Nanomaterials are often used as immunomodulators because they can be tailored by a controllable process. In this work, a complex based on a tetrahedral framework nucleic acid delivery system and MicroRNA-155, known as T-155, is synthesized for the modulation of immunosuppression. In vivo, T-155 ameliorated spleen and thymus damage and hematopoiesis suppression in cyclophosphamide-induced immunosuppressed mice by promoting T-cell proliferation to resist oxidative stress. In vitro, T-155 induced immature dendritic cells (DCs) to differentiate into mature DCs by the ERK1/2 pathway and converted M0 macrophages (Mφ) into the M1 type by the NF-κB pathway to enhance the surveillance capabilities of antigen-presenting cells. The experimental results suggest that T-155 has therapeutic potential as an immunomodulator for immunosuppression.
Keywords: dendritic cell; immunomodulatory; macrophage polarization; microRNA-155; tetrahedral-frame nucleic acid.