Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery Systems Targeting Tumor Microenvironment for Cancer Immunotherapy Resistance: Current Advances and Applications

Abstract

Cancer immunotherapy has shown impressive anti-tumor activity in patients with advanced and early-stage malignant tumors, thus improving long-term survival. However, current cancer immunotherapy is limited by barriers such as low tumor specificity, poor response rate, and systemic toxicities, which result in the development of primary, adaptive, or acquired resistance. Immunotherapy resistance has complex mechanisms that depend on the interaction between tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME). Therefore, targeting TME has recently received attention as a feasibility strategy for re-sensitizing resistant neoplastic niches to existing cancer immunotherapy. With the development of nanotechnology, nanoplatforms possess outstanding features, including high loading capacity, tunable porosity, and specific targeting to the desired locus. Therefore, nanoplatforms can significantly improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy while reducing its toxic and side effects on non-target cells that receive intense attention in cancer immunotherapy. This review explores the mechanisms of tumor microenvironment reprogramming in immunotherapy resistance, including TAMs, CAFs, vasculature, and hypoxia. We also examined whether the application of nano-drugs combined with current regimens is improving immunotherapy clinical outcomes in solid tumors.

Nanotechnology Meets Stem Cell Therapy for Treating Glioblastomas: A Review

“…In this scenario, nanoparticle-based stem cell therapy emerges as a promising solution to deal with these issues. It enables enhanced tumor targeting, reducing the likelihood of tumor formation, and improving immune evasion through nanoparticle encapsulation . This approach utilizes ethically acceptable adult stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells, mitigating ethical concerns.…”

Cytotoxic Performance of Synthesized Mn‐Doped ZnO Nanorods in MCF‐7 Cells

“…This demand led to the employment of nanotechnology as a tool for producing enhanced nanoparticles with anti-neoplastic features. [20][21][22][23] The recent progression of specific biomedical obstacles, similar to the intensified resistance of pathogenic strains infections to antimicrobials and the emergence of unknown types of cancer, has further signified the crucial stance of designing modern practical tools. In this regard, the importance of exerting nanotechnology relies on the size and framework of nanocrystals, which can provide the management of their physical and chemical features.…”

“…Throughout the recent years, many researches were urgently conducted on the design of antitumor drugs due to the stance of cancer as a public health difficulty. This demand led to the employment of nanotechnology as a tool for producing enhanced nanoparticles with anti‐neoplastic features [20–23] …”

Gold Nanoparticles as Drug Carriers: The Role of Silica and PEG as Surface Coatings in Optimizing Drug Loading

“…Drug delivery systems are designed to deliver therapeutic agents in order to maximize their effectiveness and minimize their side effects [ 1 ]. There are many different types of drug delivery systems, including micro- [ 2 ] and nanoparticles [ 3 ], nanoplatforms [ 4 , 5 , 6 ], devices [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ], and theragnostic platforms [ 11 , 12 , 13 ]. These systems can be used to deliver a wide range of drugs, including chemotherapeutics [ 14 , 15 , 16 ], gene therapies [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ], and other biologics [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 ].…”