Systematic Investigation of Biocompatible Cationic Polymeric Nucleic Acid Carriers for Immunotherapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Abstract

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third-largest cause of cancer death worldwide, while immunotherapy is rapidly being developed to fight HCC with great potential. Nucleic acid drugs are the most important modulators in HCC immunotherapy. To boost the efficacy of therapeutics and amplify the efficiency of genetic materials, biocompatible polymers are commonly used. However, under the strong need of a summary for current developments of biocompatible polymeric nucleic acid carriers for immunotherapy of HCC, there is rare review article specific to this topic to our best knowledge. In this article, we will discuss the current progress of immunotherapy for HCC, biocompatible cationic polymers (BCPs) as nucleic acid carriers used (or potential) to fight HCC, the roles of biocompatible polymeric carriers for nucleic acid delivery, and nucleic acid delivery by biocompatible polymers for immunotherapy. At the end, we will conclude the review and discuss future perspectives. This article discusses biocompatible polymeric nucleic acid carriers for immunotherapy of HCC from multidiscipline perspectives and provides a new insight in this domain. We believe this review will be interesting to polymer chemists, pharmacists, clinic doctors, and PhD students in related disciplines.

Keywords: biocompatible cationic polymers; gene intervention; hepatocellular carcinoma; immunotherapy.

Figure 1

Scheme of nucleic acids delivered by BCPs.

Figure 2

Synthesis route of controlled di-block amphiphilic poly(L-lysine)₅₀-block-poly(L-leucine)_n ([36] Polymers 2018, 10, 379).

Figure 3

Checkpoint-based cancer immunotherapies.

Figure 4

CAR T cell therapy for cancers and its challenges.

Figure 5

Tumor microenvironment (A) and therapeutic targeting for immunotherapy (B).

Figure 6

Metabolic crosstalk of tumor and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment ([207] Front. Oral Health 2020, 1, 585710). Copyright © 2020 Chaudhary, Bag, Arora, Radhakrishnan, Mishra and Mukherjee.