Biomineralized engineered Lactococcus lactis-based in situ vaccination enhances antitumor immunity via sequential...

Combining chemotherapy with immunotherapy is a promising strategy to enhance in situ immunity by increasing antigen exposure and inflammation in the tumor microenvironment (TME). However, the inconvenience of separate administration and the randomness of delivery can diminish the synergistic effect of these treatments. An efficient co-delivery system to optimize chemo-immunotherapy is urgently needed.

We have previously developed an engineered Lactococcus lactis (FOLactis) expressing Flt3L and OX40L to activate immune cells. Here, we biomineralized FOLactis by magnesium (Mg²⁺)-based frameworks (Mg-metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)) loaded with cisplatin and vincristine (D&V@FOLactis) to achieve sequential activation of in situ antitumor efficacy. The biomineralized D&V@FOLactis was characterized by scanning electron microscope. Confocal laser scanning microscopy, flow cytometry analysis, and immunofluorescence were employed to assess the biodistribution and the synergistic antitumor mechanisms of D&V@FOLactis in TME.

On intratumoral administration, D&V@FOLactis exhibited pH-responsive drug release, primarily inducing immunogenic cell death and enhancing antigen exposure. Subsequently, FOLactis acted as immunopotentiators to recruit immune cells and maintain long-lasting effect. D&V@FOLactis was instrumental in thoroughly improving TME, activating T-cell responses, suppressing both "cold" and "hot" tumors with abscopal effect, and prolonging survival. In the clinical trial involving three patients, the combination of D&V@FOLactis with radiotherapy suggested potential improvements in systemic immunity and a possible reduction in multiple types of tumors.

We achieved the sequential activation of synergistic chemo-immunotherapy using an all-in-one biomineralized strategy. This study marked the first instance of biomineralizing probiotics with Mg-MOFs, creating a biosafe and versatile platform for combined in situ vaccination treatment.