PTPmu-targeted nanoparticles label invasive pediatric and adult glioblastoma.

Poor prognosis for glioblastoma (GBM) is a consequence of the aggressive and infiltrative nature of gliomas where individual cells migrate away from the main tumor to distant sites, making complete surgical resection and treatment difficult. In this manuscript, we characterize an invasive pediatric glioma model and determine if nanoparticles linked to a peptide recognizing the GBM tumor biomarker PTPmu can specifically target both the main tumor and invasive cancer cells in adult and pediatric glioma models. Using both iron and lipid-based nanoparticles, we demonstrate by magnetic resonance imaging, optical imaging, histology, and iron quantification that PTPmu-targeted nanoparticles effectively label adult gliomas. Using PTPmu-targeted nanoparticles in a newly characterized orthotopic pediatric SJ-GBM2 model, we demonstrate individual tumor cell labeling both within the solid tumor margins and at invasive and dispersive sites.

Can targeted nanoparticles distinguish cancer metastasis from inflammation?

Targeting ligands have been widely used to increase the intratumoral accumulation of nanoparticles and their uptake by cancer cells. However, these ligands aim at targets that are often also upregulated in inflamed tissues. Here, we assessed the ability of targeted nanoparticles to distinguish metastatic cancer from sites of inflammation. Using common targeting ligands and a 60-nm liposome as a representative nanoparticle, we generated three targeted nanoparticle (NP) variants that targeted either fibronectin, folate, or αvß3 integrin, whose deposition was compared against that of standard untargeted NP. Using fluorescently labeled NPs and ex vivo fluorescence imaging of organs, we assessed the deposition of the NPs into the lungs of mice modeling 4 different biological landscapes, including healthy lungs, aggressive metastasis in lungs, dormant/latent metastasis in lungs, and lungs with general pulmonary inflammation. Among the four NP variants, fibronectin-targeting NP and untargeted NP exhibited the highest deposition in lungs harboring aggressive metastases. However, the deposition of all targeted NP variants in lungs with metastasis was similar to the deposition in lungs with inflammation. Only the untargeted NP was able to exhibit higher deposition in metastasis than inflammation. Moreover, flow-cytometry analysis showed all NP variants accumulated predominantly in immune cells rather than cancer cells. For example, the number of NP+ macrophages and dendritic cells was 16-fold greater than NP+ cancer cells in the case of fibronectin-targeting NP. Overall, targeted NPs were unable to distinguish cancer metastasis from general inflammation, which may have clinical implications to the nanoparticle-mediated delivery of cancer drugs.

Comparison of the uptake of untargeted and targeted immunostimulatory nanoparticles by immune cells in the microenvironment of metastatic breast cancer.

To alter the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), we developed an immunostimulatory nanoparticle (NP) to reprogram a tumor's dysfunctional and inhibitory antigen-presenting cells (APCs) into properly activated APCs that stimulate tumor-reactive cytotoxic T cells. Importantly, systemic delivery allowed NPs to efficiently utilize the entire microvasculature and gain access into the majority of the perivascular TME, which coincided with the APC-rich tumor areas leading to uptake of the NPs predominantly by APCs. In this work, a 60 nm NP was loaded with a STING agonist, which triggered robust production of interferon ß, resulting in activation of APCs. In addition to untargeted NPs, we employed 'mainstream' ligands targeting fibronectin, αvß3 integrin and P-selectin that are commonly used to direct nanoparticles to tumors. Using the 4T1 mouse model, we assessed the microdistribution of the four NP variants in the tumor immune microenvironment in three different breast cancer landscapes, including primary tumor, early metastasis, and late metastasis. The different NP variants resulted in variable uptake by immune cell subsets depending on the organ and tumor stage. Among the NP variants, therapeutic studies indicated that the untargeted NPs and the integrin-targeting NPs exhibited a remarkable short- and long-term immune response and long-lasting antitumor effect.

Stimuli-Responsive Iron Oxide Nanotheranostics: A Versatile and Powerful Approach for Cancer Therapy.

Recent advancements in unravelling elements of cancer biology involved in disease progression and treatment resistance have highlighted the need for a holistic approach to effectively tackle cancer. Stimuli-responsive nanotheranostics based on iron oxide nanoparticles are an emerging class of versatile nanomedicines with powerful capabilities to "seek, sense, and attack" multiple components of solid tumors. In this work, the rationale for using iron oxide nanoparticles and the basic physical principles that impact their function in biomedical applications are reviewed. Subsequently, recent advances in the integration of iron oxide nanoparticles with various stimulus mechanisms to facilitate the development of stimuli-responsive nanotheranostics for application in cancer therapy are summarized. The integration of an iron oxide core with various surface coating mechanisms results in the generation of hybrid nanoconstructs with capabilities to codeliver a wide variety of highly potent anticancer therapeutics and immune modulators. Finally, emerging future directions and considerations for their clinical translation are touched upon.

The effect of PEGylation on the efficacy and uptake of an immunostimulatory nanoparticle in the tumor immune microenvironment.

The efficacy of immunotherapies is often limited by the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment, which is populated with dysfunctional innate immune cells. To reprogram the tumor-resident innate immune cells, we developed immunostimulatory silica mesoporous nanoparticles (immuno-MSN). The cargo of immuno-MSN is a Stimulator of Interferon Gene (STING) agonist, which activates innate immune cells leading to production of interferon (IFN) ß. By proficiently trafficking its cargo into immune cells, the immuno-MSN induced a 9-fold increase of IFN-ß secretion compared to free agonist. While an external PEG shield has historically been used to protect nanoparticles from immune recognition, a PEGylated immunostimulatory nanoparticle needs to strike a balance between immune evasion to avoid off-site accumulation and uptake by target immune cells in tumors. Using the 4T1 mouse model of metastatic breast cancer and flow cytometry, it was determined that the degree of PEGylation significantly influenced the uptake of 'empty' MSNs by tumor-resident innate immune cells. This was not the case for the agonist-loaded immuno-MSN variants. It should be noted the surface charge of the 'empty' MSNs was positive rather than neutral for the agonist-loaded immuno-MSNs. However, even though the cellular uptake was similar at 24 h after injection for the three immuno-MSN variants, we observed a significant beneficial effect on the activation and expansion of APCs especially in lung metastasis using the lightly PEGylated immuno-MSN variant.

Hyperthermia-mediated changes in the tumor immune microenvironment using iron oxide nanoparticles.

Iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) have often been investigated for tumor hyperthermia. IONPs act as heating foci in the presence of an alternating magnetic field (AMF). It has been shown that hyperthermia can significantly alter the tumor immune microenvironment. Typically, mild hyperthermia invokes morphological changes within the tumor, which elicits a secretion of inflammatory cytokines and tumor neoantigens. Here, we focused on the direct effect of IONP-induced hyperthermia on the various tumor-resident immune cell subpopulations. We compared direct intratumoral injection to systemic administration of IONPs followed by application of an external AMF. We used the orthotopic 4T1 mouse model, which represents aggressive and metastatic breast cancer with a highly immunosuppressive microenvironment. A non-inflamed and 'cold' microenvironment inhibits peripheral effector lymphocytes from effectively trafficking into the tumor. Using intratumoral or systemic injection, IONP-induced hyperthermia achieved a significant reduction of all the immune cell subpopulations in the tumor. However, the systemic delivery approach achieved superior outcomes, resulting in substantial reductions in the populations of both innate and adaptive immune cells. Upon depletion of the existing dysfunctional tumor-resident immune cells, subsequent treatment with clinically approved immune checkpoint inhibitors encouraged the repopulation of the tumor with 'fresh' infiltrating innate and adaptive immune cells, resulting in a significant decrease of the tumor cell population.

Immunostimulatory silica nanoparticle boosts innate immunity in brain tumors.

The high mortality associated with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is attributed to its invasive nature, hypoxic core, resistant cell subpopulations and a highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). To support adaptive immune function and establish a more robust antitumor immune response, we boosted the local innate immune compartment of GBM using an immunostimulatory mesoporous silica nanoparticle, termed immuno-MSN. The immuno-MSN was specifically designed for systemic and proficient delivery of a potent innate immune agonist to dysfunctional antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in the brain TME. The cargo of the immuno-MSN was cyclic diguanylate monophosphate (cdGMP), a Stimulator of Interferon Gene (STING) agonist. Studies showed the immuno-MSN promoted the uptake of STING agonist by APCs in vitro and the subsequent release of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interferon ß, 6-fold greater than free agonist. In an orthotopic GBM mouse model, systemically administered immuno-MSN particles were taken up by APCs in the near-perivascular regions of the brain tumor with striking efficiency. The immuno-MSNs facilitated the recruitment of dendritic cells and macrophages to the TME while sparing healthy brain tissue and peripheral organs, resulting in elevated circulating CD8+ T cell activity (2.5-fold) and delayed GBM tumor growth. We show that an engineered immunostimulatory nanoparticle can support pro-inflammatory innate immune function in GBM and subsequently augment current immunotherapeutic interventions and improve their therapeutic outcome.

Imaging breast cancer using a dual-ligand nanochain particle.

Nanoparticles often only exploit the upregulation of a receptor on cancer cells to enhance intratumoral deposition of therapeutic and imaging agents. However, a single targeting moiety assumes that a tumor is homogenous and static. Tumoral microenvironments are both heterogenous and dynamic, often displaying variable spatial and temporal expression of targetable receptors throughout disease progression. Here, we evaluated the in vivo performance of an iron oxide nanoparticle in terms of targeting and imaging of orthotropic mouse models of aggressive breast tumors. The nanoparticle, a multi-component nanochain, was comprised of 3-5 iron oxide nanoparticles chemically linked in a linear chain. The nanoparticle's surface was decorated with two types of ligands each targeting two different upregulated biomarkers on the tumor endothelium, P-selectin and fibronectin. The nanochain exhibited improved tumor deposition not only through vascular targeting but also through its elongated structure. A single-ligand nanochain exhibited a ~2.5-fold higher intratumoral deposition than a spherical nanoparticle variant. Furthermore, the dual-ligand nanochain exhibited higher consistency in generating detectable MR signals compared to a single-ligand nanochain. Using a 7T MRI, the dual-ligand nanochains exhibited highly detectable MR signal within 3h after injection in two different animal models of breast cancer.