A melanin-mediated cancer immunotherapy patch

Yanqi Ye; Chao Wang; Xudong Zhang; Quanyin Hu; Yuqi Zhang; Qi Liu; Di Wen; Joshua J. Milligan; Adriano Bellotti; Leaf Huang; Gianpietro Dotti; Zhen Gu · 2017 · Science Immunology

Paper

Abstract

Melanin is capable of transforming 99.9% of the absorbed sunlight energy into heat, reducing the risk of skin cancer. We here develop a melanin-mediated cancer immunotherapy strategy through a transdermal microneedle patch. B16F10 whole tumor lysate containing melanin is loaded into polymeric microneedles that allow sustained release of the lysate upon insertion into the skin. In combination with the near-infrared light irradiation, melanin in the patch mediates the generation of heat, which further promotes tumor-antigen uptake by dendritic cells, and leads to enhanced antitumor vaccination. We found that the spatiotemporal photoresponsive immunotherapy increases infiltration of polarized T cells and local cytokine release. These immunological effects increase the survival of mice after tumor challenge and elicited antitumor effects toward established primary tumor and distant tumor. Collectively, melanin generates local heat, boosts T cell activities by transdermal vaccines, and promotes antitumor immune responses.

Analysis

Paper intelligence

Summary

This paper introduces a novel transdermal microneedle patch utilizing melanin to mediate cancer immunotherapy by generating heat upon near-infrared light irradiation, enhancing anti-tumor immune responses.

Key findings

Melanin in the patch generates heat upon near-infrared light irradiation.
Heat generation promotes tumor-antigen uptake by dendritic cells.
The patch enhances anti-tumor vaccination and T cell activity.
The strategy shows efficacy against primary and distant tumors in mice.

Methods

Development of a transdermal microneedle patch loaded with B16F10 whole tumor lysate containing melanin.
Application of near-infrared light irradiation to the patch.
Evaluation of the patch's efficacy in mice models (B16F10 tumor challenge).
Analysis of T cell infiltration, cytokine release, and survival rates.

Limitations

The study was conducted in mouse models and may not directly translate to human efficacy.
Specific details on the long-term effects or potential side effects are not provided in the abstract.

Applications

Development of new cancer immunotherapy strategies.
Potential for localized and targeted cancer treatment.
Integration with other cancer therapies.

Confidence100%

Discovery

Related papers

2025OpenAlex21 citations

Stimuli-responsive nanomaterials for the precision delivery of mRNA cancer vaccines

Ruby Srivastava

Sep 1, 2025Nano Trends

2025OpenAlex9 citations

Multi-omics and AI-driven immune subtyping to optimize neoantigen-based vaccines for colorectal cancer

Karthick Vasudevan; T Dhanushkumar; Sripad Rama Hebbar; Prasanna Kumar Selvam; Majji Rambabu; K. Anbarasu; Rohini Karunakaran

Jun 2, 2025Scientific Reports

2025Crossref29 citations

mRNA vaccine platforms: linking infectious disease prevention and cancer immunotherapy

Dariush Haghmorad; Majid Eslami; Niloufar Orooji; Iryna Halabitska; Iryna Kamyshna; Oleksandr Kamyshnyi; Valentyn Oksenych

Mar 12, 2025Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology

2025OpenAlex241 citations

RNA neoantigen vaccines prime long-lived CD8+ T cells in pancreatic cancer

Zachary Sethna; Pablo Guasp; Charlotte Reiche; Martina Milighetti; Nicholas Ceglia; Erin Patterson; Jayon Lihm; George C. Payne; Olga Lyudovyk; Luis A. Rojas; Nan Pang; Akihiro Ohmoto; Masataka Amisaki; Abderezak Zebboudj; Zagaa Odgerel; Emmanuel M. Bruno; Siqi Linsey Zhang; C. K. Cheng; Yuval Elhanati; Evelyna Derhovanessian; Luisa Manning; Felicitas Müller; Ina Rhee; Mahesh Yadav; Taha Merghoub; Jedd D. Wolchok; Olca Baştürk; Mithat Gönen; Andrew S. Epstein; Parisa Momtaz; Wungki Park; Ryan Sugarman; Anna M. Varghese; Elizabeth Won; Avni M. Desai; Alice C. Wei; Michael I. D’Angelica; T. Peter Kingham; Kevin C. Soares; William R. Jarnagin; Jeffrey A. Drebin; Eileen M. O’Reilly; Ira Mellman; Uğur Şahin; Özlem Türeci; Benjamin D. Greenbaum; Vinod P. Balachandran

Feb 19, 2025Nature

2025OpenAlex169 citations

A neoantigen vaccine generates antitumour immunity in renal cell carcinoma

David A. Braun; Giorgia Moranzoni; Vipheaviny Chea; Bradley A. McGregor; Eryn Blass; Chloe Ran Tu; Allison P. Vanasse; Cleo Forman; Juliet Forman; Alexander B. Afeyan; Nicholas Schindler; Yiwen Liu; Shuqiang Li; Jackson Southard; Steven L. Chang; Michelle S. Hirsch; Nicole R. LeBoeuf; Oriol Olive; Ambica Mehndiratta; Haley Greenslade; Keerthi Shetty; Susan Klaeger; Siranush Sarkizova; Christina B. Pedersen; Matthew Mossanen; Isabel Carulli; Anna Tarren; Joseph Duke-Cohan; Alexis A. Howard; J. Bryan Iorgulescu; Bohoon Shim; Jeremy M. Simon; Sabina Signoretti; Jon C. Aster; Liudmila Elagina; Steven A. Carr; Ignaty Leshchiner; Gad Getz; Stacey Gabriel; Nir Hacohen; Lars Rønn Olsen; Giacomo Oliveira; Donna Neuberg; Kenneth J. Livak; Sachet A. Shukla; Edward F. Fritsch; Catherine J. Wu; Derin B. Keskin; Patrick A. Ott; Toni K. Choueiri

Feb 5, 2025Nature

2024OpenAlex52 citations

Lipopolyplex-formulated mRNA cancer vaccine elicits strong neoantigen-specific T cell responses and antitumor activity

Ting Fan; Congcong Xu; Jichuan Wu; Yihua Cai; WuQiang Cao; Haifa Shen; Mingna Zhang; Hanfei Zhu; Jingxian Yang; Zhounan Zhu; Xiaopin Ma; Jiale Ren; Lei Huang; Qianyun Li; Yuying Tang; Bo Yu; Chunxiu Chen; Mingcheng Xu; Qiuhe Wang; Zhuya Xu; Fengjia Chen; Shujing Liang; Zhixian Zhong; Anmbreen Jamroze; Dean G. Tang; Hangwen Li; Chunyan Dong

Oct 11, 2024Science Advances

Source record

Publication metadata

Authors: Yanqi Ye; Chao Wang; Xudong Zhang; Quanyin Hu; Yuqi Zhang; Qi Liu; Di Wen; Joshua J. Milligan; Adriano Bellotti; Leaf Huang; Gianpietro Dotti; Zhen Gu
Published: Nov 11, 2017
Journal or venue: Science Immunology
DOI: 10.1126/sciimmunol.aan5692
Paper type: journal article
Source: Openalex

DOI OpenAlex