Interactions Between Nanoparticles and Dendritic Cells: From the Perspective of Cancer Immunotherapy

Abstract

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the primary antigen-presenting cells and play key roles in the orchestration of the innate and adaptive immune system. Targeting DCs by nanotechnology stands as a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy. The physicochemical properties of nanoparticles (NPs) influence their interactions with DCs, thus altering the immune outcome of DCs by changing their functions in the processes of maturation, homing, antigen processing and antigen presentation. In this review, we summarize the recent progress in targeting DCs using NPs as a drug delivery carrier in cancer immunotherapy, the recognition of NPs by DCs, and the ways the physicochemical properties of NPs affect DCs' functions. Finally, the molecular pathways in DCs that are affected by NPs are also discussed.

Streptococcal Extracellular Membrane Vesicles Are Rapidly Internalized by Immune Cells and Alter Their Cytokine Release

“…DC2.4 cells could promptly internalize streptococcal MVs, reaching around 80% of positive cells after an incubation period of 30 min. This may suggest a specific receptor-mediated and/or endocytosis uptake mechanism for antigen-carrying MVs into APCs as has been reported in literature (44). There is negligible uptake of liposomes by DC2.4 cells after 30 min, suggesting a specific interaction between DC2.4 cells and streptococcal MVs.…”

Gold Nanoparticles in Conjunction with Nucleic Acids as a Modern Molecular System for Cellular Delivery

“…The ease of functionalization allows the delivery of a variety of cargos to the cells. Such a quality is exploited in immunotherapies, where AuNP are conjugated with specific antigens or agents triggering the activation of immune response cells [41,42] or antibodies' production [43]. Such therapies hold a promise for cancer and infectious diseases treatment.…”

Armouring the Immune System: Future Prospects of Nanomedicine in Cancer Immunotherapy

“…For initial recognition of the pathogen or cancerous cells in the body, antigen-presenting cells (APCs) such as dendritic cells (DCs) are responsible for phagocytosing the tumour-associated antigen (TAA) and subsequently presenting it to the T-cells to induce the adaptive immune response [6]. One current immunotherapeutic strategy involves vaccinating the patient through stimulating the maturation of the DCs ex vivo with TAA antigens, then transferring the DCs back into the body to increase antigenspecific responses ( Figure 1) [1].…”

“…For example, a study published in 2017 found that intravenously administered liposomes carrying TAA-coding RNA was able to e ciently target DCs by adjusting the net charge of the liposome (Figure 1) [1]. Similarly, surface modification can also dictate the antigen uptake, with studies indicating that smaller, hydrophobic, and cationic NPs are correlated with greater internalization and interaction with the DCs [6]. Despite these enhancing functions of the NPs, studies have found impaired antigen-processing ability with NPs like graphene oxide.…”