Injectable hydrogel-based drug formulation for enhancing tertiary lymphoid structure formation and cancer immunotherapy efficacy

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) in the tumor microenvironment are associated with improved cancer prognosis and enhanced immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) responses. In this study, an injectable hydrogel-based drug formulation is developed to stimulate TLSs formation in a B16-OVA melanoma mouse model. A hydrogel, termed HA-CPP⸦CB (Cabrita et al., 2020 [8]), is formed by supramolecular interactions between 4-(4-chlorophenyl)pyridine modified hyaluronic acid (HA-CPP) and cucurbit [8]uril (CB (Cabrita et al., 2020 [8])). The results reveal that a single injection of HA-CPP⸦CB (Cabrita et al., 2020 [8]) hydrogel containing the CXCL13 chemokine and LIGHT cytokine effectively increases TLSs density, facilitates mature TLSs formation, suppresses tumor growth, and extends survival. Importantly, the hydrogel treatment also up-regulates the number of antigen-specific T-cells in the secondary lymphoid organs. Furthermore, combination of the hydrogel-based drug formulation and the anti-PD1 ICB therapy results in increased tumor suppression, improved survival rates, and strengthened TLSs formation, ultimately contributing to B16-OVA melanoma eradication. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the potential application of hydrogel-based drug carriers as synthetic immune niche scaffolds for promoting mature-like TLSs formation within the B16-OVA melanoma tumor microenvironment, offering a promising strategy for advancing tumor immunotherapy.