Nanoliposomes as the adjuvant delivery systems in cancer immunotherapy

Abstract

Cancer immunotherapy is one of the commonly used methods in the treatment of cancer. The aim of this approach is to strengthen or restore immune function for effective diagnosis of aberrant cells antigens. For this reason, cancer specific peptides or proteins are used as antigens to induce an immune response capable of removing cancer cells. Liposomal formulations are an important carrier system frequently used for delivery of antigen because the specific properties of this component such as lipid composition, charge, size, encapsulation of antigens, or adjuvants can be changed. Among different types of liposomal formulations, the use of cationic and pH-sensitive nanoliposomes has been markedly increased for liposome-based vaccines. In this review, we describe the properties of nanoliposomes as delivery systems for cancer immunotherapy.

Nanomedicine review: clinical developments in liposomal applications

“…The transition temperature of phospholipids (T C ) (the temperature at which phospholipids shift from gel to liquid crystalline phase), is one of the main parameters in the manufacture of liposomes (Zamani et al 2018). T C depends on the length of the fatty acid chains, their degree of saturation, charge and head group species, as shown in Table 1 (Li et al 2014;Hussain et al 2017;Monteiro et al 2014).…”

“…Moreover, uptake of liposomes with a positive charge appears to be much higher than negative liposomes. Thus, negatively charged lipid liposomes are common to most FDA-approved liposome formulations (Bourquin et al 2018;Zamani et al 2018;Kraft et al 2014;Merino et al 2018).…”

“…Liposomes were discovered by Alec D. Bangham in 1965 (Allen and Cullis 2013) and were the first approved class of therapeutic NPs for cancer treatment. They still represent a large proportion of clinical-stage nanotherapeutics (Shi et al 2017;Bourquin et al 2018) due to their biodegradable, biocompatible, non-toxic, and non-immunogenic composition (Bozzuto and Molinari 2015;Zamani et al 2018). The amphiphilic phospholipid bilayer of liposomes has close resemblance to the mammalian cell membrane, enabling efficient interactions between liposomes and cell membrane and subsequently effective cellular uptake (Gonda et al 2019).…”

“…The amphiphilic phospholipid bilayer of liposomes has close resemblance to the mammalian cell membrane, enabling efficient interactions between liposomes and cell membrane and subsequently effective cellular uptake (Gonda et al 2019). In addition, liposomes may be added with ligands to increase efficiency and specifically target damaged cells, thus improving liposome pharmacokinetics and their ability to pass through target membranes, reaching high concentrations inside cells while reducing toxicity and enhancing treatment efficacy (Li et al 2014;Ud Din et al 2017;Zamani et al 2018;Hussain et al 2017;Lombardo et al 2016;Fouladi et al 2017;Maranhão et al 2017;Miller et al 2016). For instance, MM-302, an antibody-liposomal doxorubicin conjugate, specifically targets HER2 overexpressing cells (Miller et al 2016).…”

Recent Advances in Particulate Adjuvants for Cancer Vaccination

“…Their size ranges from 50 nm to several micrometers. The phospholipids are amphiphilic lipids composed of a polar phosphate head group on the exterior portion of the liposome bilayer and a hydrophobic portion composed of hydrocarbon chains on the interior portion . In addition to phospholipids, nonphospholipid amphiphiles, either alone or in combination with other lipids, can also be used, such as dioxyethylene cetyl ether or a combination of dimethyldioctadecylammonium (DDA) and synthetic cord factor (trehalose 6, 6′‐dibehenate) (TDB) .…”