Dual-Engineered Dendritic Cell–Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles Couple T-Cell Priming with Checkpoint Reprogramming for Synergistic Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy has transformed cancer treatment, yet cell-based therapies remain complex and costly, and immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) agents often suffer from limited stability and poor T cell selectivity. Here, we develop an engineered dendritic cell derived small extracellular vesicle (DC sEV) nanoplatform for combinatorial immunotherapy via in situ T cell activation and checkpoint reprogramming. DC sEVs preserve intrinsic dendritic-cell immunobiology, enabling antigen presentation and potent T cell activation. We further integrate high efficiency cargo loading and membrane functionalization to selectively deliver ICB payloads to T cells, achieving dual reprogramming that sustains effector function and amplifies antitumor immunity. This approach reduced cancer cell viability to 44.05% in vitro and produced 82.12% tumor growth inhibition in vivo, establishing DC sEVs as a targeted, scalable cell-free immunotherapy platform.