Aptamer-Functionalized Nanovaccines: Targeting In Vivo DC Subsets for Enhanced Antitumor Immunity
Liyan Zheng1,2, Hui Wu1, Nachuan Wen1
1Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL), State Key Laboratory of Chemo/BioSensing and Chemometrics, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, College of Biology, Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province, Hunan University, Changsha, Hunan 410082, China.
Abstract:
Cancer vaccines, which directly pulsed in vivo dendritic cells (DCs) with specific antigens and immunostimulatory adjuvants, showed great potential for cancer immunoprevention. However, most of them were limited by suboptimal outcomes, mainly owing to overlooking the complex biology of DC phenotypes. Herein, based on adjuvant-induced antigen assembly, we developed aptamer-functionalized nanovaccines for in vivo DC subset-targeted codelivery of tumor-related antigens and immunostimulatory adjuvants. We chose two aptamers, iDC and CD209, and tested their performance on DC targeting. Our results verified that these aptamer-functionalized nanovaccines could specifically recognize circulating classical DCs (cDCs), a subset of DCs capable of priming naïve T cells, noting that iDC outperformed CD209 in this regard. With excellent cDC-targeting capability, the iDC-functionalized nanovaccine induced potent antitumor immunity, leading to effective inhibition of tumor occurrence and metastasis, thus providing a promising platform for cancer immunoprevention.
Insights
New nanovaccines target specific dendritic cells (DCs) to improve cancer immunoprevention. Aptamer-functionalized nanovaccines effectively target classical DCs (cDCs), inducing potent antitumor immunity and inhibiting tumor growth and metastasis.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Nanotechnology
- Oncology
Background:
- Cancer vaccines aim for immunoprevention by targeting dendritic cells (DCs) with antigens and adjuvants.
- Current cancer vaccines face limitations due to overlooking the complex biology of DC phenotypes.
- Developing targeted delivery systems is crucial for enhancing vaccine efficacy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop aptamer-functionalized nanovaccines for targeted delivery of antigens and adjuvants to specific DC subsets.
- To evaluate the efficacy of iDC and CD209 aptamers in targeting classical DCs (cDCs).
- To assess the potential of these nanovaccines for cancer immunoprevention.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of aptamer-functionalized nanovaccines for co-delivery of tumor antigens and immunostimulatory adjuvants.
- Utilized iDC and CD209 aptamers for targeting dendritic cell subsets.
- Assessed nanovaccine targeting specificity towards circulating classical DCs (cDCs) in vivo.
- Evaluated the induced antitumor immunity and inhibition of tumor occurrence and metastasis.
Main Results:
- Aptamer-functionalized nanovaccines demonstrated specific recognition of circulating classical DCs (cDCs).
- The iDC aptamer showed superior performance in targeting cDCs compared to the CD209 aptamer.
- The iDC-functionalized nanovaccine successfully induced potent antitumor immunity.
- Effective inhibition of tumor occurrence and metastasis was observed.
Conclusions:
- Aptamer-functionalized nanovaccines offer a promising platform for cancer immunoprevention by targeting cDCs.
- The iDC aptamer enhances nanovaccine targeting of cDCs, leading to improved antitumor responses.
- This approach provides a novel strategy for developing effective cancer vaccines.
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