Dendronized polymer conjugates with amplified immunogenic cell death for oncolytic immunotherapy

The architecture of multivalent polymers exerts an amplified interaction between attached ligands and targets. In current research, we reveal that a dendronized polymer augments the efficacy of an oncolytic peptide (OP; KKWWKKWDipK) for immunotherapy by exploiting (i) “flexible” linear polymer backbone to facilitate interactions with biomembrane systems, and (ii) “rigid” dendronized side chains to enhance the membrane lytic property. We show that a dendronized N -(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) polymer-OP conjugate (PDOP) adopts α-helix secondary structure and induces robust immunogenic cell death (ICD) in cancer cells as characterized by multiple damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) which include intracellular formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and surface exposure of calreticulin (CRT). These events convert immunosuppressive 4T1 tumor to an immunoresponsive one by recruiting CD8+ cytotoxic T cells into tumor beds. Combination of PDOP with anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) increases the number of effector memory T cells and completely eradicates 4T1 tumors in mice. Our findings suggest that PDOP is a promising platform for oncolytic immunotherapy. Graphic abstract