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Review
. 2020 Jan 1;10(1):281-299.
doi: 10.7150/thno.35568. eCollection 2020.

RNA Nanotechnology-Mediated Cancer Immunotherapy

Yao-Xin Lin  1 , Yi Wang  1   2   3 , Sara Blake  1   4 , Mian Yu  5 , Lin Mei  5 , Hao Wang  2   3 , Jinjun Shi  1
Affiliations
Review

RNA Nanotechnology-Mediated Cancer Immunotherapy

Yao-Xin Lin et al. Theranostics. .

Abstract

RNA molecules (e.g., siRNA, microRNA, and mRNA) have shown tremendous potential for immunomodulation and cancer immunotherapy. They can activate both innate and adaptive immune system responses by silencing or upregulating immune-relevant genes. In addition, mRNA-based vaccines have recently been actively pursued and tested in cancer patients, as a form of treatment. Meanwhile, various nanomaterials have been developed to enhance RNA delivery to the tumor and immune cells. In this review article, we summarize recent advances in the development of RNA-based therapeutics and their applications in cancer immunotherapy. We also highlight the variety of nanoparticle platforms that have been used for RNA delivery to elicit anti-tumor immune responses. Finally, we provide our perspectives of potential challenges and opportunities of RNA-based nanotherapeutics in clinical translation towards cancer immunotherapy.

Keywords: CRISPR; RNA; RNAi; cancer; immunotherapy; nanoparticle.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The biological mechanism of siRNA, microRNA, and mRNA for inhibition of target protein expressions or up-regulation of a given protein.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Schematic representation of the 4 nanoparticle-based platforms used in the RNA delivery.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Potential strategies of tumor cells-targeted siRNA nanotherapeutics for cancer immunotherapy.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Potential siRNA targets of immune cells for cancer immunotherapy.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Potential microRNA targets of immune cells for cancer immunotherapy. The microRNAs either contribute to or repress the immune cells to initiate anti-tumor responses.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Schematic illustration of antigen cross-presentation by mRNA-based nanovaccine in APC.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Schematic representation of mRNA nanotherapeutics for T cell engineering. The nanocarriers delivery CAR mRNA to T cells, and induce T cells activation by expressing the CAR protein on the surface of T cells.
Figure 8
Figure 8
A. The mechanism of CRISPR-Cas9 technology for gene editing. B. CRISPR-Cas 9 nanotherapeutics for cell engineering and the applications in cancer immunotherapy. The CRISPR-Cas 9 system (sgRNA with Cas9 mRNA or DNA or protein) was transported to tumor or immune cells by nanocarriers.
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