Photonic Hyperthermia Synergizes with Immune-Activators to Augment Tumor-Localized Immunotherapy

Small Methods. 2023 May;7(5):e2300116. doi: 10.1002/smtd.202300116. Epub 2023 Apr 19.

Abstract

Photothermal immunotherapy, the combination of photothermal hyperthermia and immunotherapy, is a noninvasive and desirable therapeutic strategy to address the deficiency of traditional photothermal ablation for tumor treatment. However, insufficient T-cell activation following photothermal treatment is a bottleneck to achieve satisfactory therapeutic effectiveness. In this work, a multifunctional nanoplatform is rationally designed and engineered on the basis of polypyrrole-based magnetic nanomedicine modified by T-cell activators of anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 monoclonal antibodies, which have achieved robust near infrared laser-triggered photothermal ablation and long-lasting T-cell activation, realizing diagnostic imaging-guided immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment regulation following photothermal hyperthermia by reinvigorating tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. By virtue of high-efficient immunogenic cell death and dendritic cell maturation combined with T-cell activation, this nanosystem markedly restrains primary and abscopal tumors as well as metastatic tumors with negligible side effects in vivo, exerting the specific function for suppressing tumor recurrence and metastasis by establishing a long-term memory immune response.

Keywords: T-cell activation; immunotherapy; oligometastasis; photothermal therapy; theranostics.

MeSH terms

  • Humans
  • Hyperthermia / therapy
  • Hyperthermia, Induced*
  • Immunotherapy
  • Neoplasms* / therapy
  • Phototherapy
  • Polymers
  • Pyrroles
  • Tumor Microenvironment

Substances

  • Polymers
  • Pyrroles