Regulating Glucose Metabolism with Prodrug Nanoparticles for Promoting Photoimmunotherapy of Pancreatic Cancer

Abstract

The low immunogenicity, insufficient infiltration of T lymphocytes, and dismal response to immune checkpoint blockade therapy pose major difficulties in immunotherapy of pancreatic cancer. Photoimmunotherapy by photodynamic therapy (PDT) can induce an antitumor immune response by triggering immunogenic cell death in the tumor cells. Notwithstanding, PDT-driven oxygen consumption and microvascular damage can further aggravate hypoxia to exaggerates glycolysis, leading to lactate accumulation and immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Herein, a supramolecular prodrug nanoplatform codelivering a photosensitizer and a prodrug of bromodomain-containing protein 4 inhibitor (BRD4i) JQ1 for combinatory photoimmunotherapy of pancreatic cancer are demonstrated. The nanoparticles are fabricated by host–guest complexation between cyclodextrin-grafted hyaluronic acid (HA-CD) and adamantine-conjugated heterodimers of pyropheophorbide a (PPa) and JQ1, respectively. HA can achieve active tumor targeting by recognizing highly expressed CD44 on the surface of pancreatic tumors. PPa-mediated PDT can enhance the immunogenicity of the tumor cells and promote intratumoral infiltration of the cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Meanwhile, JQ1 combats PDT-mediated immune evasion through inhibiting expression of c-Myc and PD-L1, which are key regulators of tumor glycolysis and immune evasion. Collectively, this study presents a novel strategy to enhance photoimmunotherapy of the pancreatic cancer by provoking T cells activation and overcoming adaptive immune resistance.