Cell membrane-camouflaged liposomes and neopeptide-loaded liposomes with TLR agonist R848 provides a prime and boost strategy for efficient personalized cancer vaccine therapy

Recent advances in bioinformatics and nanotechnology offer great opportunities for personalized cancer vaccine development. However, the timely identification of neoantigens and unsatisfactory efficacy of therapeutic cancer vaccines remain two obstacles for clinical transformation. We propose a “prime and boost” strategy to facilitate neoantigen-based immunotherapy. To prime the immune system, we first constructed personalized liposomes with cancer cell membranes and adjuvant R848 to provide immunostimulatory efficacy and time for identifying tumor antigens. Liposomes loaded with personalized neopeptides and adjuvants were used to boost the immune response. In vitro experiments verified potent immune responses, including macrophage polarization, dendritic cell maturation, and T lymphocyte activation. In vivo B16F10 and TC-1 cancer model were used to investigate efficient tumor growth suppression. Liposomal vaccines with neopeptides could stimulate human dendritic cells and T lymphocytes in vitro. These results demonstrate that the “prime and boost” strategy provides simple, quick, and efficient personalized vaccines for cancer therapy.