- Luo, Zhangyi;
- Huang, Yixian;
- Batra, Neelu;
- Chen, Yuang;
- Huang, Haozhe;
- Wang, Yifei;
- Zhang, Ziqian;
- Li, Shichen;
- Chen, Chien-Yu;
- Wang, Zehua;
- Sun, Jingjing;
- Wang, Qiming Jane;
- Yang, Da;
- Lu, Binfeng;
- Conway, James F;
- Li, Lu-Yuan;
- Yu, Ai-Ming;
- Li, Song
The multifaceted chemo-immune resistance is the principal barrier to achieving cure in cancer patients. Identifying a target that is critically involved in chemo-immune-resistance represents an attractive strategy to improve cancer treatment. iRhom1 plays a role in cancer cell proliferation and its expression is negatively correlated with immune cell infiltration. Here we show that iRhom1 decreases chemotherapy sensitivity by regulating the MAPK14-HSP27 axis. In addition, iRhom1 inhibits the cytotoxic T-cell response by reducing the stability of ERAP1 protein and the ERAP1-mediated antigen processing and presentation. To facilitate the therapeutic translation of these findings, we develop a biodegradable nanocarrier that is effective in codelivery of iRhom pre-siRNA (pre-siiRhom) and chemotherapeutic drugs. This nanocarrier is effective in tumor targeting and penetration through both enhanced permeability and retention effect and CD44-mediated transcytosis in tumor endothelial cells as well as tumor cells. Inhibition of iRhom1 further facilitates tumor targeting and uptake through inhibition of CD44 cleavage. Co-delivery of pre-siiRhom and a chemotherapy agent leads to enhanced antitumor efficacy and activated tumor immune microenvironment in multiple cancer models in female mice. Targeting iRhom1 together with chemotherapy could represent a strategy to overcome chemo-immune resistance in cancer treatment.