- Wen, Di;
- Liang, Tingxizi;
- Chen, Guojun;
- Li, Hongjun;
- Wang, Zejun;
- Wang, Jinqiang;
- Fu, Ruxing;
- Han, Xiao;
- Ci, Tianyuan;
- Zhang, Yuqi;
- Abdou, Peter;
- Li, Ruoxin;
- Bu, Linlin;
- Dotti, Gianpietro;
- Gu, Zhen
Tumor-associated adipocytes (TAAs) recruit monocytes and promote their differentiation into tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) that support tumor development. Here, TAAs are engineered to promote the polarization of TAMs to the tumor suppressive M1 phenotype. Telratolimod, a toll-like receptor 7/8 agonist, is loaded into the lipid droplets of adipocytes to be released at the tumor site upon tumor cell-triggered lipolysis. Locally administered drug-loaded adipocytes increased tumor suppressive M1 macrophages in both primary and distant tumors and suppressed tumor growth in a melanoma model. Furthermore, drug-loaded adipocytes improved CD8+ T cell-mediated immune responses within the tumor microenvironment and favored dendritic cell maturation in the tumor draining lymph nodes.