Black phosphorus-based nanoparticles induce liver cancer cell mitochondrial apoptosis and immune cell tumor infiltration for enhancing dendritic cell therapy

Cellular immunotherapy is a crucial aspect of current tumor immunotherapy, though it presents several challenges such as immune cell dysfunction, limited recognition of neoantigens, and inadequate lymphocyte infiltration into the tumor microenvironment. This study proposes a novel approach utilizing a combination of dendritic cell (DC)-based cellular immunotherapy and a photothermal nanoadjuvant black phosphorus (BP) nanoparticles to overcome these challenges. A new platform called PLGA@BP-R848, which consists of modifying poly-(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) onto BP nanosheets loading the immune adjuvant R848. The PLGA@BP-R848 nanoparticles demonstrated exceptional drug delivery and release capabilities, as well as a photothermal effect, biocompatibility, and the ability to activate the mitochondrial apoptotic pathway Blc-2-Bax-Cytochrome c-caspase-3 and inhibit the PI3K-AKT-mTOR signaling pathway. In a hepatocellular carcinoma mouse model, the binding of PLGA@BP-R848 nanoparticles and dendritic cells primed with GPC3 peptides, successfully induced a systemic anti-tumor immune response. PLGA@BP-R848 nanoparticles bolster immune cell infiltration into tumors and induce cancer cell apoptosis. The synergistic therapy involving dendritic cells and photothermal nanoadjuvant effectively suppressed tumor growth, and facilitated the formation of tertiary lymphatic structures (TLS) in tumors. This study presents a novel approach in using photothermal nanoadjuvants to advance antitumor effect of cellular immunotherapy, such as DCs therapy.