Recent advances in biomaterial-boosted adoptive cell therapy

Area of Science:

• Immunology
• Cellular Biology
• Materials Science

Background:

• Adoptive immunotherapies show promise for malignant, autoimmune, and infectious diseases.
• Clinical translation is hindered by insufficient effector cell populations at disease sites post-transfer.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review biomaterial-based strategies for enhancing adoptive cell therapy efficacy.
• To focus on function-specific biomaterial design and discuss future prospects.

Main Methods:

• Review of recent advancements in biomaterial applications for adoptive cell therapy.
• Focus on how biomaterials address immune cell expansion, engineering, delivery, and navigation.

Main Results:

• Biomaterials can be engineered to improve ex vivo immune cell expansion.
• Biomaterials facilitate protective in situ delivery and in vivo cell navigation.
• Function-specific biomaterial design is key to enhancing therapeutic outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Biomaterial-based engineering platforms offer solutions to challenges in adoptive cell therapy.
• Rational design of biomaterials is crucial for improving immune cell function and therapeutic efficacy.
• Further research into biomaterial strategies holds significant promise for clinical translation.