Molecularly Imprinted Nanobeacons Redirect Innate Immune Killing towards Triple Negative Breast Cancer

Harnessing innate immunity is an appealing strategy for cancer treatment. Herein, we report a new strategy called molecularly imprinted nanobeacons (MINBs) for redirecting innate immune killing towards triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The MINBs were molecularly imprinted nanoparticles with the N-epitope of glycoprotein nonmetastatic B (GPNMB) as the template and grafted with plentiful fluorescein moieties as the hapten. The MINBs could tag the TNBC cells via binding with GPNMB and thereby provide navigation for recruiting hapten-specific antibodies. The gathered antibodies could further trigger effective Fc-domain-mediated immune killing towards the tagged cancer cells. In vivo experiments showed that the TNBC growth was significantly inhibited after MINBs treatment by intravenous injection as compared with control groups. This study not only opens a new access for redirecting innate immunity towards TNBC but also paves the way for innate immunity-based therapy of other diseases.

Automated summary

In this study, a new strategy called molecularly imprinted nanobeacons (MINBs) was developed to redirect innate immune killing towards triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The MINBs tagged TNBC cells by binding with glycoprotein nonmetastatic B (GPNMB) and recruited hapten-specific antibodies to trigger effective immune killing. In vivo experiments showed significant inhibition of TNBC growth after MINBs treatment. This research not only provides a new approach for redirecting innate immunity towards TNBC, but also paves the way for innate immunity-based therapy of other diseases.