Insights in the host response towards biomaterial-based scaffolds for cancer therapy

Marjolein Schluck; Jorieke Weiden; Martijn Verdoes; Carl G Figdor

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1149943

Insights in the host response towards biomaterial-based scaffolds for cancer therapy

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 Jun 5:11:1149943. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1149943. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Marjolein Schluck^{1

2

3}, Jorieke Weiden^{1

2

3}, Martijn Verdoes^{1

3}, Carl G Figdor^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Tumor Immunology, Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
² Oncode Institute, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
³ Institute for Chemical Immunology, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Abstract

Immunotherapeutic strategies have shown promising results in the treatment of cancer. However, not all patients respond, and treatments can have severe side-effects. Adoptive cell therapy (ACT) has shown remarkable therapeutic efficacy across different leukaemia and lymphoma types. But the treatment of solid tumours remains a challenge due to limited persistence and tumour infiltration. We believe that biomaterial-based scaffolds are promising new tools and may address several of the challenges associated with cancer vaccination and ACT. In particular, biomaterial-based scaffold implants allow for controlled delivery of activating signals and/or functional T cells at specific sites. One of the main challenges for their application forms the host response against these scaffolds, which includes unwanted myeloid cell infiltration and the formation of a fibrotic capsule around the scaffold, thereby limiting cell traffic. In this review we provide an overview of several of the biomaterial-based scaffolds designed for cancer therapy to date. We will discuss the host responses observed and we will highlight design parameters that influence this response and their potential impact on therapeutic outcome.

Keywords: adoptive cell theraphy; cancer immuno therapy; cancer vaccine; foreign body response (FBR); synthetic immune niche.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Oncode Institute and the Institute of Chemical Immunology (grant 024.002.009). CF received the NWO Spinoza award and is recipient of ERC Adv Grant ARTimmune (834618). MV is recipient of ERC Starting grant CHEMCHECK (679921) and a Gravity Program Institute for Chemical Immunology tenure track grant by NWO. JW reveived a Niel Stensen Fellowship.