Polydopamine as the Antigen Delivery Nanocarrier for Enhanced Immune Response in Tumor Immunotherapy

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of polydopamine nanoparticles (Pdop-NPs) as a subcutaneous antigen delivery vehicle in antitumor therapy. The nanoparticles were prepared by self-polymerization of dopamine in an aerobic and weak alkaline solution, and the tumor model antigen-ovalbumin (OVA) was grafted onto the nanoparticles to form OVA@Pdop nanoparticles (OVA@Pdop-NPs). The particle size of OVA@Pdop-NPs was 232.8 nm with a zeta potential of −23.4 mV, and the loading capacity of OVA protein was 754 μg mg–1. OVA@Pdop-NPs were essentially noncytotoxic and even demonstrated a slightly viability effect on bone-marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs). As compared to free OVA, OVA@Pdop-NPs exhibited higher cellular uptake and were easier to migrate to lymph nodes in vivo. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that OVA@Pdop-NPs promoted the maturation of DCs with up-regulated expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC), costimulatory molecules, and cytokines. When used to treat the mice bearing OVA-MC38 colon tumor, OVA@Pdop-NPs could effectively activate OVA-specific cytotoxic CD8+ T cells and induce the production of memory CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and thus led to significantly suppressed tumor growth. All the preliminary data demonstrated the application potential of OVA@Pdop-NPs as a vaccine vector in cancer immunotherapy.

Melanin‐Like Nanomaterials for Advanced Biomedical Applications: A Versatile Platform with Extraordinary Promise

“…Considering the immunoregulatory capacity of dopamine,88 MelNPs represent an ideal candidate to antigen delivery carriers for improved tumor immunotherapy. In a recent work, PDA NPs were used for subcutaneous antigen delivery and their anti‐tumor efficacy was evaluated 89. Ovalbumin was used as a tumor model antigen and was readily loaded on the surface of PDA nanoparticles (OVA@Pdop‐NPs), with a high loading efficiency of 754 µg mg −1 .…”

Polydopamine-based nanoreactors: synthesis and applications in bioscience and energy materials

“…35 As a novel nanocarrier, PDA is rich of aromatic rings, amino and hydroxyl groups, providing plentiful active sites for binding various drugs and chemical molecules via π-π stacking and/or hydrogen bond binding. [36][37][38] To date, a wide range of antitumor drugs such as doxorubicin (DOX), 39 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN38), 40 bortezomib, 41 terbinafine (TBF), 42 docetaxel (DTX), dihydroartemisinin (DHA), 43 and recombinant proteins such as green fluorescent protein (GFP), ribonuclease A protein (RNase), 44 and antigen-ovalbumin (OVA) 38 have been delivered to targeted tumor sites by PDA nanostructures. Moreover, PDA can be easily synthesized into various nanostructures, which strongly influences their drug loading performance and release function owing to their controllable surface area and tunable surface properties.…”

“…As a catecholamine polymer, the resultant PDA NPs could be covalently bound to the free amino and thiol groups of the tumor model antigen-ovalbumin (OVA). 38 Thus, PDA NPs with a strong antigen loading capacity has great potential as a subcutaneous antigen delivery vehicle in antitumor therapy. Another type of interaction between PDA with chemical drugs rely on π-π stacking and/or hydrogen bonding, which endows PDA with superior drug loading capability and pH-responsive release properties.…”

Polydopamine‐Incorporated Nanoformulations for Biomedical Applications

“…[ 98 ] Moreover, PDA‐incorporated nanoformulations can be used for tumor immunotherapy by loading antigens. [ 99,100 ] For example, Wang and co‐workers designed ovalbumin (OVA)‐loaded PDA NPs (OVA@Pdop‐NPs) for tumor immunotherapy. The OVA@Pdop‐NPs exhibited improved antigen uptake and stimulated the maturation of dendritic cells, thereby exhibiting a remarkable anti‐tumor effect ( Figure 11 ).…”