Nanomaterial‐Boosted Tumor Immunotherapy Through Natural Killer Cells

Abstract

Natural killer (NK)‐cell immunotherapy as an alternative to T‐cell immunotherapy has been widely used in clinical cell immunotherapy of various tumors. Despite the surprising findings, the widespread applications of NK cells are still limited by the insufficient expansion and short lifespan of adoptive NK cells in vivo, the poor penetration of NK cells in solid tumors, as well as the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment that may cause the inactivation of NK cells. Fortunately, the emergence of nanomaterials provides many opportunities to address these vexing problems, thus overcoming the barriers faced by NK cells and promoting the tumor inhibitory efficacy of NK cells. Herein, the recent advances in the rational design of nanomaterials for boosting the NK cell‐based immunotherapy, mainly through enhancing NK cell engagement with tumors, boosting NK cell activation or expansion, as well as redirecting NK cells to tumor cells, are reviewed. Lastly, the design and preparation of next‐generation nanomaterials that aim to further boost the NK cell‐based immunotherapy are briefly discussed.

Effect of surface modification on the distribution of magnetic nanorings in hepatocellular carcinoma and immune cells

“…However, to design nanoparticles for the regulation of lymphocyte function in tumors, especially NK cells, it is obviously critical to endow nanoparticles with the ability to elevate the accumulation level in the target lymphocytes. 39,40 Then, we investigate the distribution of FVIOs with or without SP94 in different myeloid cells. Photographs of seven-color fluorescence sections showing DCs, TAMs, MDSCs and their colocalization with FVIOs (FITC + ) are shown in Fig.…”

“…However, to design nanoparticles for the regulation of lymphocyte function in tumors, especially NK cells, it is obviously critical to endow nanoparticles with the ability to elevate the accumulation level in the target lymphocytes. 39,40…”

NK cell-based tumor immunotherapy

“…To address the above challenges, various nanomaterials have been designed and fabricated to promote NK cell-based tumor immunotherapy. The excellent properties of nanomaterials include simplicity of synthesis, high specific surface area, surface modifiability, and versatility for drug delivery [ 31 ]. Different nanomaterials can activate exogenous and/or endogenous NK cells in different ways, and promote their applications for tumor immunotherapy.…”

“…A possible solution for improving the efficacy of NK cell-based tumor immunotherapy is the nanotechnology. Over the past few decades, the application of nanotechnology in immunotherapy has attracted extensive attention [ [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] ]. The unique physical and chemical properties of nanoscale materials lay a solid foundation for tumor therapy [ [33] , [34] , [35] ].…”