A Nanobody-LNP Platform for Targeting and Relicensing Dendritic Cells for Potent Cancer Immunotherapy

Adv Sci (Weinh). 2026 May 4:e23024. doi: 10.1002/advs.202523024. Online ahead of print.

Abstract

Effective cancer immunotherapy requires not only efficient antigen delivery to dendritic cells (DCs) but also overcoming local immunosuppression. Here, we introduce a nanobody-LNP platform that achieves both targeting and active relicensing of DCs. By decorating lipid nanoparticles with nanobodies against the DC surface protein Plastin-2 (PLS2), our platform achieves a remarkable 93% internalization efficiency. This preferential targeting dramatically enhances antigen expression while simultaneously relicensing DCs toward a more potent, mature phenotype by inhibiting the immunosuppressive Leptin-JAK2-STAT3 signaling pathway. This integrated strategy unleashed potent cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses and led to marked inhibition of established tumors. Our work establishes PLS2 as a novel immunomodulatory receptor and presents a dual-action delivery platform that significantly boosts cancer vaccine potency.

Keywords: anti‐tumor immune response; mRNA delivery system; mRNA vaccines; nanobody; targeting dendritic cells.