Dual-targeting prodrug nanotheranostics for NIR-II fluorescence imaging-guided photo-immunotherapy of glioblastoma

Glioblastoma (GBM) therapy is severely impaired by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and invasive tumor growth in the central nervous system. To improve GBM therapy, we herein presented a dual-targeting nanotheranostic for second near-infrared (NIR-II) fluorescence imaging-guided photo-immunotherapy. Firstly, a NIR-II fluorophore MRP bearing donor-acceptor-donor (D-A-D) backbone was synthesized. Then, the prodrug nanotheranostics were prepared by self-assembling MRP with a pro -drug of JQ1 (JPC) and T7 ligand-modified PEG5k-DSPE. T7 can cross the BBB for tumor-targeted de-livery of JPC and MRP. JQ1 could be restored from JPC at the tumor site for suppressing interferon gamma-inducible programmed death ligand 1 expression in the tumor cells. MRP could generate NIR-II fluorescence to navigate 808 nm laser, induce a photothermal effect to trigger in-situ antigen release at the tumor site, and ultimately elicit antitumor immunogenicity. Photo-immunotherapy with JPC and MRP dual-loaded nanoparticles remarkably inhibited GBM tumor growth in vivo. The dual-targeting na-notheranostic might represent a novel nanoplatform for precise photo-immunotherapy of GBM.(c) 2022 Chinese Pharmaceutical Association and Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

The study presents a dual-targeting nanotheranostic for precise photo-immunotherapy of glioblastoma (GBM). The nanotheranostic can deliver drugs to the tumor site and induce a photothermal effect, enhancing the therapeutic effect.