Promotion of triple negative breast cancer immunotherapy by combining bioactive radicals with immune checkpoint blockade

Abstract

Although immunotherapy has revolutionized clinical cancer treatment, the efficacy is limited due to the lack of tumor-associated antigens (TAAs) and the presence of compensatory immune checkpoints. To overcome the deficiency, a nano-system loaded with ozone and CD47 inhibitor RRx-001 is designed and synthesized. Upon irradiation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated from ozone reacts with nitric oxide (NO) metabolized from RRx-001 to form reactive nitrogen species (RNS), which presents a much stronger cell-killing ability than ROS. Molecular mechanism studies further reveal that RNS induce extensive immunogenic cell death (ICD). The released TAAs promote infiltration of cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which provides the basis for immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. Meanwhile, RRx-001 carried by the nanoparticles and the produced radicals repolarize M2-type tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) into the anti-tumor M1-type, consequently reversing the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). In a xenograft triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) animal model, O₃–001@lipo (liposome enwrapping O₃ and RRx-001) plus irradiation shows a significant anti-tumor efficacy by improving cytotoxic lymphocyte infiltration and regulating immunosuppressive TME. In summary, the O₃–001@lipo nano-system triggered by irradiation potently improves the efficacy of immunotherapy by introducing strong cytotoxic RNS, which not only enriches the toolbox of ICD inducer but also provides a strategy of treatment for immune deficient tumor.

Statement of significance

This study introduces a nano-system that leverages ozone and RRx-001 in the presence of X-ray irradiation to generate reactive nitrogen species, enhancing immunogenic cell death and promoting T-lymphocyte infiltration in triple-negative breast cancer, addressing a significant unmet need in the field.

The scientific contribution is the development of a clinically translatable nano-system that not only induces ICD but also reshapes the tumor microenvironment, which is expected to have a profound impact on the readership in pharmaceutics, material science, and nano-bio interaction, particularly for those interested in advanced immune therapy approaches.