Self-Assembling Nanoplatform Boosts Cancer Photoimmunotherapy

Photoimmunotherapy is an innovative cancer treatment that combines phototherapy with immunotherapy to selectively target and destroy cancer cells. In photoimmunotherapy, a photosensitizer or nanomaterial is introduced into the tumor tissue, and upon exposure to light of a specific wavelength, it triggers a localized therapeutic response. This response can involve photothermal or photodynamic effects, which either directly kill tumor cells or induce immunogenic cell death. Immunogenic cell death is an immune stimulus response induced by specific forms of programmed cell death. During the process of immunogenic cell death, cancer cells produce a series of signaling molecules called damage-associated molecular patterns. These damage-associated molecular patterns can act as natural immune adjuvants by binding to pattern recognition receptors on the surface of dendritic cells, promoting their maturation and initiating a series of cellular responses that ultimately activate innate and adaptive immune responses. Pyroptosis and ferroptosis, as two typical forms of immunogenic cell death, have been shown to activate or modulate the immune system. In previous studies, immunotherapy mediated by pyroptosis and ferroptosis mainly relied on chemotherapeutic drugs. However, nonspecific targeting and severe side effects of traditional drugs limit their applications.