In situ cancer vaccination using lipidoid nanoparticles

Abstract

In situ vaccination is a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy owing to its convenience and the ability to induce numerous tumor antigens. However, the advancement of in situ vaccination techniques has been hindered by low cross-presentation of tumor antigens and the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. To balance the safety and efficacy of in situ vaccination, we designed a lipidoid nanoparticle (LNP) to achieve simultaneously enhancing cross-presentation and STING activation. From combinatorial library screening, we identified 93-O17S-F, which promotes both the cross-presentation of tumor antigens and the intracellular delivery of cGAMP (STING agonist). Intratumor injection of 93-O17S-F/cGAMP in combination with pretreatment with doxorubicin exhibited excellent antitumor efficacy, with 35% of mice exhibiting total recovery from a primary B16F10 tumor and 71% of mice with a complete recovery from a subsequent challenge, indicating the induction of an immune memory against the tumor. This study provides a promising strategy for in situ cancer vaccination.