Fig. 7: Schematic description of the mechanism of the in situ vaccine effect induced by α-melittin-NPs.
From: Melittin-lipid nanoparticles target to lymph nodes and elicit a systemic anti-tumor immune response
On the one hand, tumor cells are sensitive to α-melittin-NPs, and α-melittin-NPs maintain the ability of melittin to kill tumor cells and to promote the release of whole tumor-cell antigens in situ. On the other hand, α-melittin-NPs with reasonable size can successfully drain into LNs and activate macrophages and DC after s.c. injection. After the priming and activation of the effector T-cell response against whole-tumor antigens in LN, the activated effector T cells traffic through the circulation into the distant tumor bed and kill their target tumor cells. Meanwhile, α-melittin-NPs also induce the infiltration of innate immune cells, especially NK cells and monocytes.
