Functionalized biomimetic nanoparticles combining programmed death-1/programmed death-ligand 1 blockade with photothermal ablation for enhanced colorectal cancer immunotherapy

Immune checkpoint blockade therapy targeting programmed death-1 (PD-1) or its major ligand pro-grammed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) has achieved remarkable success in the treatment of several tumors, including colorectal cancer. However, the efficacy of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors is limited in some colorec-tal cancers within the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (such as when there is a lack of immune cell infiltration). Herein, anti-PD-L1 functionalized biomimetic polydopamine-modified gold nanostar nanoparticles (PDA/GNS@aPD-L1 NPs) were developed for synergistic anti-tumor treatment by combining PD-1/PD-L1 blockade with photothermal ablation. PDA/GNS@aPD-L1 NPs were prepared by encapsulating photothermal nanoparticles (polydopamine-modified gold nanostar, PDA-GNS) with cell membrane isolated from anti-PD-L1 single-chain variable fragment (scFv) over-expressing cells. In ad-dition to disrupting PD-1/PD-L1 immunosuppressive signals, the anti-PD-L1 scFv on the membrane of PDA/GNS@aPD-L1 NPs was conducive to the accumulation of PDA-GNS at tumor sites. Importantly, the tu-mor photothermal ablation induced by PDA-GNS could reverse the immunosuppressive tumor microenvi-ronment, thereby further improving the efficiency of PD-1/PD-L1 blockade therapy. In this study, the syn-thetized PDA/GNS@aPD-L1 NPs exhibited good biocompatibility, efficient photothermal conversion ability, and enhanced tumor-targeting ability. In vivo studies revealed that a PDA/GNS@aPD-L1 NP-based thera-peutic strategy significantly inhibited tumor growth, and prolonged overall survival by further promot-ing the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs), increasing the infiltration of CD8 + T cells, and decreasing the number of immunosuppressive cells (such as regulatory T cells and myeloid-derived suppressive cells). Collectively, the developed PDA/GNS@aPD-L1 NP-based therapeutic strategy combines PD-1/PD-L1 block-ade with photothermal ablation, which could remodel the tumor microenvironment for effective clinical colorectal cancer therapy.Statement of significance Immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment is the main challenge facing programmed death-1/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) blockade therapy. By encapsulating photothermal nanopar-ticles (polydopamine-modified gold nanostar, PDA-GNS) with cell membrane over-expressing anti-PD -L1 single-chain variable fragment, we constructed anti-PD-L1 functionalized biomimetic nanoparticles (PDA/GNS@aPD-L1 NPs). By specific binding to the PD-L1 present on tumor cells, PDA/GNS@aPD-L1 NPs could disrupt PD-1/PD-L1 immunosuppression signaling, and effectively deliver PDA-GNS targeting to tu-mor sites. Additionally, PDA-GNS-mediated local photothermal ablation of tumors promoted the release of tumor-associated antigens and thus activated anti-tumor immune responses. Meanwhile, hyperthermia facilitates immune cell infiltration by increasing tumor vascular permeability. Therefore, PDA/GNS@aPD-L1 NPs could sensitize tumors to PD-1/PD-L1 blockade therapy by remodeling the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, which provides a new strategy for tumor treatment.(c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Acta Materialia Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ )

Automated summary

In this study, anti-PD-L1 functionalized biomimetic nanoparticles (PDA/GNS@aPD-L1 NPs) were developed for synergistic anti-tumor treatment by combining PD-1/PD-L1 blockade with photothermal ablation. The nanoparticles disrupted PD-1/PD-L1 immunosuppression signaling and delivered photothermal nanoparticles to tumor sites. The photothermal ablation of tumors released tumor-associated antigens and activated anti-tumor immune responses.