Exosomes-incorporated biomaterials boost cancer immunotherapy

Abstract

Cancer immunotherapy has achieved significant advancements, generating substantial and sustained anti-cancer responses. However, emerging approaches, such as immune checkpoint blockade, chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy, and tumor vaccines, have shown limited efficacy against solid tumors. A significant challenge is immune evasion, in which tumor cells trigger insufficient immune responses and create immunosuppressive microenvironments. Exosomes-incorporated biomaterials combine the benefits of both biomaterials and exosomes, overcoming their limitations. These platforms are enriched with tumor-specific antigens, possess targeted delivery capabilities, and exhibit high permeability across biological barriers. As a result, they stimulate robust immune responses against tumors and reverse immunosuppressive microenvironments, providing a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy. This review covers the preparation methods for exosomes-incorporated biomaterials and highlights their roles in various immune processes, including inducing immunogenic cell death of tumor cells, enhancing antigen presentation, regulating effector T cell responses, and inhibiting immunosuppressive cells, such as regulatory T cells, tumor-associated macrophages, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells. These versatile nanoplatforms have the potential to enhance cancer immunotherapy and show promise for clinical application, though challenges remain for their clinical translation.