Issue 43, 2023

Engineered elastin-like polypeptide-based hydrogel delivering chemotherapeutics and PD-L1 antibodies for potentiated cancer immunotherapy

Abstract

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have effectively eradicated advanced tumors by inducing durable and systematic antitumor immune responses. However, when used as a standalone treatment, ICIs typically exhibit a low response rate in many cancers. In this study, we engineered an in situ-formed gel depot using elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) to efficiently deliver PD-L1 antibodies (aPD-L1) and gemcitabine (GEM) for enhanced immunotherapy in melanoma. Sustainably released chemotherapeutics from gel depots could kill melanoma cells and promote PD-L1 upregulation in tumor cells. Moreover, aPD-L1/GEM-encapsulated ELP hydrogel promoted a 3.0-fold increase of tumor-infiltrated CD8+ T cells and 60% Tregs depletion compared with PBS group, eliciting a robust antitumor immune response for immunotherapy in melanoma mouse models. This research highlights the promising potential of ELP-based hydrogels in delivering ICIs and chemotherapeutic agents for potentiated cancer immunotherapy.

Graphical abstract: Engineered elastin-like polypeptide-based hydrogel delivering chemotherapeutics and PD-L1 antibodies for potentiated cancer immunotherapy

  • This article is part of the themed collection: #MyFirstJMCB

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
27 8 2023
Accepted
04 10 2023
First published
11 10 2023

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2023,11, 10355-10361

Engineered elastin-like polypeptide-based hydrogel delivering chemotherapeutics and PD-L1 antibodies for potentiated cancer immunotherapy

J. Chen, M. Cui, L. He, Y. Mu, N. Hu and X. Guan, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2023, 11, 10355 DOI: 10.1039/D3TB01974H

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