Efficient immunogenic peptide antigen delivery to dendritic cells using an ESCRT-mediated extracellular vesicle formation method

Heating tumors with tumor cell-derived nanoparticles to enhance chemoimmunotherapy for colorectal cancer

Aim: To investigate the mechanism of doxorubicin (DOX)-induced immunogenic cell death (ICD) and to improve immunotherapy efficacy. Materials & methods: In this study, hybrid vesicles containing DOX (HV-DOX) were prepared by thin-film hydration with extrusion, and the formulated nanoparticles were characterized physically. Furthermore, in vitro experiments and animal models were used to investigate the efficacy and new mechanisms of chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy. Results: DOX improved tumor immunogenicity by alkalinizing lysosomes, inhibiting tumor cell autophagy and inducing ICD. HVs could activate dendritic cell maturation, synergistically enhancing chemotherapeutic immunity. Conclusion: The mechanism of DOX-induced ICD was explored, and antitumor immunity was synergistically activated by HV-DOX to improve chemotherapeutic drug loading and provide relevant antigenic information.

Lipid-hybrid cell-derived biomimetic functional materials: A state-of-the-art multifunctional weapon against tumors

Tumors are among the leading causes of death worldwide. Cell-derived biomimetic functional materials have shown great promise in the treatment of tumors. These materials are derived from cell membranes, extracellular vesicles and bacterial outer membrane vesicles and may evade immune recognition, improve drug targeting and activate antitumor immunity. However, their use is limited owing to their low drug-loading capacity and complex preparation methods. Liposomes are artificial bionic membranes that have high drug-loading capacity and can be prepared and modified easily. Although they can overcome the disadvantages of cell-derived biomimetic functional materials, they lack natural active targeting ability. Lipids can be hybridized with cell membranes, extracellular vesicles or bacterial outer membrane vesicles to form lipid-hybrid cell-derived biomimetic functional materials. These materials negate the disadvantages of both liposomes and cell-derived components and represent a promising delivery platform in the treatment of tumors. This review focuses on the design strategies, applications and mechanisms of action of lipid-hybrid cell-derived biomimetic functional materials and summarizes the prospects of their further development and the challenges associated with it.

Extracellular vesicles as next generation immunotherapeutics

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) function as a mode of intercellular communication and molecular transfer to elicit diverse biological/functional response. Accumulating evidence has highlighted that EVs from immune, tumour, stromal cells and even bacteria and parasites mediate the communication of various immune cell types to dynamically regulate host immune response. EVs have an innate capacity to evade recognition, transport and transfer functional components to target cells, with subsequent removal by the immune system, where the immunological activities of EVs impact immunoregulation including modulation of antigen presentation and cross-dressing, immune activation, immune suppression, and immune surveillance, impacting the tumour immune microenvironment. In this review, we outline the recent progress of EVs in immunorecognition and therapeutic intervention in cancer, including vaccine and targeted drug delivery and summarise their utility towards clinical translation. We highlight the strategies where EVs (natural and engineered) are being employed as a therapeutic approach for immunogenicity, tumoricidal function, and vaccine development, termed immuno-EVs. With seminal studies providing significant progress in the sequential development of engineered EVs as therapeutic anti-tumour platforms, we now require direct assessment to tune and improve the efficacy of resulting immune responses - essential in their translation into the clinic. We believe such a review could strengthen our understanding of the progress in EV immunobiology and facilitate advances in engineering EVs for the development of novel EV-based immunotherapeutics as a platform for cancer treatment.