Enhancement of Lymphocyte Infiltration in Solid Tumours to Improve Immunotherapeutic Efficacy

Guo-Liang Lu – Research Fellow, Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, University of Auckland; Jingyuan Wen – Professor, School of Pharmacy, University of Auckland; Naibo Yin – Post doc, School of Pharmacy, University of Auckland; Zhiwen Zhang – Professor, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University

Introduction:

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) demonstrate limited efficacy in solid tumours due to poor cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) infiltration caused by abnormal vasculature around tumours. (1, 2). Nitric oxide (NO) can normalise tumour vessels, while platinum drugs induce immunogenic cell death (ICD) to activate CTLs (3). High-density lipoprotein (HDL) is an endogenous drug carrier with naturally tumour-targeting properties (4). This project aims to encapsulate NOD-platinum conjugates into HDL, forming a drug delivery system (Figure 1) to normalise vasculature, induce ICD, enhance CTL infiltration, and synergise with ICIs for improved immunotherapy.