Personalized Nanovaccine Based on STING-Activating Nanocarrier for Robust Cancer Immunotherapy

Tumor-specific T cells play a vital role in potent antitumor immunity. However, their efficacy is severely affected by the spatiotemporal orchestration of antigen-presentation as well as the innate immune response in dendritic cells (DCs). Herein, we develop a minimalist nanovaccine that exploits a dual immunofunctional polymeric nanoplatform (DIPNP) to encapsulate ovalbumin (OVA) via electrostatic interaction when the nanocarrier serves as both STING agonist and immune adjuvant in DCs. In vitro results reveal that the nanocarrier induces STING activation via facilitating interferon regulatory factor 3 phosphorylation by block poly 18-crown-6-yl methacrylate (P18C6MA) mediated K⁺ perturbation cascade with endoplasmic reticulum stress, and stimulates DC maturation via the Toll-like receptor 4 activation by primary amine. In vivo studies indicate that the smart nanovaccine dramatically inhibits tumor growth with a long-term immune memory response in both the B16-OVA and EG7-OVA tumor models. After combination with programmed death ligand-1 antibody (aPD-L1), mice survival rate is notably prolonged. In addition, DIPNP forms a personalized nanovaccine after resected autologous primary tumor cell membranes decoration with a high antitumor activity in a homologous distant tumor model. The rational design provides inspiration for personalized nanovaccine construction via immunofunctional nanocarriers.