A peptide-CpG-DNA-liposome complex vaccine targeting TM4SF5 suppresses growth of pancreatic cancer in a mouse allograft model

Recent advances in functional lipid-based nanomedicines as drug carriers for organ-specific delivery

Lipid-based nanoparticles have emerged as promising drug delivery systems for a wide range of therapeutic agents, including plasmids, mRNA, and proteins. However, these nanoparticles still encounter various challenges in drug delivery, including drug leakage, poor solubility, and inadequate target specificity. In this comprehensive review, we present an in-depth investigation of four distinct drug delivery methods: liposomes, lipid nanoparticle formulations, solid lipid nanoparticles, and nanoemulsions. Moreover, we explore recent advances in lipid-based nanomedicines (LBNs) for organ-specific delivery, employing ligand-functionalized particles that specifically target receptors in desired organs. Through this strategy, LBNs enable direct and efficient drug delivery to the intended organs, leading to superior DNA or mRNA expression outcomes compared to conventional approaches. Importantly, the development of novel ligands and their judicious combination holds promise for minimizing the side effects associated with nonspecific drug delivery. By leveraging the unique properties of lipid-based nanoparticles and optimizing their design, researchers can overcome the limitations associated with current drug delivery systems. In this review, we aim to provide valuable insights into the advancements, challenges, and future directions of lipid-based nanoparticles in the field of drug delivery, paving the way for enhanced therapeutic strategies with improved efficacy and reduced adverse effects.

Novel insight and perspectives of nanoparticle-mediated gene delivery and immune-modulating therapies for pancreatic cancer

Current standard-of-care therapies have failed to improve the survival of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer (PCA). Therefore, exploring novel therapeutic approaches for cancer targeting is of utmost need. During the past few years, many efforts have been made to develop conventional treatment strategies to reduce chemotherapy resistance. However, critical challenges have impeded current cancer management outcomes, and limited clinical responses have been achieved due to unfavorable off-target effects. Advances in nanotechnology-based gene and immune-modulator delivery systems have excellent advantages for improving the therapeutic efficacy of PCA and provide promising avenues for overcoming the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and enhancing patient treatment outcomes. This review article provides insight into the challenges, opportunities, and future perspectives of these novel emerging nanoparticles based on lipid, polymer, and inorganic metal carriers to modulate genes and immunotherapy paradigms for PCA anticancer activity.

Theranostic nanoparticles for detection and treatment of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most recalcitrant cancers due to its late diagnosis, poor therapeutic response, and highly heterogeneous microenvironment. Nanotechnology has the potential to overcome some of the challenges to improve diagnostics and tumor-specific drug delivery but they have not been plausibly viable in clinical settings. The review focuses on active targeting strategies to enhance pancreatic tumor-specific uptake for nanoparticles. Additionally, this review highlights using actively targeted liposomes, micelles, gold nanoparticles, silica nanoparticles, and iron oxide nanoparticles to improve pancreatic tumor targeting. Active targeting of nanoparticles toward either differentially expressed receptors or PDAC tumor microenvironment (TME) using peptides, antibodies, small molecules, polysaccharides, and hormones has been presented. We focus on microenvironment-based hallmarks of PDAC and the potential for actively targeted nanoparticles to overcome the challenges presented in PDAC. It describes the use of nanoparticles as contrast agents for improved diagnosis and the delivery of chemotherapeutic agents that target various aspects within the TME of PDAC. Additionally, we review emerging nano-contrast agents detected using imaging-based technologies and the role of nanoparticles in energy-based treatments of PDAC. This article is categorized under: Implantable Materials and Surgical Technologies > Nanoscale Tools and Techniques in Surgery Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Oncologic Disease Diagnostic Tools > In Vivo Nanodiagnostics and Imaging.

Improving the efficacy of peptide vaccines in cancer immunotherapy

Peptide vaccines have shown great potential in cancer immunotherapy by targeting tumor antigens and activating the patient's immune system to mount a specific response against cancer cells. However, the efficacy of peptide vaccines in inducing a sustained immune response and achieving clinical benefit remains a major challenge. In this review, we discuss the current status of peptide vaccines in cancer immunotherapy and strategies to improve their efficacy. We summarize the recent advancements in the development of peptide vaccines in pre-clinical and clinical settings, including the use of novel adjuvants, neoantigens, nano-delivery systems, and combination therapies. We also highlight the importance of personalized cancer vaccines, which consider the unique genetic and immunological profiles of individual patients. We also discuss the strategies to enhance the immunogenicity of peptide vaccines such as multivalent peptides, conjugated peptides, fusion proteins, and self-assembled peptides. Although, peptide vaccines alone are weak immunogens, combining peptide vaccines with other immunotherapeutic approaches and developing novel approaches such as personalized vaccines can be promising methods to significantly enhance their efficacy and improve the clinical outcomes for cancer patients.

Cancer Vaccine Therapeutics: Limitations and Effectiveness-A Literature Review

In recent years, there has been a surge of interest in tumor microenvironment-associated cancer vaccine therapies. These innovative treatments aim to activate and enhance the body's natural immune response against cancer cells by utilizing specific antigens present in the tumor microenvironment. The goal is to achieve a complete clinical response, where all measurable cancer cells are either eliminated or greatly reduced in size. With their potential to revolutionize cancer treatment, these therapies represent a promising avenue for researchers and clinicians alike. Despite over 100 years of research, the success of therapeutic cancer vaccines has been variable, particularly in advanced cancer patients, with various limitations, including the heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment, the presence of immunosuppressive cells, and the potential for tumor escape mechanisms. Additionally, the effectiveness of these therapies may be limited by the variability of the patient's immune system response and the difficulty in identifying appropriate antigens for each patient. Despite these challenges, tumor microenvironment-targeted vaccine cancer therapies have shown promising results in preclinical and clinical studies and have the potential to become a valuable addition to current cancer treatment and "curative" options. While chemotherapeutic and monoclonal antibody treatments remain popular, ongoing research is needed to optimize the design and delivery of these therapies and to identify biomarkers that can predict response and guide patient selection. This comprehensive review explores the mechanisms of cancer vaccines, various delivery methods, and the role of adjuvants in improving treatment outcomes. It also discusses the historical background of cancer vaccine research and examines the current state of major cancer vaccination immunotherapies. Furthermore, the limitations and effectiveness of each vaccine type are analyzed, providing insights into the future of cancer vaccine development.

Liposome-based diagnostic and therapeutic applications for pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is one of the harshest and most challenging cancers to treat, often labeled as incurable. Chemotherapy continues to be the most popular treatment yet yields a very poor prognosis. The main barriers such as inefficient drug penetration and drug resistance, have led to the development of drug carrier systems. The benefits, ease of fabrication and modification of liposomes render them as ideal future drug delivery systems. This review delves into the versatility of liposomes to achieve various mechanisms of treatment for pancreatic cancer. Not only are there benefits of loading chemotherapy drugs and targeting agents onto liposomes, as well as mRNA combined therapy, but liposomes have also been exploited for immunotherapy and can be programmed to respond to photothermal therapy. Multifunctional liposomal formulations have demonstrated significant pre-clinical success. Functionalising drug-encapsulated liposomes has resulted in triggered drug release, specific targeting, and remodeling of the tumor environment. Suppressing tumor progression has been achieved, due to their ability to more efficiently and precisely deliver chemotherapy. Currently, no multifunctional surface-modified liposomes are clinically approved for pancreatic cancer thus we aim to shed light on the trials and tribulations and progress so far, with the hope for liposomal therapy in the future and improved patient outcomes. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Considering that conventional treatments for pancreatic cancer are highly associated with sub-optimal performance and systemic toxicity, the development of novel therapeutic strategies holds outmost relevance for pancreatic cancer management. Liposomes are being increasingly considered as promising nanocarriers for providing not only an early diagnosis but also effective, highly specific, and safer treatment, improving overall patient outcome. This manuscript is the first in the last 10 years that revises the advances in the application of liposome-based formulations in bioimaging, chemotherapy, phototherapy, immunotherapy, combination therapies, and emergent therapies for pancreatic cancer management. Prospective insights are provided regarding several advantages resulting from the use of liposome technology in precision strategies, fostering new ideas for next-generation diagnosis and targeted therapies of pancreatic cancer.

Three Members of Transmembrane-4-Superfamily, TM4SF1, TM4SF4, and TM4SF5, as Emerging Anticancer Molecular Targets against Cancer Phenotypes and Chemoresistance

There are six members of the transmembrane 4 superfamily (TM4SF) that have similar topology and sequence homology. Physiologically, they regulate tissue differentiation, signal transduction pathways, cellular activation, proliferation, motility, adhesion, and angiogenesis. Accumulating evidence has demonstrated, among six TM4SF members, the regulatory roles of transmembrane 4 L6 domain family members, particularly TM4SF1, TM4SF4, and TM4SF5, in cancer angiogenesis, progression, and chemoresistance. Hence, targeting derailed TM4SF for cancer therapy has become an emerging research area. As compared to others, this review aimed to present a focused insight and update on the biological roles of TM4SF1, TM4SF4, and TM4SF5 in the progression, metastasis, and chemoresistance of various cancers. Additionally, the mechanistic pathways, diagnostic and prognostic values, and the potential and efficacy of current anti-TM4SF antibody treatment were also deciphered. It also recommended the exploration of other interactive molecules to be implicated in cancer progression and chemoresistance, as well as potential therapeutic agents targeting TM4SF as future perspectives. Generally, these three TM4SF members interact with different integrins and receptors to significantly induce intracellular signaling and regulate the proliferation, migration, and invasion of cancer cells. Intriguingly, gene silencing or anti-TM4SF antibody could reverse their regulatory roles deciphered in different preclinical models. They also have prognostic and diagnostic value as their high expression was detected in clinical tissues and cells of various cancers. Hence, TM4SF1, TM4SF4, and TM4SF5 are promising therapeutic targets for different cancer types preclinically and deserve further investigation.

Self-assembled nanoparticles: A new platform for revolutionizing therapeutic cancer vaccines

Cancer vaccines have had some success in the past decade. Based on in-depth analysis of tumor antigen genomics, many therapeutic vaccines have already entered clinical trials for multiple cancers, including melanoma, lung cancer, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, which have demonstrated impressive tumor immunogenicity and antitumor activity. Recently, vaccines based on self-assembled nanoparticles are being actively developed as cancer treatment, and their feasibility has been confirmed in both mice and humans. In this review, we summarize recent therapeutic cancer vaccines based on self-assembled nanoparticles. We describe the basic ingredients for self-assembled nanoparticles, and how they enhance vaccine immunogenicity. We also discuss the novel design method for self-assembled nanoparticles that pose as a promising delivery platform for cancer vaccines, and the potential in combination with multiple therapeutic approaches.

Nanocarriers for pancreatic cancer imaging, treatments, and immunotherapies

Pancreatic tumors are highly desmoplastic and immunosuppressive. Delivery and distribution of drugs within pancreatic tumors are compromised due to intrinsic physical and biochemical stresses that lead to increased interstitial fluid pressure, vascular compression, and hypoxia. Immunotherapy-based approaches, including therapeutic vaccines, immune checkpoint inhibition, CAR-T cell therapy, and adoptive T cell therapies, are challenged by an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Together, extensive fibrosis and immunosuppression present major challenges to developing treatments for pancreatic cancer. In this context, nanoparticles have been extensively studied as delivery platforms and adjuvants for cancer and other disease therapies. Recent advances in nanotechnology have led to the development of multiple nanocarrier-based formulations that not only improve drug delivery but also enhance immunotherapy-based approaches for pancreatic cancer. This review discusses and critically analyzes the novel nanoscale strategies that have been used for drug delivery and immunomodulation to improve treatment efficacy, including newly emerging immunotherapy-based approaches. This review also presents important perspectives on future research directions that will guide the rational design of novel and robust nanoscale platforms to treat pancreatic tumors, particularly with respect to targeted therapies and immunotherapies. These insights will inform the next generation of clinical treatments to help patients manage this debilitating disease and enhance survival rates.

Cancer Vaccines: Adjuvant Potency, Importance of Age, Lifestyle, and Treatments

Although the discovery and characterization of multiple tumor antigens have sparked the development of many antigen/derived cancer vaccines, many are poorly immunogenic and thus, lack clinical efficacy. Adjuvants are therefore incorporated into vaccine formulations to trigger strong and long-lasting immune responses. Adjuvants have generally been classified into two categories: those that ‘depot’ antigens (e.g. mineral salts such as aluminum hydroxide, emulsions, liposomes) and those that act as immunostimulants (Toll Like Receptor agonists, saponins, cytokines). In addition, several novel technologies using vector-based delivery of antigens have been used. Unfortunately, the immune system declines with age, a phenomenon known as immunosenescence, and this is characterized by functional changes in both innate and adaptive cellular immunity systems as well as in lymph node architecture. While many of the immune functions decline over time, others paradoxically increase. Indeed, aging is known to be associated with a low level of chronic inflammation—inflamm-aging. Given that the median age of cancer diagnosis is 66 years and that immunotherapeutic interventions such as cancer vaccines are currently given in combination with or after other forms of treatments which themselves have immune-modulating potential such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the choice of adjuvants requires careful consideration in order to achieve the maximum immune response in a compromised environment. In addition, more clinical trials need to be performed to carefully assess how less conventional form of immune adjuvants, such as exercise, diet and psychological care which have all be shown to influence immune responses can be incorporated to improve the efficacy of cancer vaccines. In this review, adjuvants will be discussed with respect to the above-mentioned important elements.

Emerging advances in synthetic cancer nano-vaccines: opportunities and challenges

Introduction: Cancer immunotherapy is a fast-growing field that has achieved tremendous progress in recent years. It is one of the most potent tools that can activate the immune system against cancer. Nevertheless, the development of safe and effective vaccines to overcome emerging new disease remains challenging since several emerging antigens are poorly immunogenic. Nanotechnology has provided a realistic resolution for the drawback of traditional cancer immunotherapy. Area covered: This review discusses different cancer immunotherapy approaches focusing on recent advancements in nanomedicine-based cancer immunotherapy. The literature review method includes inclusion and exclusion criteria to categorize important articles. The literature survey was carried out using PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, and the Saudi digital library. Expert opinion: In the last two decades, the development and application of nanoparticles incorporating antigen/adjuvant in cancer immunotherapy have experienced rapid growth. Soon, progressively multifaceted nanovaccines presenting different antigens and co-delivered with antigens will be clinically translated. Better understanding and improved knowledge of nanomedicines-based delivery approaches and immunostimulatory action, and in-vivo biodistribution would inevitably facilitate the altruistic design of cancer nanovaccine for humankind.

Nanomaterials for oncotherapies targeting the hallmarks of cancer

An increasing amount of evidence has demonstrated the diverse functionalities of nanomaterials in oncotherapies such as drug delivery, imaging, and killing cancer cells. This review aims to offer an authoritative guide for the development of nanomaterial-based oncotherapies and shed light on emerging yet understudied hallmarks of cancer where nanoparticles can help improve cancer control. With this aim, three nanomaterials, i.e. those based on gold, graphene, and liposome, were selected to represent and encompass metal inorganic, nonmetal inorganic, and organic nanomaterials, and four oncotherapies, i.e. phototherapies, immunotherapies, cancer stem cell therapies, and metabolic therapies, were characterized based on the differential hallmarks of cancer that they target. We also view physical plasma as a cocktail of reactive species and carrier of nanomaterials and focus on its roles in targeting the hallmarks of cancer provided with its unique traits and ability to selectively induce epigenetic and genetic modulations in cancer cells that halt tumor initiation and progression. This review provides a clear understanding of how the physico-chemical features of particles at the nanoscale contribute alone or create synergistic effects with current treatment modalities in combating each of the hallmarks of cancer that ultimately leads to desired therapeutic outcomes and shapes the toolbox for cancer control.

Nanoparticles to Improve the Efficacy of Peptide-Based Cancer Vaccines

Nanoparticles represent a potent antigen presentation and delivery system to elicit an optimal immune response by effector cells targeting tumor-associated antigens expressed by cancer cells. Many types of nanoparticles have been developed, such as polymeric complexes, liposomes, micelles and protein-based structures such as virus like particles. All of them show promising results for immunotherapy approaches. In particular, the immunogenicity of peptide-based cancer vaccines can be significantly potentiated by nanoparticles. Indeed, nanoparticles are able to enhance the targeting of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and trigger cytokine production for optimal T cell response. The present review summarizes the categories of nanoparticles and peptide cancer vaccines which are currently under pre-clinical evaluation.

Humanized Mice as an Effective Evaluation System for Peptide Vaccines and Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

Peptide vaccination was developed for the prevention and therapy of acute and chronic infectious diseases and cancer. However, vaccine development is challenging, because the patient immune system requires the appropriate human leukocyte antigen (HLA) recognition with the peptide. Moreover, antigens sometimes induce a low response, even if the peptide is presented by antigen-presenting cells and T cells recognize it. This is because the patient immunity is dampened or restricted by environmental factors. Even if the immune system responds appropriately, newly-developed immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), which are used to increase the immune response against cancer, make the immune environment more complex. The ICIs may activate T cells, although the ratio of responsive patients is not high. However, the vaccine may induce some immune adverse effects in the presence of ICIs. Therefore, a system is needed to predict such risks. Humanized mouse systems possessing human immune cells have been developed to examine human immunity in vivo. One of the systems which uses transplanted human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) may become a new diagnosis strategy. Various humanized mouse systems are being developed and will become good tools for the prediction of antibody response and immune adverse effects.

Targeting TM4SF5 with anti-TM4SF5 monoclonal antibody suppresses the growth and motility of human pancreatic cancer cells

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal cancers. Transmembrane 4 superfamily member 5 protein (TM4SF5) is one of the candidate molecular targets used for the prevention and treatment of TM4SF5-expressing cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma, colon cancer and pancreatic cancer. Recently, a previous study reported the preventive effects of a peptide vaccine, which targeted TM4SF5, in a mouse pancreatic cancer model. The present study investigated the implication of TM4SF5 and the suppressive effect of anti-human TM4SF5 monoclonal antibody (anti-hTM4SF5 antibody) in human pancreatic cancer cell lines in vitro. Treatment with anti-hTM4SF5 antibody reduced cell viability, modulated the expression of EMT markers Vimentin and E-cadherin, and decreased cell motility in human pancreatic cancer cells that endogenously expressed TM4SF5. When TM4SF5 was exogenously overexpressed in the TM4SF5-negative cell line, the cells indicated increased cell viability and motility compared with control cells, and the phenotype was reversed by anti-hTM4SF5 antibody treatment. Therefore, the results of the current study demonstrated that the high expression of TM4SF5 is a tumorigenic factor in human pancreatic cells and anti-hTM4SF5 antibody treatment exhibits a suppressive effect in TM4SF5-expressing pancreatic cancer cells.