Leveraging Immunological Properties of Nucleic Acid Nanoparticles to Improve Cancer Therapy

Cancer is a systemic disorder resulting from altered molecular and cellular processes and dysfunctional body systems. One of the systems dysfunctional in cancer is the immune system. Tumors develop multiple mechanisms to escape immune surveillance and reprogram the immune cells to support cancer progression. The vicious circle of tumor-immune system interactions in cancer is often referred to as the cancer immunity cycle. Nucleic acid nanoparticles (NANPs) have recently emerged as a novel class of materials with a broad spectrum of therapeutic modalities and properties distinct from traditional therapeutic nucleic acids. Herein, we review the current literature regarding the recognition of NANPs by the immune system and explore how their intrinsic and controlled immunological properties can be leveraged to overcome the barriers to effective cancer immunotherapy created by the cancer immunity cycle.