Progress in nanoparticle-based regulation of immune cells

Immune cells are indispensable defenders of the human body, clearing exogenous pathogens and toxicities or endogenous malignant and aging cells. Immune cell dysfunction can cause an inability to recognize, react, and remove these hazards, resulting in cancers, inflammatory diseases, autoimmune diseases, and infections. Immune cells regulation has shown great promise in treating disease, and immune agonists are usually used to treat cancers and infections caused by immune suppression. In contrast, immunosuppressants are used to treat inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. However, the key to maintaining health is to restore balance to the immune system, as excessive activation or inhibition of immune cells is a common complication of immunotherapy. Nanoparticles are efficient drug delivery systems widely used to deliver small molecule inhibitors, nucleic acid, and proteins. Using nanoparticles for the targeted delivery of drugs to immune cells provides opportunities to regulate immune cell function. In this review, we summarize the current progress of nanoparticle-based strategies for regulating immune function and discuss the prospects of future nanoparticle design to improve immunotherapy.