Targeted Modulation of the Meningeal Lymphatic Reverse Pathway for Immunotherapy of Breast Cancer Brain Metastases

Abstract

Treatment of tumor brain metastases remains challenging due to the ineffectiveness of drugs in crossing the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Here, we proposed a potential strategy to target and modulate the meningeal lymphatic system for immunotherapy of breast cancer brain metastases (BCBM) through peripheral administration. CT/fluorescence dual-modality imaging demonstrated that the phospholipid nanoprobe (α-PLNPs) through intracisternal magna injection effectively labeled and long-range tracked the meningeal lymphatic pathway from meningeal lymphatic vessels (MLVs) to periphery drainage cervical lymph nodes (CLNs). Interestingly, the reverse pathway from CLNs to MLVs was also successfully labeled with α-PLNPs through cervical subcutaneous injection, facilitating the noninvasive delivery of immunomodulators to the meningeal lymphatics. Given this, we used melittin-carrying α-M-PLNPs to trigger the modulation of the meningeal lymphatic reverse pathway, which effectively prevents BCBM and prolongs the survival of mice through activating the antigen-presenting cells in the CLNs and promoting the migration of CD8⁺ T cells into the metastatic brain tumors. This study highlights the potential of the meningeal lymphatic reverse pathway for the immunotherapy of BCBM, which holds great promise for central nervous system disease therapy without the need for drug delivery via BBB.