An Immunocompetent Hafnium Oxide-Based STING Nanoagonist for Cancer Radio-immunotherapy

Abstract

cGAS-STING signaling plays a critical role in radiotherapy (RT)-mediated immunomodulation. However, RT alone is insufficient to sustain STING activation in tumors under a safe X-ray dose. Here, we propose a radiosensitization cooperated with cGAS stimulation strategy by engineering a core-shell structured nanosized radiosensitizer-based cGAS-STING agonist, which is constituted with the hafnium oxide (HfO₂) core and the manganese oxide (MnO₂) shell. HfO₂-mediated radiosensitization enhances immunogenic cell death to afford tumor associated antigens and adequate cytosolic dsDNA, while the GSH-degradable MnO₂ sustainably releases Mn²⁺ in tumors to improve the recognition sensitization of cGAS. The synchronization of sustained Mn²⁺ supply with cumulative cytosolic dsDNA damage synergistically augments the cGAS-STING activation in irradiated tumors, thereby enhancing RT-triggered local and system effects when combined with an immune checkpoint inhibitor. Therefore, the synchronous radiosensitization with sustained STING activation is demonstrated as a potent immunostimulation strategy to optimize cancer radio-immuotherapy.

Keywords: Hafnium oxide; Immunostimulation; Radio-immunotherapy; Radiosensitization; cGAS−STING pathway.