activation of the STING pathway, enhancing cytotoxic natural killer cell activity, enhancing antigen presentation of dendritic cells, and enhancing chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy. Furthermore, the synergistic anti-metastasis strategies based on the combinational use of immunotherapy and other therapeutic modalities will also be introduced. In addition, the nanomaterial-mediated imaging techniques (e.g., optical imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, photoacoustic imaging, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, radionuclide imaging, etc.) for detecting metastasis and monitoring anti-metastasis efficacy are also summarized. Finally, the current challenges and future prospects of immunological nanomaterial-based anti-metastasis are also elucidated with the intention to accelerate its clinical translation.

Engineering antigen-presenting cells for immunotherapy of autoimmunity

Autoimmune diseases are burdensome conditions that affect a significant fraction of the global population. The hallmark of autoimmune disease is a host's immune system being licensed to attack its tissues based on specific antigens. There are no cures for autoimmune diseases. The current clinical standard for treating autoimmune diseases is the administration of immunosuppressants, which weaken the immune system and reduce auto-inflammatory responses. However, people living with autoimmune diseases are subject to toxicity, fail to mount a sufficient immune response to protect against pathogens, and are more likely to develop infections. Therefore, there is a concerted effort to develop more effective means of targeting immunomodulatory therapies to antigen-presenting cells, which are involved in modulating the immune responses to specific antigens. In this review, we highlight approaches that are currently in development to target antigen-presenting cells and improve therapeutic outcomes in autoimmune diseases.

Decomposable Nanoagonists Enable NIR-Elicited cGAS-STING Activation for Tandem-Amplified Photodynamic-Metalloimmunotherapy

Activation of the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of interferon genes (cGAS-STING) pathway has emerged as an efficient strategy to improve the therapeutic outcomes of immunotherapy. However, the "constantly active" mode of current STING agonist delivery strategies typically leads to off-target toxicity and hyperimmunity. To address this critical issue, herein a metal-organic frameworks-based nanoagonist (DZ@A7) featuring tumor-specific and near-infrared (NIR) light-enhanced decomposition is constructed for precisely localized STING activation and photodynamic-metalloimmunotherapy. The engineered nanoagonist enabled the generation of mitochondria-targeted reactive oxygen species under NIR irradiation to specifically release mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and inhibit the repair of nuclear DNA via hypoxia-responsive drugs. Oxidized tumor mtDNA serves as an endogenous danger-associated molecular pattern that activates the cGAS-STING pathway. Concurrently, NIR-accelerated zinc ions overloading in cancer cells further enhance the cGAS enzymatic activity through metalloimmune effects. By combining the synergistically enhanced activation of the cGAS-STING pathway triggered by NIR irradiation, the engineered nanoagonist facilitated the maturation of dendritic cells and infiltration of cytotoxic T lymphocytes for primary tumor eradication, which also established a long-term anti-tumor immunity to suppress tumor metastasis. Therefore, the developed nanoagonist enabled NIR-triggered, agonist-free, and tandem-amplified activation of the cGAS-STING pathway, thereby offering a distinct paradigm for photodynamic-metalloimmunotherapy.

Construction and validation of a nomogram for predicting overall survival of patients with stage III/IV early-onset colorectal cancer

Purpose

This study aimed to identify prognostic factors and develop a nomogram for predicting overall survival (OS) in stage III/IV early-onset colorectal cancer (EO-CRC).

Methods

Stage III/IV EO-CRC patients were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 2010 and 2015. The datasets were randomly divided (2:1) into training and validation sets. A nomogram predicting OS was developed based on the prognostic factors identified by Cox regression analysis in the training cohort. Moreover, the predictive performance of the nomogram was assessed using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, calibration plots, and decision curve analysis (DCA). Subsequently, the internal validation was performed using the validation cohort. Finally, a risk stratification system was established based on the constructed nomogram.

Results

Of the 10,387 patients diagnosed with stage III/IV EO-CRC between 2010 and 2015 in the SEER database, 8,130 patients were included. In the training cohort (n=3,071), sex, marital status, race/ethnicity, primary site, histologic subtypes, grade, T stage, and N stage were identified as independent prognostic variables for OS. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year area under the curve (AUC) values of the nomogram were robust in both the training (0.751, 0.739, and 0.723) and validation cohorts (0.748, 0.733, and 0.720). ROC, calibration plots, and DCA indicated good predictive performance of the nomogram in both the training and validation sets. Furthermore, patients were categorized into low-, middle-, and high-risk groups based on the nomogram risk score. Kaplan-Meier curve showed significant survival differences between the three groups.

Conclusion

We developed a prognostic nomogram and risk stratification system for stage III/IV EO-CRC, which may facilitate clinical decision-making and individual prognosis prediction.

Silk fibroin-based dressings with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties

Silk fibroin is a fibrillar protein obtained from arthropods such as mulberry and non-mulberry silkworms. Silk fibroin has been used as a dressing in wound treatment for its physical, chemical, mechanical, and biological properties. This systematic review analyzed studies from PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases to identify the molecules preferred for functionalizing silk fibroin-based dressings and to describe their mechanisms of exhibiting anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. The analysis of the selected articles allowed us to classify the dressings into different conformations, such as membranes, films, hydrogels, sponges, and bioadhesives. The incorporation of various molecules, including antibiotics, natural products, peptides, nanocomposites, nanoparticles, secondary metabolites, growth factors, and cytokines, has allowed the development of dressings that promote wound healing with antibacterial and immunomodulatory properties. In addition, silk fibroin-based dressings have been established to have the potential to regenerate wounds such as venous ulcers, arterial ulcers, diabetic foot, third-degree burns, and neoplastic ulcers. Evaluation of the efficacy of silk fibroin-based dressings in tissue engineering is an area of great activity that has shown significant advances in recent years.

Human serum albumin as the carrier to fabricate STING-activating peptide nanovaccine for antitumor immunotherapy

Tumor vaccines are emerging as one of the most promising therapeutic strategies for cancer treatment. With the advantages of low toxicity, convenient production and stable quality control, peptide vaccines have been widely used in preclinical and clinical trials involving various malignancies. However, when used alone, they still suffer from significant challenges including poor stability and immunogenicity as well as the low delivery efficiency, leading to limited therapeutic success. Herein, the STING-activating peptide nanovaccine based on human serum albumin (HSA) and biodegradable MnO2 was constructed, which can improve the stability and immunogenicity of antigenic peptides as well as facilitate their uptake by dendritic cells (DCs). Meanwhile, Mn2+ degraded from the nanovaccine can activate the STING pathway and further promote DCs maturation. In this way, the prepared nanovaccine can efficiently mediate T-cell immune responses, thereby exerting the effects of tumor prevention and therapy. Moreover, the prepared nanovaccine possesses the advantages of low cost, convenient preparation and good biocompatibility, showing great potential for practical applications.

Stimulus-Responsive Copper Complex Nanoparticles Induce Cuproptosis for Augmented Cancer Immunotherapy

Cuproptosis, an emerging form of programmed cell death, has received tremendous attention in cancer therapy. However, the efficacy of cuproptosis remains limited by the poor delivery efficiency of copper ion carriers. Herein, copper complex nanoparticles (denoted as Cu(I) NP) are developed that can efficiently deliver copper complex into cancer cells to induce cuproptosis. Cu(I) NP demonstrate stimulus-responsive release of copper complexes, which results in mitochondrial dysfunction and promotes the aggregation of lipoylated dihydrolipoamide S-acetyltransferase (DLAT), leading to cuproptosis. Notably, Cu(I) NP not only induce cuproptosis, but also elicit robust immune responses to suppress tumor growth. Overall, this study provides a promising strategy for cuproptosis-based cancer therapy.

Multiple Immunomodulatory Strategies Based on Targeted Regulation of Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin/Kexin Type 9 and Immune Homeostasis against Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Immunotherapy is the most promising systemic therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma. However, the outcome remains poor. Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) plays a role in altering cell-surface protein levels, potentially undermining the efficacy of immunotherapy against tumors. This highlights its potential as a target for antitumor therapy. Herein, CaCO3-based nanoparticles coencapsulated with DOX, an immunogenic cell death (ICD) inducer, and evolocumab was developed to enhanced the efficacy of immunotherapy. The obtained DOX/evolocumab-loaded CaCO3 nanoparticle (named DECP) exhibits a good capacity of acid neutralization and causes ICD of cancer cells. In addition, DECP is able to evaluate the cell-surface level of MHC-I, a biomarker that correlates positively with patients' overall survival. Upon intravenous injection, DECP accumulates within the tumor site, leading to growth inhibition of hepa1-6 bearing subcutaneous tumors. Specifically, DECP treatment causes augmented ratios of matured dendritic cells, tumor-infiltrating CD8+ T cells and natural killing cells, while concurrently depleting Foxp3+ regulatory T cells. Peritumoral delivery of DECP enhances the immune response of distant tumors and exhibits antitumor effects when combined with intravenous αPD-L1 therapy in a bilateral tumor model. This study presents CaCO3-based nanoparticles with multiple immunomodulatory strategies against hepatocellular carcinoma by targeting PCSK9 inhibition and modulating immune homeostasis in the unfavorable TME.

Nanocatalytic Anti-Tumor Immune Regulation

Immunotherapy has brought a new dawn for human being to defeat cancer. Although existing immunotherapy regimens (CAR-T, etc.) have made breakthroughs in the treatments of hematological cancer and few solid tumors such as melanoma, the therapeutic efficacy on most solid tumors is still far from being satisfactory. In recent years, the researches on tumor immunotherapy based on nanocatalytic materials are under rapid development, and significant progresses have been made. Nanocatalytic medicine has been demonstrated to be capable of overcoming the limitations of current clinicnal treatments by using toxic chemodrugs, and exhibits highly attractive advantages over traditional therapies, such as the enhanced and sustained therapeutic efficacy based on the durable catalytic activity, remarkably reduced harmful side-effects without using traditional toxic chemodrugs, and so on. Most recently, nanocatalytic medicine has been introduced in the immune-regulation for disease treatments, especially, in the immunoactivation for tumor therapies. This article presents the most recent progresses in immune-response activations by nanocatalytic medicine-initiated chemical reactions for tumor immunotherapy, and elucidates the mechanism of nanocatalytic medicines in regulating anti-tumor immunity. By reviewing the current research progress in the emerging field, this review will further highlight the great potential and broad prospects of nanocatalysis-based anti-tumor immune-therapeutics.

Spatiotemporal-Controlled NIR-II Immune Agonist Sensitizes Cancer Immunotherapy

The integration of nanomedicine and immunotherapy has presented a promising opportunity for the treatment of cancer and diverse diseases. However, achieving spatiotemporal controllable immunotherapy with excellent efficacy and safety performances remains a significant challenge. This study develops a biodegradable near-infrared II (NIR-II) photothermal response polymer nanoparticle (PTEQ) system. This platform exhibits intrinsic immunostimulatory properties while concurrently delivering siRNA for Programmed Death-Ligand 1 (siPD-L1), leveraging enhanced immune responses and immune checkpoint blockade for safe and effective cancer therapy. In the CT26 tumor-bearing mouse model, PTEQ, as an immune stimulant, significantly boosts the infiltration of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells within the tumor microenvironment (TME). The PTEQ/siPD-L1+laser group not only initiates NIR-II photothermal therapy but also promotes the activation and infiltration of T cells, M1 macrophage polarization, and maturation of dendritic cells in the TME, resulting in the complete elimination of tumors in 7/10 cases, achieving a 100% survival rate. In another in vivo vaccine experiment, all tumors on the right side are completely eliminated in the PTEQ/siPD-L1+laser group, reaching a 100% tumor eradication rate. These findings underscore the potential of this strategy to overcome the current immunotherapeutic limitations and achieve immune therapy normalization.

Intracellular Magnetic Hyperthermia Enables Concurrent Down-Regulation of CD47 and SIRPα To Potentiate Antitumor Immunity

Harnessing the potential of tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) to engulf tumor cells offers promising avenues for cancer therapy. Targeting phagocytosis checkpoints, particularly the CD47-signal regulatory protein α (SIRPα) axis, is crucial for modulating TAM activity. However, single checkpoint inhibition has shown a limited efficacy. In this study, we demonstrate that ferrimagnetic vortex-domain iron oxide (FVIO) nanoring-mediated magnetic hyperthermia effectively suppresses the expression of CD47 protein on Hepa1-6 tumor cells and SIRPα receptor on macrophages, which disrupts CD47-SIRPα interaction. FVIO-mediated magnetic hyperthermia also induces immunogenic cell death and polarizes TAMs toward M1 phenotype. These changes collectively bolster the phagocytic ability of macrophages to eliminate tumor cells. Furthermore, FVIO-mediated magnetic hyperthermia concurrently escalates cytotoxic T lymphocyte levels and diminishes regulatory T cell levels. Our findings reveal that magnetic hyperthermia offers a novel approach for dual down-regulation of CD47 and SIRPα, reshaping the tumor microenvironment to stimulate immune responses, culminating in significant antitumor activity.

Polymer-mediated nanoformulations: a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy

Engineering polymer-based nano-systems have attracted many researchers owing to their unique qualities like shape, size, porosity, mechanical strength, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Both natural and synthetic polymers can be tuned to get desired surface chemistry and functionalization to improve the efficacy of cancer therapy by promoting targeted delivery to the tumor site. Recent advancements in cancer immunoediting have been able to manage both primary tumor and metastatic lesions via activation of the immune system. The combinations of nano-biotechnology and immunotherapeutic agents have provided positive outcomes by enhancing the host immune response in cancer therapy. The nanoparticles have been functionalized using antibodies, targeted antigens, small molecule ligands, and other novel agents that can interact with biological systems at nanoscale levels. Several polymers, such as polyethylene glycol (PEG), poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL), and chitosan, have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for clinical use in biomedicine. The polymeric nanoformulations such as polymers-antibody/antigen conjugates and polymeric drug conjugates are currently being explored as nanomedicines that can target cancer cells directly or target immune cells to promote anti-cancer immunotherapy. In this review, we focus on scientific developments and advancements on engineered polymeric nano-systems in conjugation with immunotherapeutic agents targeting the tumor microenvironment to improve their efficacy and the safety for better clinical outcomes.

Therapeutic synthetic and natural materials for immunoengineering

Immunoengineering is a rapidly evolving field that has been driving innovations in manipulating immune system for new treatment tools and methods. The need for materials for immunoengineering applications has gained significant attention in recent years due to the growing demand for effective therapies that can target and regulate the immune system. Biologics and biomaterials are emerging as promising tools for controlling immune responses, and a wide variety of materials, including proteins, polymers, nanoparticles, and hydrogels, are being developed for this purpose. In this review article, we explore the different types of materials used in immunoengineering applications, their properties and design principles, and highlight the latest therapeutic materials advancements. Recent works in adjuvants, vaccines, immune tolerance, immunotherapy, and tissue models for immunoengineering studies are discussed.

The tumor burden score may be a discriminator in microwave ablation versus liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma within the Milan criteria: a propensity score matching and inverse probability of treatment weighting study

Purpose

This study aims to compare the prognostic outcome of resection (RES) and microwave ablation (MWA) in different tumor burden score (TBS) cohorts.

Patients and Methods

We retrospectively analyzed 479 patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who underwent RES (n = 329) or MWA (n = 150) with curative intent at our institution. We assessed their overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) using the Kaplan-Meier curve. Propensity score matching (PSM) and inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) were performed to minimize selection and confounding biases. Multivariate Cox regression was used to define the association between surgical modalities and outcomes.

Results

Following PSM, in the TBS ≤3 cohort, the cumulative 1-, 3-, 5- year OS in the RES and MWA groups were 92.5% vs. 98.8%, 82.7% vs. 90.0%, and 82.7% vs. 83.2% (P = 0.366), respectively. The corresponding PFS rates in the RES and MWA groups were 82.7% vs. 88.0%, 63.6% vs. 68.3% and 55.2% vs. 56.3, respectively (P = 0.218). In the TBS >3 cohort, the cumulative 1-, 3-, 5- year OS between the RES and MWA groups were 92.5% vs. 95.0%, 82.8% vs. 73.2% and 76.3% vs. 55.1%, (P = 0.034), respectively. The corresponding PFS rates in the RES and MWA groups were 78.0% vs. 67.5%, 63.6% vs. 37.5% and 55.2% vs. 37.1%, respectively (P = 0.044). The IPTW analysis showed similar results as shown in PSM analysis. The multivariate Cox regression indicated that the type of surgical modality was not associated with a poorer prognostic outcome in the TBS ≤3 cohort, unlike in the TBS >3 cohort.

Conclusion

TBS, as a discriminator, might help guide treatment decision-making for HCC within the Milan criteria.

Tumor Microenvironment-Responsive Nanoparticles Amplifying STING Signaling Pathway for Cancer Immunotherapy

Insufficient activation of the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) signaling pathway and profoundly immunosuppressive microenvironment largely limits the effect of cancer immunotherapy. Herein, tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive nanoparticles (PMM NPs) are exploited that simultaneously harness STING and Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) to augment STING activation via TLR4-mediated nuclear factor-kappa B signaling pathway stimulation, leading to the increased secretion of type I interferons (i.e., 4.0-fold enhancement of IFN-β) and pro-inflammatory cytokines to promote a specific T cell immune response. Moreover, PMM NPs relieve the immunosuppression of the TME by decreasing the percentage of regulatory T cells, and polarizing M2 macrophages to the M1 type, thus creating an immune-supportive TME to unleash a cascade adaptive immune response. Combined with an anti-PD-1 antibody, synergistic efficacy is achieved in both inflamed colorectal cancer and noninflamed metastatic breast tumor models. Moreover, rechallenging tumor-free animals with homotypic cells induced complete tumor rejection, indicating the generation of systemic antitumor memory. These TME-responsive nanoparticles may open a new avenue to achieve the spatiotemporal orchestration of STING activation, providing a promising clinical candidate for next-generation cancer immunotherapy.

2D Nanozymes Modulate Gut Microbiota and T-Cell Differentiation for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Management

Intestinal commensal microbiota dysbiosis and immune dysfunction are significant exacerbating factors in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). To address these problems, Pluronic F-127-coated tungsten diselenide (WSe2 @F127) nanozymes are developed by simple liquid-phase exfoliation. The abundant valence transitions of elemental selenium (Se2- /Se4+ ) and tungsten (W4+ /W6+ ) enable the obtained WSe2 @F127 nanozymes to eliminate reactive oxygen/nitrogen species. In addition, the released tungsten ions are capable of inhibiting the proliferation of Escherichia coli. In a model of dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis, WSe2 @F127 nanozymes modulate the gut microbiota by increasing the abundance of bacteria S24-7 and significantly reducing the abundance of Enterobacteriaceae. Moreover, WSe2 @F127 nanozymes inhibit T-cell differentiation and improve intestinal immune barrier function in a model of Crohn's disease. The WSe2 @F127 nanozymes effectively alleviate IBD by reducing oxidative stress damage, modulating intestinal microbial populations, and remodeling the immune barrier.

Sporopollenin exine capsules modulate the function of microglial cells

Immune cells are the housekeepers of the human body. They protect the body from pathogens, cellular damage, and foreign matter. Proper activation of immune cells is of great significance to diseases such as infection, inflammation, and neurodegeneration. However, excessive activation of cells can be detrimental. An ideal biomaterial could enhance the cellular immune function without proinflammation. In this work, we used sporopollenin exine capsules (SEC) from pollen to promote functions of primary microglia, a typical resident immune cell of the brain. We found that microglia aggregated around SEC and did not undergo any proinflammation. SEC improved the viability, migration, phagocytosis, and anti-inflammatory ability of microglia. By exploring the underlying mechanism of microglial activation without the production of cytotoxic pro-inflammatory cytokines, we found that SEC protects microglia against inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an immunostimulatory factor, through the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling pathway in a myeloid differentiation factor 88-dependent manner. These findings might shed light on the potential application of SEC in microglia transplantation for treatment of microglia-associated degenerative central nervous system diseases.

Nanoparticle-Based Immunotherapy for Reversing T-Cell Exhaustion

T-cell exhaustion refers to a state of T-cell dysfunction commonly observed in chronic infections and cancer. Immune checkpoint molecules blockading using PD-1 and TIM-3 antibodies have shown promising results in reversing exhaustion, but this approach has several limitations. The treatment of T-cell exhaustion is still facing great challenges, making it imperative to explore new therapeutic strategies. With the development of nanotechnology, nanoparticles have successfully been applied as drug carriers and delivery systems in the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Furthermore, nanoparticle-based immunotherapy has emerged as a crucial approach to reverse exhaustion. Here, we have compiled the latest advances in T-cell exhaustion, with a particular focus on the characteristics of exhaustion that can be targeted. Additionally, the emerging nanoparticle-based delivery systems were also reviewed. Moreover, we have discussed, in detail, nanoparticle-based immunotherapies that aim to reverse exhaustion, including targeting immune checkpoint blockades, remodeling the tumor microenvironment, and targeting the metabolism of exhausted T cells, etc. These data could aid in comprehending the immunopathogenesis of exhaustion and accomplishing the objective of preventing and treating chronic diseases or cancer.

An Injectable Puerarin Depot Can Potentiate Chimeric Antigen Receptor Natural Killer Cell Immunotherapy Against Targeted Solid Tumors by Reversing Tumor Immunosuppression

Chimeric antigen receptor natural killer (CAR-NK) cell therapy represents a potent approach to suppressing tumor growth because it has simultaneously inherited the specificity of CAR and the intrinsic generality of NK cells in recognizing cancer cells. However, its therapeutic potency against solid tumors is still restricted by insufficient tumor infiltration, immunosuppressive tumor microenvironments, and many other biological barriers. Motivated by the high potency of puerarin, a traditional Chinese medicine extract, in dilating tumor blood vessels, an injectable puerarin depot based on a hydrogen peroxide-responsive hydrogel comprising poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate and ferrous chloride is concisely developed. Upon intratumoral fixation, the as-prepared puerarin depot (abbreviated as puerarin@PEGel) can activate nitrogen oxide production inside endothelial cells and thus dilate tumor blood vessels to relieve tumor hypoxia and reverse tumor immunosuppression. Such treatment can thus promote tumor infiltration, survival, and effector functions of customized epidermal growth factor receptor (HER1)-targeted HER1-CAR-NK cells after intravenous administration. Consequently, such puerarin@PEGel-assisted HER1-CAR-NK cell treatment exhibits superior tumor suppression efficacy toward both HER1-overexpressing MDA-MB-468 and NCI-H23 human tumor xenografts in mice without inducing obvious side effects. This study highlights a potent strategy to activate CAR-NK cells for augmented treatment of targeted solid tumors through reprogramming tumor immunosuppression.

Piezoelectric Catalysis Induces Tumor Cell Senescence to Boost Chemo-Immunotherapy

Cellular senescence, a vulnerable state of growth arrest, has been regarded as a potential strategy to weaken the resistance of tumor cells, leading to dramatic improvements in treatment efficacy. However, a selective and efficient strategy for inducing local tumor cellular senescence has not yet been reported. Herein, piezoelectric catalysis is utilized to reduce intracellular NAD+ to NADH for local tumor cell senescence for the first time. In detail, a biocompatible nanomedicine (BTO/Rh-D@M) is constructed by wrapping the piezoelectric BaTiO3 /(Cp* RhCl2 )2 (BTO/Rh) and doxorubicin (DOX) in the homologous cytomembrane with tumor target. After tumors are stimulated by ultrasound, negative and positive charges are generated on the BTO/Rh by piezoelectric catalysis, which reduce the intracellular NAD+ to NADH for cellular senescence and oxidize H2 O to reactive oxygen species (ROS) for mitochondrial damage. Thus, the therapeutic efficacy of tumor immunogenic cell death-induced chemo-immunotherapy is boosted by combining cellular senescence, DOX, and ROS. The results indicate that 23.9% of the piezoelectric catalysis-treated tumor cells senesced, and solid tumors in mice disappeared completely after therapy. Collectively, this study highlights a novel strategy to realize cellular senescence utilizing piezoelectric catalysis and the significance of inducing tumor cellular senescence to improve therapeutic efficacy.

Nanoparticle-based immunoengineering strategies for enhancing cancer immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy is a groundbreaking strategy that has revolutionized the field of oncology compared to other therapeutic strategies, such as surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy. However, cancer complexity, tumor heterogeneity, and immune escape have become the main hurdles to the clinical application of immunotherapy. Moreover, conventional immunotherapies cause many harmful side effects owing to hyperreactivity in patients, long treatment durations and expensive cost. Nanotechnology is considered a transformative approach that enhances the potency of immunotherapy by capitalizing on the superior physicochemical properties of nanocarriers, creating highly targeted tissue delivery systems. These advantageous features include a substantial specific surface area, which enhances the interaction with the immune system. In addition, the capability to finely modify surface chemistry enables the achievement of controlled and sustained release properties. These advances have significantly increased the potential of immunotherapy, making it more powerful than ever before. In this review, we introduce recent nanocarriers for application in cancer immunotherapy based on strategies that target different main immune cells, including T cells, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, and tumor-associated macrophages. We also provide an overview of the role and significance of nanotechnology in cancer immunotherapy.

Tea polyphenol carrier-enhanced dexamethasone nanomedicines for inflammation-targeted treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease characterized by synovial inflammation, cartilage damage and bone erosion. In the progression of RA, the inflammatory mediators including ROS, NO, TNF-α, and IL-6 play important roles in the aggravation of inflammation. Hence, reducing the generation and release of inflammatory mediators is of great importance. However, the high dose and frequent administration of clinical anti-inflammatory drugs such as glucocorticoids (GCs) usually lead to severe side effects. The development of nanotechnology provides a promising strategy to overcome these issues. Here, polyphenol-based nanoparticles with inherent anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory activities were developed and used as a kind of nanocarrier to deliver dexamethasone (Dex). The in vitro experiments confirmed that the nanoparticles and drugs could act synergistically for suppressing inflammatory mediators in the LPS/INF-γ-induced inflammatory cell model. After intravenous administration, the Dex-loaded nanoparticles with good biosafety showed effective accumulation in inflamed joints and improved therapeutic efficacy by inducing anesis of synovial inflammation and cartilage destruction over free Dex in a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model. The results demonstrated that polyphenol-based nanoparticles with therapeutic functions may serve as an innovative platform to synergize with chemotherapeutic agents for enhanced treatment of inflammatory diseases.

Biomaterial-Based Sustained-Release Drug Formulations for Localized Cancer Immunotherapy

Cancer immunotherapy has revolutionized clinical cancer treatments by taking advantage of the immune system to selectively and effectively target and kill cancer cells. However, clinical cancer immunotherapy treatments often have limited efficacy and/or present severe adverse effects associated primarily with their systemic administration. Localized immunotherapy has emerged to overcome these limitations by directly targeting accessible tumors via local administration, reducing potential systemic drug distribution that hampers drug efficacy and safety. Sustained-release formulations can prolong drug activity at target sites, which maximizes the benefits of localized immunotherapy to increase the therapeutic window using smaller dosages than those used for systemic injection, avoiding complications of frequent dosing. The performance of sustained-release formulations for localized cancer immunotherapy has been validated preclinically using various implantable and injectable scaffold platforms. This review introduces the sustained-release formulations developed for localized cancer immunotherapy and highlights their biomaterial-based platforms for representative classes, including inorganic scaffolds, natural hydrogels, synthetic hydrogels, and microneedle patches. The design rationale and other considerations are summarized for further development of biomaterials for the construction of optimal sustained-release formulations.

Semiconducting Polymers for Cancer Immunotherapy

As a monumental breakthrough in cancer treatment, immunotherapy has attracted tremendous attention in recent years. However, one challenge faced by immunotherapy is the low response rate and the immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Therefore, it is important to explore new therapeutic strategies and platforms for boosting therapeutic benefits and decreasing the side effects of immunotherapy. In recent years, semiconducting polymer (SP), a category of organic materials with π-conjugated aromatic backbone, has been attracting considerable attention because of their outstanding characteristics such as excellent photophysical features, good biosafety, adjustable chemical flexibility, easy fabrication, and high stability. With these distinct advantages, SP is extensively explored for bioimaging and photo- or ultrasound-activated tumor therapy. Here, the recent advancements in SP-based nanomedicines are summarized for enhanced tumor immunotherapy. According to the photophysical properties of SPs, the cancer immunotherapies enabled by SPs with the photothermal, photodynamic, or sonodynamic functions are highlighted in detail, with a particular focus on the construction of combination immunotherapy and activatable nanoplatforms to maximize the benefits of cancer immunotherapy. Herein, new guidance and comprehensive insights are provided for the design of SPs with desired photophysical properties to realize maximized effectiveness of required biomedical applications.

Precisely Inhibiting Excessive Intestinal Epithelial Cell Apoptosis to Efficiently Treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Oral Pifithrin-α Embedded Nanomedicine (OPEN)

The increased incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has seriously affected the life quality of patients. IBD develops due to excessive intestinal epithelial cell (IEC) apoptosis, disrupting the gut barrier, colonizing harmful bacteria, and initiating persistent inflammation. The current therapeutic approaches that reduce inflammation are limited. Although IBD can be treated significantly by directly preventing IEC apoptosis, achieving this therapeutic approach remains challenging. Accordingly, the authors are the first to develop an oral pifithrin-α (PFTα, a highly specific p53 inhibitor) embedded nanomedicine (OPEN) to effectively treat IBD by inhibiting excessive IEC apoptosis. As a major hub for various stressors, p53 is a central determinant of cell fate, and its inhibition can effectively reduce excessive IEC apoptosis. The tailored OPEN can precisely inhibit the off-target and inactivation resulting from PFTα entry into the bloodstream. Subsequently, it persistently targets IBD lesions with high specificity to inhibit the pathological events caused by excessive IEC apoptosis. Eventually, OPEN exerts a significant curative effect compared with the clinical first-line drugs 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) and dexamethasone (DEX). Consequently, the OPEN therapeutic strategy provides new insights into comprehensive IBD therapy.

Immune cell-derived exosomes as promising tools for cancer therapy

Exosomes are nanoscale vesicles with a size of 30-150 nm secreted by living cells. They are vital players in cellular communication as they can transport proteins, nucleic acids, lipids, and etc. Immune cell-derived exosomes (imEXOs) have great potential for tumor therapy because they have many of the same functions as their parent cells. Especially, imEXOs display unique constitutive characteristics that are directly involved in tumor therapy. Herein, we begin by the biogenesis, preparation, characterization and cargo loading strategies of imEXOs. Next, we focus on therapeutic potentials of imEXOs from different kinds of immune cells against cancer from preclinical and clinical studies. Finally, we discuss advantages of engineered imEXOs and potential risks of imEXOs in cancer treatment. The advantages of engineered imEXOs are highlighted, including selective killing effect, effective tumor targeting, effective lymph node targeting, immune activation and regulation, and good biosafety.

Multifunctional mesoporous silica nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) are recognized as a prime example of nanotechnology applied in the biomedical field, due to their easily tunable structure and composition, diverse surface functionalization properties, and excellent biocompatibility. Over the past two decades, researchers have developed a wide variety of MSNs-based nanoplatforms through careful design and controlled preparation techniques, demonstrating their adaptability to various biomedical application scenarios. With the continuous breakthroughs of MSNs in the fields of biosensing, disease diagnosis and treatment, tissue engineering, etc., MSNs are gradually moving from basic research to clinical trials. In this review, we provide a detailed summary of MSNs in the biomedical field, beginning with a comprehensive overview of their development history. We then discuss the types of MSNs-based nanostructured architectures, as well as the classification of MSNs-based nanocomposites according to the elements existed in various inorganic functional components. Subsequently, we summarize the primary purposes of surface-functionalized modifications of MSNs. In the following, we discuss the biomedical applications of MSNs, and highlight the MSNs-based targeted therapeutic modalities currently developed. Given the importance of clinical translation, we also summarize the progress of MSNs in clinical trials. Finally, we take a perspective on the future direction and remaining challenges of MSNs in the biomedical field.

PD-L1-Expressing Extracellular Vesicles for the Treatment of Pneumonia

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a severe lung condition with a high mortality rate and a lack of effective drug therapy. In this work, we developed mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived extracellular vesicles with high PD-L1 expression (MSC-EVs-PD-L1) for treating lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced pneumonia by intratracheal administration. We found an upregulation of PD-1 expression in the inflammatory region of murine lungs; hence, MSC-EVs-PD-L1 exerted immunosuppressive effects via the PD-1/PD-L1 signaling pathway. Furthermore, we treated LPS-induced pneumonia mice by intratracheal administration, which enabled heavy drug accumulation in the lungs of mice and better therapeutic efficacy compared to systemic administration. Our results suggest that MSC-EVs-PD-L1 has the potential to provide a universal platform technology for the immunotherapy of pneumonia.

Sodium Citrate Nanoparticles Induce Dual-Path Pyroptosis for Enhanced Antitumor Immunotherapy through Synergistic Ion Overload and Metabolic Disturbance

Metabolic reprogramming, as one of the characteristics of cancer, is associated with tumorigenesis, growth, or migration, and the modulation of metabolic pathways has emerged as a novel approach for cancer therapy. However, the conventional metabolism-mediated apoptosis process in tumor cells exhibits limited immunogenicity and inadequate activation of antitumor immunity. Herein, phospholipid-coated sodium citrate nanoparticles (PSCT NPs) are successfully prepared, which dissolve in tumor cells and then release significant amounts of citrate ions and Na+ ions. Massive quantities of ions lead to increased intracellular osmotic pressure, which activates the caspase-1/gasdermin D (GSDMD) mediated pyroptosis pathway. Simultaneously, citrate induces activation of the caspase-8/gasdermin C (GSDMC) pathway. The combined action of these two pathways synergistically causes intense pyroptosis, exhibiting remarkable antitumor immune responses and tumor growth inhibition. This discovery provides new insight into the potential of nanomaterials in modulating metabolism and altering cell death patterns to enhance antitumor immunotherapy.

Drug-drug conjugates self-assembled nanomedicines triggered photo-/immuno- therapy for synergistic cancer treatments

Although immunotherapies have made progress in cancer treatment, their clinical response rates vary widely and are typically low due to sparse immune cell infiltration (immune "cold") and suppressive tumor immune microenvironment (TIME). A simple yet effective approach that integrates a variety of immune-stimulating and TIME-modulating functions could potentially address this clinical challenge. Herein, we conjugate two small molecules, including a photosensitizer (pyropheophorbide-a, PA) and a Toll-like receptor 7/8 agonist (resiquimod, R848), into prodrug (PA-R848) that self-assembles into PA-R848 esterase responsive nanoparticles (PARE NPs) with 100% drug composition and synergistic photo-/immune- therapeutic effects. In PARE NPs, PA exhibits strong phototherapeutic effects which ablate the primary tumor directly and elicits immunogenic cell death (ICD) to promote the immune response. R848 effectively polarizes the M2-type tumor-associated macrophage (TAM) to M1-type TAM, consequently reversing the "cold" and suppressive TIME when working together with phototherapy. The PARE NPs can efficiently pare down the tumor development by two synergisms, including i) synergistic immunotherapy between ICD and TAM polarization; ii) and the antitumor effects between phototherapy and immunotherapy. On a head-neck squamous cell carcinoma mouse model, PARE NPs combined with PD-1 antibody eliminate primary tumors, and significantly inhibit the progress of distant tumors thanks to the robust antitumor immunity enhanced by the PARE NPs.

An MMP-2 Responsive Nanotheranostic Probe Enabled Synergistic Therapy of Rheumatoid Arthritis and MR/CT Assessment of Therapeutic Response In Situ

This study reports a facile and green synthesis of a new multifunctional nanotheranostic probe for the synergistic therapy of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and in situ assessment of therapeutic response. The probe is synthesized through a one-step self-assembly of two exquisitely designed peptide-amphiphilic block copolymers (PEG-DTIPA-KGPLGVRK-MTX and Pal-GGGGHHHHD-TCZ) under mild conditions, requiring minimal energy input. The resultant probe demonstrates excellent biocompatibility, water solubility, and colloidal stability. It exhibits a strong IL-6R targeting ability toward inflamed joints, and releases drugs in an MMP-2-responsive manner. The co-loading of methotrexate(MTX) and tocilizumab (TCZ) into the probe enables synergistic RA therapy with improved efficacy by simultaneously decreasing the activity of adenosine synthetase and interfering with the binding of IL-6 to its receptor. In addition, the resultant probe exhibits a high r1 relaxation rate (7.00 mm-1  s-1 ) and X-ray absorption capability (69.04 Hu mm-1 ), enabling sensitive MR and CT dual-modal imaging for simultaneous evaluation of synovial thickness and bone erosion. Both in vitro experiments using lipopolysaccharide-treated RAW264.7 cells and in vivo experiments using collagen-induced arthritis mice demonstrate the probe's high effectiveness in synergistically inhibiting inflammation. This study provides new insights into RA theranostics, therapeutic monitoring, the design of multifunctional theranostic probes, and beyond.

Emerging strategies to bypass transplant rejection via biomaterial-assisted immunoengineering: Insights from islets and beyond

Novel transplantation techniques are currently under development to preserve the function of impaired tissues or organs. While current technologies can enhance the survival of recipients, they have remained elusive to date due to graft rejection by undesired in vivo immune responses despite systemic prescription of immunosuppressants. The need for life-long immunomodulation and serious adverse effects of current medicines, the development of novel biomaterial-based immunoengineering strategies has attracted much attention lately. Immunomodulatory 3D platforms can alter immune responses locally and/or prevent transplant rejection through the protection of the graft from the attack of immune system. These new approaches aim to overcome the complexity of the long-term administration of systemic immunosuppressants, including the risks of infection, cancer incidence, and systemic toxicity. In addition, they can decrease the effective dose of the delivered drugs via direct delivery at the transplantation site. In this review, we comprehensively address the immune rejection mechanisms, followed by recent developments in biomaterial-based immunoengineering strategies to prolong transplant survival. We also compare the efficacy and safety of these new platforms with conventional agents. Finally, challenges and barriers for the clinical translation of the biomaterial-based immunoengineering transplants and prospects are discussed.

Recent Advances of Emerging Spleen-Targeting Nanovaccines for Immunotherapy

Vaccines provide a powerful tool to modulate the immune system for human disease prevention and treatment. Classical vaccines mainly initiate immune responses in the lymph nodes (LNs) after subcutaneous injection. However, some vaccines suffer from inefficient delivery of antigens to LNs, undesired inflammation, and slow immune induction when encountering the rapid proliferation of tumors. Alternatively, the spleen, as the largest secondary lymphoid organ with a high density of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and lymphocytes, acts as an emerging target organ for vaccinations in the body. Upon intravenous administration, the rationally designed spleen-targeting nanovaccines can be internalized by the APCs in the spleen to induce selective antigen presentation to T and B cells in their specific sub-regions, thereby rapidly boosting durable cellular and humoral immunity. Herein, the recent advances of spleen-targeting nanovaccines for immunotherapy based on the anatomical architectures and functional zones of the spleen, as well as their limitations and perspectives for clinical applications are systematically summarized. The aim is to emphasize the design of innovative nanovaccines for enhanced immunotherapy of intractable diseases in the future.

Genetically Engineered-Cell-Membrane Nanovesicles for Cancer Immunotherapy

The advent of immunotherapy has marked a new era in cancer treatment, offering significant clinical benefits. Cell membrane as drug delivery materials has played a crucial role in enhancing cancer therapy because of their inherent biocompatibility and negligible immunogenicity. Different cell membranes are prepared into cell membrane nanovesicles (CMNs), but CMNs have limitations such as inefficient targeting ability, low efficacy, and unpredictable side effects. Genetic engineering has deepened the critical role of CMNs in cancer immunotherapy, enabling genetically engineered-CMN (GCMN)-based therapeutics. To date, CMNs that are surface modified by various functional proteins have been developed through genetic engineering. Herein, a brief overview of surface engineering strategies for CMNs and the features of various membrane sources is discussed, followed by a description of GCMN preparation methods. The application of GCMNs in cancer immunotherapy directed at different immune targets is addressed as are the challenges and prospects of GCMNs in clinical translation.

Local Drug Delivery Techniques for Triggering Immunogenic Cell Death

Immunogenic cell death (ICD), a dying state of the cells, encompasses the changes in the conformations of cell surface and the release of damage-associated molecular patterns, which could initiate an adaptive immune response by stimulating the dendritic cells to present antigens to T cells. Advancements in biomaterials, nanomedicine, and micro- and nano-technologies have facilitated the development of effective ICD inducers, but the potential toxicity of these vesicles encountered in drug delivery via intravenous administration hampers their further application. As alternatives, the local drug delivery systems have gained emerging attention due to their ability to prolong the retention of high payloads at the lesions, sequester drugs from harsh environments, overcome biological barriers to exert optimal efficacy, and minimize potential side effects to guarantee bio-safety. Herein, a brief overview of the local drug delivery techniques used for ICD inducers is provided, explaining how these techniques broaden, alter, and enhance the therapeutic capability while circumventing systemic toxicity at the same time. The historical context and prominent examples of the local administration of ICD inducers are introduced. The complexities, potential pitfalls, and opportunities for local drug delivery techniques in cancer immunotherapy are also discussed.

Nanotechnology-Assisted Immunogenic Cell Death for Effective Cancer Immunotherapy

Tumor vaccines have been used to treat cancer. How to efficiently induce tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) secretion with host immune system activation is a key issue in achieving high antitumor immunity. Immunogenic cell death (ICD) is a process in which tumor cells upon an external stimulus change from non-immunogenic to immunogenic, leading to enhanced antitumor immune responses. The immune properties of ICD are damage-associated molecular patterns and TAA secretion, which can further promote dendritic cell maturation and antigen presentation to T cells for adaptive immune response provocation. In this review, we mainly summarize the latest studies focusing on nanotechnology-mediated ICD for effective cancer immunotherapy as well as point out the challenges.

Multifunctional Calcium-Manganese Nanomodulator Provides Antitumor Treatment and Improved Immunotherapy via Reprogramming of the Tumor Microenvironment

Ions play a vital role in regulating various biological processes, including metabolic and immune homeostasis, which involves tumorigenesis and therapy. Thus, the perturbation of ion homeostasis can induce tumor cell death and evoke immune responses, providing specific antitumor effects. However, antitumor strategies that exploit the effects of multiion perturbation are rare. We herein prepared a pH-responsive nanomodulator by coloading curcumin (CU, a Ca2+ enhancer) with CaCO3 and MnO2 into nanoparticles coated with a cancer cell membrane. This nanoplatform was aimed at reprogramming the tumor microenvironment (TME) and providing an antitumor treatment through ion fluctuation. The obtained nanoplatform, called CM NPs, could neutralize protons by decomposing CaCO3 and attenuating cellular acidity, they could generate Ca2+ and release CU, elevating Ca2+ levels and promoting ROS generation in the mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum, thus, inducing immunogenic cell death. Mn2+ could decompose the endogenous H2O2 into O2 to relieve hypoxia and enhance the sensitivity of cGAS, activating the cGAS-STING signaling pathway. In addition, this strategy allowed the reprogramming of the immune TME, inducing macrophage polarization and dendritic cell maturation via antigen cross-presentation, thereby increasing the immune system's ability to combat the tumor effectively. Moreover, the as-prepared nanoparticles enhanced the antitumor responses of the αPD1 treatment. This study proposes an effective strategy to combat tumors via the reprogramming of the tumor TME and the alteration of essential ions concentrations. Thus, it shows great potential for future clinical applications as a complementary approach along with other multimodal treatment strategies.

Development of nanozymes for promising alleviation of COVID-19-associated arthritis

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been identified as a culprit in the development of a variety of disorders, including arthritis. Although the emergence of arthritis following SARS-CoV-2 infection may not be immediately discernible, its underlying pathogenesis is likely to involve a complex interplay of infections, oxidative stress, immune responses, abnormal production of inflammatory factors, cellular destruction, etc. Fortunately, recent advancements in nanozymes with enzyme-like activities have shown potent antiviral effects and the ability to inhibit oxidative stress and cytokines and provide immunotherapeutic effects while also safeguarding diverse cell populations. These adaptable nanozymes have already exhibited efficacy in treating common types of arthritis, and their distinctive synergistic therapeutic effects offer great potential in the fight against arthritis associated with COVID-19. In this comprehensive review, we explore the potential of nanozymes in alleviating arthritis following SARS-CoV-2 infection by neutralizing the underlying factors associated with the disease. We also provide a detailed analysis of the common therapeutic pathways employed by these nanozymes and offer insights into how they can be further optimized to effectively address COVID-19-associated arthritis.

Immunomodulatory Gene-Splicing Dysregulation in Tumorigenesis: Unmasking the Complexity

Cancer is a global health concern with rising incidence, morbidity, and mortality. The interaction between the tumor and immune cells within the tumor microenvironment is facilitated by signaling pathways driven by immunomodulatory proteins. Alternative splicing regulates the production of multiple immunomodulatory proteins with diverse functionality from a single mRNA transcript. Splicing factors are pivotal in modulating alternative splicing processes but are also subject to regulation. The dysregulation of alternative splicing may result from splicing factor (SF) abnormal expression levels and mutations in the cis and trans-acting elements and small nuclear RNA (snRNA) molecules. Aberrant splicing may generate abnormal mRNA transcripts encoding isoforms with altered functions that contribute to tumorigenesis or cancer progression. This review uncovers the complexity of immunomodulatory genes splicing dysregulation in oncogenesis. Identifying specific immunomodulatory splicing isoforms that contribute to cancer could be utilized to improve current immunotherapeutic drugs or develop novel therapeutic interventions for cancer.

Allomelanin-based biomimetic nanotherapeutics for orthotopic glioblastoma targeted photothermal immunotherapy

Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy has shown great potential in the treatment of malignant tumors, but its therapeutic effect on glioblastoma (GBM) is unsatisfactory because of the low immunogenicity and T cell infiltration, as well as the presence of blood-brain barrier (BBB) that blocks most of ICB agents to the GBM tissues. Herein, we developed a biomimetic nanoplatform of AMNP@CLP@CCM for GBM-targeted photothermal therapy (PTT) and ICB synergistic therapy by loading immune checkpoint inhibitor CLP002 into the allomelanin nanoparticles (AMNPs) and followed by coating cancer cell membranes (CCM). The resulting AMNP@CLP@CCM can successfully cross the BBB and deliver CLP002 to GBM tissues due to the homing effect of CCM. As a natural photothermal conversion agent, AMNPs are used for tumor PTT. The increased local temperature by PTT not only enhances BBB penetration but also upregulates the PD-L1 level on GBM cells. Importantly, PTT can effectively stimulate immunogenic cell death to induce tumor-associated antigen exposure and promote T lymphocyte infiltration, which can further amplify the antitumor immune responses of GBM cells to CLP002-mediated ICB therapy, resulting in significant growth inhibition of the orthotopic GBM. Therefore, AMNP@CLP@CCM has great potential for the treatment of orthotopic GBM by PTT and ICB synergistic therapy. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: The effect of ICB therapy on GBM is limited by the low immunogenicity and insufficient T-cell infiltration. Here we developed a biomimetic nanoplatform of AMNP@CLP@CCM for GBM-targeted PTT and ICB synergistic therapy. In this nanoplatform, AMNPs are used as both photothermal conversion agents for PTT and nanocarriers for CLP002 delivery. PTT not only enhances BBB penetration but also upregulates the PD-L1 level on GBM cells by increasing local temperature. Additionally, PTT also induces tumor-associated antigen exposure and promotes T lymphocyte infiltration to amplify the antitumor immune responses of GBM cells to CLP002-mediated ICB therapy, resulting in significant growth inhibition of the orthotopic GBM. Thus, this nanoplatform holds great potential for orthotopic GBM treatment.

Clinical features and transmission risk analysis of dengue virus infections in Shenzhen, During 2014-2019

Dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) are among the most common tropical diseases affecting humans. To analyze the risk of clinical and transmission of DF/DHF in Shenzhen, the surveillance on patients of all-age patients with dengue virus (DENV) infections was conducted. Our findings revealed that the majority of DENV-infected patients are young to middle-aged males, and the development of the disease is accompanied by abnormal changes in the percentages of neutrophils, lymphocytes, and basophils. Demographic analysis revealed that these patients is concentrated in areas such as Futian District, which may be due to the higher mosquito density and temperature than that in other area. Subsequent, mosquito infection experiments confirmed that the effect of temperature shift on DENV proliferation and transmission. Not only that, constant temperatures can enhance the spread of DENV, even increase the risk of epidemic. Thus, the role of innate immune response should be highlighted in the prediction of severe severity of DENV-infected patients, and temperature should be taken into account in the prevention and control of DENV.

INTRODUCTION

Dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) are among the most common tropical diseases affecting humans, and which caused by the four dengue virus serotypes (DENV 1-4).

OBJECTIVES

To analyze the risk of clinical and transmission of DF/DHF in Shenzhen.

METHODS

The surveillance on patients of all-age patients with dengue virus (DENV) infections was conducted.

RESULTS

Our findings revealed that the majority of DENV-infected patients are young to middle-aged males, and the development of the disease is accompanied by abnormal changes in the percentages of neutrophils, lymphocytes, and basophils. Demographic analysis revealed that these patients is concentrated in areas such as Futian District, which may be due to the higher mosquito density and temperature than that in other area. Subsequent, mosquito infection experiments confirmed that the effect of temperature shift on DENV proliferation and transmission. Not only that, constant temperatures can enhance the spread of DENV, even increase the risk of epidemic.

CONCLUSION

1. Elevated levels of neutrophils, lymphocytes, basophils, and temperature are all significant risk factors for dengue transmission and pathogenesis; 2. Temperature increasing is associated with a higher risk of dengue transmission; 3. Fluctuations in temperature around 28 °C (28 ± 5 °C) would increase dengue transmission.

Synergistically enhanced cancer immunotherapy by combining protamine-based nanovaccine with PD-L1 gene silence nanoparticle

Tumor vaccine has brought a new dawn for cancer immunotherapy, but disillusionary therapeutic outcomes have been achieved due to the inefficient in vivo vaccine delivery. Moreover, tumor cells customarily resort to various wily tricks to circumvent the recognition and sweeping of the immune system, the immune escape effect has badly aggravated the difficulty of cancer management. With respect to the foregoing, in this study, a promising combinational strategy which cooperated nanovaccine with immune escape inhibition was developed for synergistically enhancing the oncotherapy efficiency. On the one hand, natural polycationic macromolecule protamine (PRT) was utilized as the carrier to construct an antigen and adjuvant co-packaged nanovaccine for facilitating the ingestion in antigen-presenting cells, amplifying antigen cross-presentation and optimizing in vivo delivery. On the other hand, PD-L1 silence gene was selected and hitchhiked in a pH-responsive nanoparticle developed in our previous study. The therapeutic gene could be successfully delivered into the tumors to down-regulate PD-L1 expression and cripple tumor immune escape. The combination of nanovaccine with PD-L1 gene silence nanoparticle could synchronously stimulate antitumor immune responses and reduce immune escape, synergistically enhance the therapeutic efficiency. This study will furnish the prospective tactics for the research of cancer immunotherapy.

Immunosuppressive dead cell as lung-targeting vehicle and cytokine absorption material for cytokine storm attenuation of pneumonia

Effectively controlling cytokine storm is important to reduce the mortality of severe pneumonia. In this work a bio-functional dead cell was engineered by one-time quick shock of live immune cells in liquid nitrogen, and the obtained immunosuppressive dead cell could server as both lung-targeting vehicle and cytokine absorption material. After loading the anti-inflammatory drugs of dexamethasone (DEX) and baicalin (BAI), the drug-loaded dead cell (DEX&BAI/Dead cell) could first passively target to the lung after intravenous administration and quickly release the drugs under high shearing stress of pulmonary capillaries, realizing drug enrichment in the lung. Then, the immunosuppressive dead cell acted as the camouflage of normal immune cells with various cytokine receptors exposing on their surface, to "capture" the cytokines and further reduce the state of inflammation. With above formulation design, a synergic anti-inflammatory effect between drugs and carrier could be achieved. In a lipopolysaccharide-induced pneumonia mice model, this system could calm down the cytokine storm with high efficacy and elongate the survival of mice.

Nanoplatforms Potentiated Ablation-Immune Synergistic Therapy through Improving Local Control and Suppressing Recurrent Metastasis

Minimally invasive ablation has been widely applied for treatment of various solid tumors, including hepatocellular carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma, breast carcinomas, etc. In addition to removing the primary tumor lesion, ablative techniques are also capable of improving the anti-tumor immune response by inducing immunogenic tumor cell death and modulating the tumor immune microenvironment, which may be of great benefit to inhibit the recurrent metastasis of residual tumor. However, the short-acting activated anti-tumor immunity of post-ablation will rapidly reverse into an immunosuppressive state, and the recurrent metastasis owing to incomplete ablation is closely associated with a dismal prognosis for the patients. In recent years, numerous nanoplatforms have been developed to improve the local ablative effect through enhancing the targeting delivery and combining it with chemotherapy. Particularly, amplifying the anti-tumor immune stimulus signal, modulating the immunosuppressive microenvironment, and improving the anti-tumor immune response with the versatile nanoplatforms have heralded great application prospects for improving the local control and preventing tumor recurrence and distant metastasis. This review discusses recent advances in nanoplatform-potentiated ablation-immune synergistic tumor therapy, focusing on common ablation techniques including radiofrequency, microwave, laser, and high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation, cryoablation, and magnetic hyperthermia ablation, etc. We discuss the advantages and challenges of the corresponding therapies and propose possible directions for future research, which is expected to provide references for improving the traditional ablation efficacy.

Elimination of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus biofilms on titanium implants via photothermally-triggered nitric oxide and immunotherapy for enhanced osseointegration

BACKGROUND

Treatment of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) biofilm infections in implant placement surgery is limited by the lack of antimicrobial activity of titanium (Ti) implants. There is a need to explore more effective approaches for the treatment of MRSA biofilm infections.

METHODS

Herein, an interfacial functionalization strategy is proposed by the integration of mesoporous polydopamine nanoparticles (PDA), nitric oxide (NO) release donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and osteogenic growth peptide (OGP) onto Ti implants, denoted as Ti-PDA@SNP-OGP. The physical and chemical properties of Ti-PDA@SNP-OGP were assessed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscope, water contact angle, photothermal property and NO release behavior. The synergistic antibacterial effect and elimination of the MRSA biofilms were evaluated by 2',7'-dichlorofluorescein diacetate probe, 1-N-phenylnaphthylamine assay, adenosine triphosphate intensity, o-nitrophenyl-β-D-galactopyranoside hydrolysis activity, bicinchoninic acid leakage. Fluorescence staining, assays for alkaline phosphatase activity, collagen secretion and extracellular matrix mineralization, quantitative real‑time reverse transcription‑polymerase chain reaction, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to evaluate the inflammatory response and osteogenic ability in bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs), RAW264.7 cells and their co-culture system. Giemsa staining, ELISA, micro-CT, hematoxylin and eosin, Masson's trichrome and immunohistochemistry staining were used to evaluate the eradication of MRSA biofilms, inhibition of inflammatory response, and promotion of osseointegration of Ti-PDA@SNP-OGP in vivo.

RESULTS

Ti-PDA@SNP-OGP displayed a synergistic photothermal and NO-dependent antibacterial effect against MRSA following near-infrared light irradiation, and effectively eliminated the formed MRSA biofilms by inducing reactive oxygen species (ROS)-mediated oxidative stress, destroying bacterial membrane integrity and causing leakage of intracellular components (P < 0.01). In vitro experiments revealed that Ti-PDA@SNP-OGP not only facilitated osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, but also promoted the polarization of pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages to the anti-inflammatory M2-phenotype (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). The favorable osteo-immune microenvironment further facilitated osteogenesis of MSCs and the anti-inflammation of RAW264.7 cells via multiple paracrine signaling pathways (P < 0.01). In vivo evaluation confirmed the aforementioned results and revealed that Ti-PDA@SNP-OGP induced ameliorative osseointegration in an MRSA-infected femoral defect implantation model (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that Ti-PDA@SNP-OGP is a promising multi-functional material for the high-efficient treatment of MRSA infections in implant replacement surgeries.

Living Leukocyte-Based Drug Delivery Systems

Leukocytes play a vital role in immune responses, including defending against invasive pathogens, reconstructing impaired tissue, and maintaining immune homeostasis. When the immune system is activated in vivo, leukocytes accomplish a series of orderly and complex regulatory processes. While cancer and inflammation-related diseases like sepsis are critical medical difficulties plaguing humankind around the world, leukocytes have been shown to largely gather at the focal site, and significantly contribute to inflammation and cancer progression. Therefore, the living leukocyte-based drug delivery systems have attracted considerable attention in recent years due to the innate and specific targeting effect, low immunogenicity, improved therapeutic efficacy, and low reverse effect. In this review, the recent advances in the development of living leukocyte-based drug delivery systems including macrophages, neutrophils, and lymphocytes as promising treatment strategies for cancer and inflammation-related diseases are introduced. The advantages, current challenges, and limitations of these delivery systems are also discussed, as well as perspectives on the future development of precision and targeted therapy in the clinics are provided. Collectively, it is expected that such kind of living cell-based drug delivery system is promising to improve or even revolutionize the treatments of cancers and inflammation-related diseases in the clinics.

Extracellular Matrix Viscosity Reprogramming by In Situ Au Bioreactor-Boosted Microwavegenetics Disables Tumor Escape in CAR-T Immunotherapy

Incomplete microwave ablation (iMWA) caused by uncontrollable heat diffusion enhances the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (ITM), consequently disabling the prevalent immune checkpoint blockade-combined immunotherapy against tumor recurrence. Herein, we successfully constructed an intratumorally synthesized Au bioreactor to disperse heat in thermally sensitive hydrogel-filled tumors and improve the energy utilization efficiency, which magnified the effective ablation zone (EAZ), counteracted iMWA, and simultaneously established and enhanced multiple biological process-regulated microwavegenetics. More significantly, we identified the extracellular matrix (ECM) viscosity as a general immune escape "target". After remodeling ECM, including ECM ingredients and cell adhesion molecules, this physical target was blocked by viscosity reprogramming, furnishing an effective tool to regulate the viscosity target. Thereby, such in situ Au bioreactor-enlarged EAZ and enhanced microwavegenetics reversed the immune-desert tumor microenvironment, mitigated ITM, secreted immune cell-attracting chemokines, recruited and polarized various immune cells, and activated or reactivated them like dendritic cells, natural killing cells, M1-type macrophages, and effector CD8+ or CAR-T cells. Contributed by these multiple actions, the in situ oncolytic Au bioreactors evoked CAR-T immunotherapy to acquire a considerably increased inhibition effect against tumor progression and recurrence after iMWA, thus providing a general method to enhance iMWA and CAR-T immunotherapy.