A pressing challenge in cancer immunotherapy is improving the specificity of drug delivery systems. Can there be effective carriers that can not only transport antigens to antigen presenting cells , but also activate them? As an answer, scientists from Osaka, Japan, developed nanosystems to boost cellular immunity against tumors, via dendritic cell action. The nano vaccines were made by adding cationic lipids and Ξ²-glucan-based pH-responsive polysaccharides to liposomes.
These modified liposomes were taken up by dendritic cells five times more than normal, which caused a nearly 100-fold increase in cytokine Β production. When administered in mouse models, the liposomes led to increased M1-type macrophages in the cancer tissue , which aid anticancer immune response . On the other hand, M2-type macrophages , which promote cancer growth, declined significantly. In summary, theseβ¦
