Functional bionanomaterials help optimize surface engineering to improve cancer immunotherapy

Cell-cell interactions are central for determining immune privilege and recognition in cancer immunotherapy. Cell surface engineering (CSE) is a powerful tool for regulating the interactions between the immune cells and tumor cells, which could help immune cells achieve enhanced recognition and killing capacity of tumor cells. With developments in biomaterials and nanotechnology, functional bionanomaterials have become widely used for precise CSE due to their adjustable compositions and functions. Ma et al. provide a review of functional bionanomaterials, the methods and applications of CSE in cancer immunotherapy, and the future prospects of CSE.

The review summarizes the recent existing progresses made in designing functional bionanomaterials for CSE in cancer immunotherapy as well as the mechanisms underlining the technologies used in the decoration of bionanomaterials on cell surface from cell biology, chemical biology, material chemistry and biochemical perspectives.

“Functional molecules could be constructed on the surface of cells with bionanomaterials through CSE technology, and they could enhance the vitality and functions of the immune cells or change the compositions of tumor cell surface to make it easily recognized by immune cells,” said author Wantong Song.

In addition, the authors discuss the advantages and potential disadvantages of each CSE method to help researchers choose appropriate CSE methods in specific application scenarios.

“Although scientists have been exploring CSE for a long time, the attempt to regulate the interactions between immune cells and tumor cells for cancer immunotherapy by CSE technology is still in its infancy, and there is large opportunity existing in this interdisciplinary field,” said Song.

Source: “Functional bionanomaterials for cell surface engineering in cancer immunotherapy,” by Sheng Ma, Yudi Xu, and Wantong Song, APL Bioengineering (2021). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0045945 .