Slimming and Reinvigorating Tumor-Associated Dendritic Cells with Hierarchical Lipid Rewiring Nanoparticles

Dendritic cells (DCs) are crucial mediators of innate and adaptive antitumor immunity, whereas exogenously and endogenously driven lipid accumulation causes immune tolerance of tumor-associated DCs (TADCs) and thereby diminishes tumor responsiveness to various therapies. Herein, a type of multilevel lipid rewiring nanoparticles (NPs) for TADC revitalization is designed. These self-assembled NPs specifically bind to the lipid transport receptor Msr1 on the TADC surface and orchestrate the restriction of extracellular lipid uptake, cytoplasmic de novo lipid biosynthesis and nuclear lipogenic gene transcription. It is found that the slimming of TADCs via the three-in-one lipid metabolic reprogramming substantially promotes their maturation and rehabilitate their functions in inflammatory cytokine production, cytotoxic T cell recruitment, and tumor inhibition. Significantly, tumor resistance to immune checkpoint blockade therapy is further overcome. The study presents a non-canonical strategy to remodel tumor-infiltrating immune cells and paves a new path for improving the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy.

Automated summary

A study introduces a novel approach to revitalize tumor-associated dendritic cells (TADCs) and enhance their anti-tumor response. This is achieved by using multilevel lipid rewiring nanoparticles to promote TADC maturation and restore their inflammatory cytokine production, cytotoxic T cell recruitment, and tumor inhibition.