Journal Article

Nanomicelle protects the immune activation effects of Paclitaxel and sensitizes tumors to anti-PD-1 Immunotherapy

Li, Yiming, Zhang, Yujing, Dai, Lei, Zhang, Lan, Wang, Qingnan, Deng, Hongxin, Shi, Gang, Wang, Huiling, Wang, Yuan, Qian, Zhiyong, Chen, Xiaolei, Cheng, Lin, Jiang, Ming, Yang, Qianmei, Zhang, Hantao, Tang, Minghai, Li, Jia, Yu, Dechao, Liu, Yi, Yan, Xi, Lin, Yi, Jiang, Qingyuan, Su, Xiaolan

2020

Overview

Paclitaxel (PTX) has shown pleiotropic immunologic effects on the tumor microenvironment, and nanomicelle has emerged as a promising strategy for PTX delivery. However, the detailed mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated. Meanwhile, immunogenic cell death (ICD) is an effective approach to activate the immune system. This study investigated the ICD effect of PTX and how nanomicelle affected the immune-activation ability of PTX. The ICD effects of PTX were identified via the expression of ICD markers and cell vaccine experiment. Tumor size and overall survival in multiple animal models with treatment were monitored to evaluate the antitumor effects. The mechanisms of PTX-induced ICD and antitumor immunity were determined by detecting gene expression related to ER stress and analyzing immune cell profile in tumor after treatment. We revealed the immune-regulation mechanism of PTX nanomicelle by inducing ICD, which can promote antigen presentation by dendritic cells (DCs) and activate antitumor immunity. Notably, nanomicelle encapsulation protected the ICD effects and immune activation, which were hampered by immune system impairment caused by chemotherapy. Compared with traditional formulations, a low dose of nanomicelle-encapsulated PTX (nano-PTX) treatment induced immune-dependent tumor control, which increased the infiltration and function of both T cells and DCs within tumors. However, this antitumor immunity was hampered by highly expressed PD-1 on tumor-infiltrating CD8 T cells and upregulated PD-L1 on both immune cells and tumor cells after nano-PTX treatment. Combination therapy with a low dose of nano-PTX and PD-1 antibodies elicited CD8 T cell-dependent antitumor immunity and remarkably improved the therapeutic efficacy. Our results provide systemic insights into the immune-regulation ability of PTX to induce ICD, which acts as an inducer of endogenous vaccines through ICD effects, and also provides an experimental basis for clinical combination therapy with nano-PTX and PD-1 antibodies.

• Publisher: Ivyspring International Publisher Pty Ltd,Ivyspring International Publisher
• Subject: Animals / Antibodies / Antigen presentation / Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - pharmacology / Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use / Apoptosis / B7-H1 Antigen - immunology / B7-H1 Antigen - metabolism / Bone marrow / Cancer therapies / Cancer Vaccines - administration & dosage / CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - drug effects / CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes - immunology / Cell division / Cell Line, Tumor - transplantation / Chemotherapy / Colon / Cytotoxicity / Dendritic cells / Disease Models, Animal / Drug dosages / Drug Resistance, Neoplasm - drug effects / Drug Resistance, Neoplasm - immunology / Drug Synergism / Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress - drug effects / Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress - genetics / Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress - immunology / Female / Flow cytometry / Gene Expression Profiling / Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic - drug effects / Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic - immunology / Humans / Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors - pharmacology / Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors - therapeutic use / Immune system / Immunogenic Cell Death - drug effects / Immunogenic Cell Death - immunology / Immunotherapy / Immunotherapy - methods / Lymphocytes / Melanoma / Mice / Micelles / Nanoparticles - therapeutic use / Nanotechnology / Neoplasms - immunology / Neoplasms - pathology / Neoplasms - therapy / Paclitaxel - pharmacology / Paclitaxel - therapeutic use / Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor - antagonists & inhibitors / Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor - immunology / Research Paper / Tumor Microenvironment - drug effects / Tumor Microenvironment - immunology / Tumors / Vaccines / Variance analysis