Exploiting a type III interferon response to improve chemotherapeutic safety and efficacy

Immune reactions to nanomedicines can be detrimental to the patient and compromise efficacy. However, our recent study characterizing the effects of a type III interferon (IFN-λ) response to lipid nanoparticles complexed with nucleic acids (lipoplexes) suggests that an IFN-λ pretreatment can increase tumor accumulation while decreasing off-target distribution of chemotherapeutic nanomedicines. This project provides a direct follow-up to our previously published works by clarifying 1) which cell type(s) can produce IFN-λ in response to lipoplexes and how the effects of IFN-λ may be propagated in humans. Additionally, we demonstrate 2) that an IFN-λ pretreatment is also capable of altering the accumulation profile of chemotherapeutic small molecules like doxorubicin. Finally, we determined 3) that the subcutaneous administration route for an IFN-λ pretreatment is the most efficacious, and 4) that an IFN-λ pretreatment can significantly increase the survival time of mice receiving Doxil® in a murine CT26 tumor model. With several chemotherapeutic nanomedicines available in the clinic and an IFN-λ product recently completing late phase clinical trials, this study provides the model for a novel anti-cancer treatment regime that can be rapidly translated to the clinic and improve the efficacy of contemporary treatment protocols.