A new study by researchers at Westlake University’s School of Science provides a potential chemical strategy to overcome the limitations associated with immunotherapy.

The study, titled “A Programmable Peptidic Hydrogel Adjuvant for Personalized Immunotherapy in Resected Stage Tumors,” was recently published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS).

Prof. Huaimin WANG is the corresponding author of the study, and Bihan Wu, a 2020 doctoral candidate, is the lead author of the paper. Both authors are affiliated with the Department of Chemistry at the School of Science.

Adjuvant treatment after surgical resection usually plays an important role in delaying disease recurrence. Immunotherapy displays encouraging results in increasing patients’ chances of staying cancer-free after surgery, as reported by recent clinical trials. However, the clinical outcomes of current immunotherapy need to be improved due to the limited responses, patient heterogeneity, nontargeted distribution, and immune-related adverse effects.

In the new study, researchers describe a programmable hydrogel adjuvant for personalized immunotherapy after surgical resection. By filling the hydrogel in the cavity, this system aims to address the limited secretion of granzyme B (GrB) during immunotherapy and improve the low immunotherapy responses typically observed, while minimizing immune-related side effects.

According to the study, the GrB-activating system provides an intelligent strategy for adjuvants to activate locally, thus improving the effectiveness and safety of immunotherapy.

This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the Foundation of Westlake University. The Instrumentation and Service Center for Molecular Sciences, Instrumentation and Service Center for Physical Sciences, General Equipment Core Facility, Biomedical Research Core Facilities, and Laboratory Animal Resource Center at Westlake University provided assistance with measurements.