Smart Lipid-Based Nanosystems for Therapeutic Immune Induction against Cancers: Perspectives and Outlooks

Cancer immunotherapy, a promising and widely applied mode of oncotherapy, makes use of immune stimulants and modulators to overcome the immune dysregulation present in cancer, and leverage the host’s immune capacity to eliminate tumors. Although some success has been seen in this field, toxicity and weak immune induction remain challenges. Liposomal nanosystems, previously used as targeting agents, are increasingly functioning as immunotherapeutic vehicles, with potential for delivery of contents, immune induction, and synergistic drug packaging. These systems are tailorable, multifunctional, and smart. Liposomes may deliver various immune reagents including cytokines, specific T-cell receptors, antibody fragments, and immune checkpoint inhibitors, and also present a promising platform upon which personalized medicine approaches can be built, especially with preclinical and clinical potentials of liposomes often being frustrated by inter- and intrapatient variation. In this review, we show the potential of liposomes in cancer immunotherapy, as well as the methods for synthesis and in vivo progression thereof. Both preclinical and clinical studies are included to comprehensively illuminate prospects and challenges for future research and application.

Role of lipopolysaccharides in potential applications of nanocarrier systems

Background: Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) are considered the main molecular component in the outer membrane of gram-negative bacteria. The LPS molecule in the bacterial cell wall acts as a primary physical barrier and protects gram-negative bacteria from the surrounding environment. LPS (endotoxins) show immunomodulatory therapeutic properties as well as toxicity to the host cell, whereas potential applications encompass. Objective: This review article aims to describe the recent developments of lipopolysaccharides in nanocarrier systems for various applications such as vaccination, cancer chemotherapy and immune stimulants action. Different nanocarriers like cubosomes, niosomes, dendrimers and metal nanoparticles used in the delivery of actives are employed to decorate lipopolysaccharide molecules superficially. Methods: A narrative review of all the relevant papers known to the author was conducted. Conclusion: Commercially available lipid nanoparticles contribute to many advances as promising nanocarriers in cancer therapy and are used as a vaccine adjuvant by improving the immune response due to their properties such as size, shape, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. Whereas lipopolysaccharide-decorated nanoparticles change the host's tolerability and increase the effectiveness of molecule in cancer immunotherapy. These nanoconjugate systems enhance overall immunogenic response and effectiveness in vaccine immunotherapy and targeted therapy, not only limited to humans application but also for poultry and aquaculture. Newer opportunities using lipopolysaccharides for the treatment and management of diseases with unique characteristics like the presence of lipoprotein that act as an alternative for bacterial infections over conventional dosage forms.

β-glucan as a promising food additive and immunostimulant in aquaculture industry

The use of antibiotics in aquatic feed reduces the incidence of disease and enhances growth performance, although it presents harmful effects, such as development of resistant bacteria and accumulation in the natural environment. A variety of immune stimulants including probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, phytobiotics, organic acids, nucleotides, antioxidants, microalgae, yeast and enzymes have been used in the aquaculture industry. In recent decades, much attention has been paid on finding a variety of immunostimulants with lower cost which also affect specific and non-specific immunity and improve fish resistance against a wide range of pathogens. These stimulants strengthen the fish’s immune system by increasing the number of phagocytes, lysozyme activity and level of immunoglobulin. The use of immune stimulants as an effective tool to overcome diseases and strengthen the immune system of farmed species, leads to the promotion of cellular and humoral defense mechanisms and increases resistance to infectious diseases. Among these immunostimulants used in aquaculture, β-glucans are of particular importance. Glucans are complex polysaccharide compounds extracted from the cell wall of yeasts and fungi. These compounds can stimulate fish growth, survival, and immune function. Therefore, this review discusses the role and importance of β-glucan as a food additive in aquaculture and examines the impact of these compounds on the growth performance, immunity and biochemical parameters of farmed species.

Nano-ablative immunotherapy for cancer treatment

Immunotherapy has provided a new avenue to treat metastatic cancers, which result in ∼90% of cancer related deaths. However, current immunotherapies, such as immune checkpoint therapy (ICT), have met with limited success, primarily due to tumor intrinsic and extrinsic factors that inhibit antitumor immune responses. To overcome the immune suppression of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and enhance the tumoricidal activity of ICT, phototherapy, particularly photothermal therapy (PTT), combined with nanomedicine has become a viable option. PTT disrupts target tumor homeostasis, releasing tumor associated antigens (TAAs), tumor specific antigens (TSAs), danger associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), and scarce nutrients required to “feed” activated antitumor immune cells. While nanoparticles localize and specify the phototherapeutic effect, they can also be loaded with immune stimulants, TME modulators, and/or chemotherapeutic agents to greatly enhance immune stimulation and tumor killing. Combining these three technologies, which we term nano-ablative immunotherapy (NAIT), with ICT can greatly enhance their therapeutic effects. In this review, we will discuss the successes and limitations of NAIT + ICT. Specifically, we will discuss how the TME limits tumoricidal activity and what should be considered to overcome these limitations.

Nanoparticle-enabled innate immune stimulation activates endogenous tumor-infiltrating T cells with broad antigen specificities

Tumors are often infiltrated by T lymphocytes recognizing either self- or mutated antigens but are generally inactive, although they often show signs of prior clonal expansion. Hypothesizing that this may be due to peripheral tolerance, we formulated nanoparticles containing innate immune stimulants that we found were sufficient to activate self-specific CD8+ T cells and injected them into two different mouse tumor models, B16F10 and MC38. These nanoparticles robustly activated and/or expanded antigen-specific CD8+ tumor-infiltrating T cells, along with a decrease in regulatory CD4+ T cells and an increase in Interleukin-17 producers, resulting in significant tumor growth retardation or elimination and the establishment of immune memory in surviving mice. Furthermore, nanoparticles with modification of stimulating human T cells enabled the robust activation of endogenous T cells in patient-derived tumor organoids. These results indicate that breaking peripheral tolerance without regard to the antigen specificity creates a promising pathway for cancer immunotherapy.

Rediscovering pride in agricultural heritage through cultivation of African Indigenous vegetables (AIVs) as climate acquiescent vegetables, immune and health in response to COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe

African Indigenous Vegetables are assert to cope with climate variability beside their great potential as both food and medicine in Zimbabwe. They can be easily grown in drought prone areas with low rainfall as they are resistant to adverse environmental factors. Inimitable opportunities are offered through cultivation of AIVs to diversify farming systems so as to ensure food security and are cheap alternatives as compared to their expensive exotic counterparts. Alternative approaches to reduce escalating numbers of current Covid-19 patients and death is to introduce nutrient intervention through rediscovering of pride in agriculture through cultivation and commercialisation of AIVs in Zimbabwe. AIVs have great potential to improve immune response by supplementing dietary requirements (micronutrients) of an individual and can have a positive impact on COVID-19 outcome as they play a significant role in the immune system. AIVs have antifungal, acaricidal, antiviral, anticancer and act as immune stimulants. There is need for persuasive research based information, suitable national legislation and information campaigns on cultivation and consumption of AIVs in Zimbabwe.

Immunodmodulation: herbal perspective and investigations-A review

Immunomodulation had been in application in medical systems and the traditional Indian systems like Ayurveda. It has various applications in medicine for altering the defence of the body that is immunity. A lot of conditions that require immunomodulation are supported by drugs for immune suppression and immune stimulation. They are often called as immune suppressants and immune stimulants. There are other class of drugs, immune adjuvants. Synthetic drugs are notorious for causing side effects and the herbal alternatives had been investigated for the activity. So the herbs stand as the alternatives for the synthetic drugs in better treating the disease that concern the immune system. The inconsistency of the in-vivo response of the immunity, with the phytochemicals, is also a limiting step for their effective usage as immunomodulatory agents when it comes to practical application. Overall, herbs had been supplying the chemical constituents that can be used directly or in the purified form as immunomodulatory agents. This review is the segregation of the various methods available to perform the screening of the drugs and extracts for immunomodulatory activity. This paper also enlists various herbs used for immunomodulation and had been proven for the same recently from 2010 to date.

A nucleic acid nanogel dually bears siRNA and CpG motifs for synergistic tumor immunotherapy

Immune system plays a key role in restraining the tumor progression. Therefore, enhancing immune functions using immune stimulants, such as unmethylated CpG oligonucleotides, have emerged as a promising strategy for...