Cascaded immunotherapy with implantable dual-drug depots sequentially releasing STING agonists and apoptosis inducers

Abstract Non-nucleotide stimulators of interferon gene (STING) agonists hold promise as immunotherapeutic agents for postsurgical adjuvant treatment of tumors. However, their limited effect duration hampers therapeutic effectiveness, necessitating prolonged administration of multiple doses that heig...

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Main Authors: Kai Li, Xuan Yu, Yanteng Xu, Haixia Wang, Zheng Liu, Chong Wu, Xing Luo, Jiancheng Xu, Youqiang Fang, Enguo Ju, Shixian Lv, Hon Fai Chan, Yeh-Hsing Lao, Weiling He, Yu Tao, Mingqiang Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-02-01
Series:Nature Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56407-7
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author Kai Li
Xuan Yu
Yanteng Xu
Haixia Wang
Zheng Liu
Chong Wu
Xing Luo
Jiancheng Xu
Youqiang Fang
Enguo Ju
Shixian Lv
Hon Fai Chan
Yeh-Hsing Lao
Weiling He
Yu Tao
Mingqiang Li
author_facet Kai Li
Xuan Yu
Yanteng Xu
Haixia Wang
Zheng Liu
Chong Wu
Xing Luo
Jiancheng Xu
Youqiang Fang
Enguo Ju
Shixian Lv
Hon Fai Chan
Yeh-Hsing Lao
Weiling He
Yu Tao
Mingqiang Li
author_sort Kai Li
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Non-nucleotide stimulators of interferon gene (STING) agonists hold promise as immunotherapeutic agents for postsurgical adjuvant treatment of tumors. However, their limited effect duration hampers therapeutic effectiveness, necessitating prolonged administration of multiple doses that heightens infection risk and impacts patient compliance. Here, we develop an implantable dual-drug depot in a sandwich-like configuration, with a non-nucleotide STING agonist (MSA-2) in the outer layers of 3D-printed scaffolds and an immunogenic apoptosis inducer (doxorubicin, DOX) in the inner layer of electrospun fibers. We discover that MSA-2 can elicit endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated and general immunogenic apoptosis of cancer cells. The stimulations with tumor-associated antigens and damage-associated molecular patterns from cancer cells, along with proinflammatory factors secreted by matured dendritic cells and M1-polarized macrophages, can depolymerize intracellular microtubules guiding activated STING trafficking towards lysosomes for degradation. Collectively, the dual-drug depots can initiate a long-lasting cascaded immunotherapy and chemotherapy, suppressing postsurgical tumor recurrence and metastasis.
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spelling doaj-art-c0046fb68ccd454e97da999dad85f66d2025-08-20T02:12:58ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-02-0116112610.1038/s41467-025-56407-7Cascaded immunotherapy with implantable dual-drug depots sequentially releasing STING agonists and apoptosis inducersKai Li0Xuan Yu1Yanteng Xu2Haixia Wang3Zheng Liu4Chong Wu5Xing Luo6Jiancheng Xu7Youqiang Fang8Enguo Ju9Shixian Lv10Hon Fai Chan11Yeh-Hsing Lao12Weiling He13Yu Tao14Mingqiang Li15Laboratory of Biomaterials and Translational Medicine, Department of Ultrasound, Center for Nanomedicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityLaboratory of Biomaterials and Translational Medicine, Department of Ultrasound, Center for Nanomedicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityLaboratory of Biomaterials and Translational Medicine, Department of Ultrasound, Center for Nanomedicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityLaboratory of Biomaterials and Translational Medicine, Department of Ultrasound, Center for Nanomedicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityLaboratory of Biomaterials and Translational Medicine, Department of Ultrasound, Center for Nanomedicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen UniversityLaboratory of Biomaterials and Translational Medicine, Department of Ultrasound, Center for Nanomedicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityLaboratory of Biomaterials and Translational Medicine, Department of Ultrasound, Center for Nanomedicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityLaboratory of Biomaterials and Translational Medicine, Department of Ultrasound, Center for Nanomedicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityLaboratory of Biomaterials and Translational Medicine, Department of Ultrasound, Center for Nanomedicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversitySchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking UniversityInstitute for Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, School of Biomedical Science, The Chinese University of Hong KongDepartment of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University at Buffalo, The State University of New YorkDepartment of Gastrointestinal Surgery, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, School of Medicine, Xiamen UniversityLaboratory of Biomaterials and Translational Medicine, Department of Ultrasound, Center for Nanomedicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityLaboratory of Biomaterials and Translational Medicine, Department of Ultrasound, Center for Nanomedicine, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen UniversityAbstract Non-nucleotide stimulators of interferon gene (STING) agonists hold promise as immunotherapeutic agents for postsurgical adjuvant treatment of tumors. However, their limited effect duration hampers therapeutic effectiveness, necessitating prolonged administration of multiple doses that heightens infection risk and impacts patient compliance. Here, we develop an implantable dual-drug depot in a sandwich-like configuration, with a non-nucleotide STING agonist (MSA-2) in the outer layers of 3D-printed scaffolds and an immunogenic apoptosis inducer (doxorubicin, DOX) in the inner layer of electrospun fibers. We discover that MSA-2 can elicit endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated and general immunogenic apoptosis of cancer cells. The stimulations with tumor-associated antigens and damage-associated molecular patterns from cancer cells, along with proinflammatory factors secreted by matured dendritic cells and M1-polarized macrophages, can depolymerize intracellular microtubules guiding activated STING trafficking towards lysosomes for degradation. Collectively, the dual-drug depots can initiate a long-lasting cascaded immunotherapy and chemotherapy, suppressing postsurgical tumor recurrence and metastasis.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56407-7
spellingShingle Kai Li
Xuan Yu
Yanteng Xu
Haixia Wang
Zheng Liu
Chong Wu
Xing Luo
Jiancheng Xu
Youqiang Fang
Enguo Ju
Shixian Lv
Hon Fai Chan
Yeh-Hsing Lao
Weiling He
Yu Tao
Mingqiang Li
Cascaded immunotherapy with implantable dual-drug depots sequentially releasing STING agonists and apoptosis inducers
Nature Communications
title Cascaded immunotherapy with implantable dual-drug depots sequentially releasing STING agonists and apoptosis inducers
title_full Cascaded immunotherapy with implantable dual-drug depots sequentially releasing STING agonists and apoptosis inducers
title_fullStr Cascaded immunotherapy with implantable dual-drug depots sequentially releasing STING agonists and apoptosis inducers
title_full_unstemmed Cascaded immunotherapy with implantable dual-drug depots sequentially releasing STING agonists and apoptosis inducers
title_short Cascaded immunotherapy with implantable dual-drug depots sequentially releasing STING agonists and apoptosis inducers
title_sort cascaded immunotherapy with implantable dual drug depots sequentially releasing sting agonists and apoptosis inducers
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-56407-7
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