Oncolytic microgels with regulated antibody release augment tumor immunotherapy

The inhibition of immune checkpoints has emerged as a most successful immunotherapy strategy for cancers; however, it bears a modest clinical response rate and certain cases severe systemic adverse reactions. Here, oncolytic microgels (OMG) that possess similar antitumor activity and immune activation to oncolytic peptide LTX-315 and are capable of sustained release of immune checkpoint inhibitors have been developed to potentiate cancer immunotherapy. Of note, antibodies including anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1, and anti-CTLA-4 all could be quantitatively loaded into OMG while being gradually released over a couple of weeks in vitro and in tumor as well. In the B16F10 melanoma model, a single tumoral injection of anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4-loaded OMG (P1C4@OMG) effectively reversed suppressive tumor microenvironment and enhanced anti-tumor immune response, achieving potent tumor suppression and striking survival benefits. This study heralds oncolytic microgels with regulated antibody release as a safe and unique platform for cancer immunotherapy.