Engineered Nanoparticles for Enhanced Antitumoral Synergy Between Macrophages and T Cells in the Tumor Microenvironment

Abstract

AbstractT cells and macrophages have the potential to collaborate to eliminate tumor cells efficiently. Macrophages can eliminate tumor cells through phagocytosis and subsequently activate T cells by presenting tumor antigens. The activated T cells, in turn, can kill tumor cells and redirect tumor‐associated macrophages toward an antitumoral M1 phenotype. However, checkpoint molecules expressed on tumor cells impede the collaborative action of these immune cells. Meanwhile, monotherapy with a single immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) for either macrophages or T cells yields suboptimal efficacy in cancer patients. To address this challenge, here a nanoparticle capable of efficiently delivering dual ICIs to tumors for both macrophages and T cells is developed. These programmed cell death protein 1 (PD‐1)‐transfected macrophage membrane‐derived nanoparticles (PMMNPs) can target tumors and provide signal‐regulatory protein alpha and PD‐1 to block CD47 and programmed cell death‐ligand 1 (PD‐L1), respectively, on tumor cells. PMMNPs enhance macrophage‐mediated cancer cell phagocytosis and antigen presentation, promote T cell activation, and induce the reprogramming of macrophages toward an antitumoral phenotype. In syngeneic tumor‐bearing mice, PMMNPs demonstrate superior therapeutic efficacy compared to nanoparticles delivering single ICIs and non‐targeted delivery of anti‐CD47 and anti‐PD‐L1 antibodies. PMMNPs capable of augmenting the antitumoral interplay between macrophages and T cells may offer a promising avenue for cancer immunotherapy.