Equipping Natural Killer Cells with Specific Targeting and Checkpoint Blocking Aptamers for Enhanced Adoptive Immunotherapy in Solid Tumors

Abstract

Abstract Herein, we propose an aptamer‐equipping strategy to generate specific, universal and permeable (SUPER) NK cells for enhanced immunotherapy in solid tumors. NK cells were chemically equipped with TLS11a aptamer targeting HepG2 cells and PDL1‐specific aptamer without genetic alteration. The dual aptamer‐equipped NK cells exhibited high specificity to tumor cells, resulting in higher cytokine secretion and apoptosis/necrosis compared to parental or single aptamer‐equipped NK cells. Interestingly, dual aptamer‐equipped NK cells induced remarkable upregulation of PDL1 expression in HepG2 cells, enhancing checkpoint blockade. Furthermore, in vivo intravital imaging demonstrated high infiltration of aptamer‐equipped NK cells into deep tumor region, leading to enhanced therapeutic efficacy in solid tumors. This work offers a straightforward chemical strategy to equip NK cells with aptamers, holding considerable potential for enhanced adoptive immunotherapy in solid tumors.