A Dual Functional Drug Delivery System that Combines Photothermal Therapy and Immunotherapy to Treat Tumors

摘要

Cancer is one of the main diseases threatening human health. Immunotherapy, in which cancer is treated by activating immunecells and inducing the body's immune response, has rapidly developed.Photothermal therapy (PTT), a new treatment method that ablatestumors by light irradiation, has attracted great attention for its goodtherapeutic effect and low toxic side effects. In the present study, wecombined photothermal and immunotherapy to design a novelnanoparticle delivery system by loading indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase(IDO) inhibitors and toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists into polydop-amine (PDA) nanoparticles coated with polyethylene imine (PEI). This delivery system has the advantages of high homogeneity,good stability, excellent biocompatibility, and low toxicity.In vitroantitumor studies showed that the system effectively inhibited theproliferation of mouse breast carcinoma cells and induced cell apoptosis. From thein vivostudies, we found that the system inhibitedthe growth of mouse breast carcinoma, facilitated the maturation of antigen-presenting cells, promoted T lymphocyte differentiation,and induced the body's immune response. The present study developed a dual functional drug delivery system combiningphotothermal therapy and immunotherapy to efficiently improve antitumor therapy with potential clinical application