Most cancers contain abundant tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). TAMs usually display a tumor-supportive M2-like phenotype; they promote tumor growth and influence lymphocyte infiltration, leading to immunosuppression. These properties have made TAMs an attractive cancer immunotherapy target. One promising immunotherapeutic strategy involves switching the tumor-promoting immune suppressive microenvironment by reprogramming TAMs. However, clinical trials of M2-like macrophage reprogramming have yielded unsatisfactory results due to their low efficacy and nonselective effects. In this article, we describe the development of M2-like macrophage-targeting nanoparticles (PNP@R@M-T) that efficiently and selectively deliver drugs to 58% of M2-like macrophages, over 39% of M1-like macrophages, and 32% of dendritic cells within 24 h in vivo. Compared with the control groups, administration of PNP@R@M-T dramatically reprogrammed the M2-like macrophages (51%), reduced tumor size (82%), and prolonged survival. Our findings indicate that PNP@R@M-T nanoparticles provide an effective and selective reprogramming strategy for macrophage-mediated cancer immunotherapy.
Keywords: R848; TLR7/8 agonist; precision cancer immunotherapy; tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment (TIME); tumor-associated macrophages reprogramming.