Short Communication

Feasibility study of novel nanoparticles derived from Glycyrrhizae radix as vaccine adjuvant for cancer immunotherapy

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7003-835X

Laboratory of Drug & Gene Delivery Research, Teikyo University, Tokyo, 173-8605, Japan

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Lisa Munakata

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9738-6434

Laboratory of Drug & Gene Delivery Research, Teikyo University, Tokyo, 173-8605, Japan

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Daiki Omata

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0191-5494

Laboratory of Drug & Gene Delivery Research, Teikyo University, Tokyo, 173-8605, Japan

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Keiichi Koizumi

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0349-4144

Division of Presymptomatic Disease, Institute of Natural Medicine, University of Toyama, Toyama, 930-0194, Japan

Advanced Comprehensive Research Organization, Teikyo University, Tokyo, 173-8605, Japan

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Ryo Suzuki

*Author for correspondence: Tel.: +81 3 3964 8239;

E-mail Address: r-suzuki@pharm.teikyo-u.ac.jp

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6614-4486

Laboratory of Drug & Gene Delivery Research, Teikyo University, Tokyo, 173-8605, Japan

Research Center for Pre-Disease Science, University of Toyama, Toyama, 930-8555, Japan

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Published Online:4 Jan 2023https://doi.org/10.2217/imt-2022-0179

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Abstract

Aims: The feasibility of using nanoparticles derived from Glycyrrhizae radix extract (Glycyrrhiza NPs) as a vaccine adjuvant for cancer immunotherapy was evaluated. Methods: C57BL/6J mice were immunized with ovalbumin (OVA) and Glycyrrhiza NPs. After immunization, splenocytes were incubated with the H-2K^b epitope peptide of OVA (SL8) and the production of IFN-γ was evaluated. Moreover, an OVA-expressing lymphoma cell line (E.G7-OVA cells) was inoculated into mice after immunization to evaluate the antitumor effect. Results: The immunization of OVA with Glycyrrhiza NPs induced IFN-γ production and completely rejected E.G7-OVA cells. Conclusion: Glycyrrhiza NPs could prime antigen-specific CD8⁺ T-cells resulting in antitumor effects. Therefore, Glycyrrhiza NPs can be an effective vaccine adjuvant for cancer immunotherapy.

Plain language summary

Glycyrrhizae radix is a medical plant that contains anti-inflammatory compounds such as glycyrrhizin. Nanoparticles (NPs) derived from Glycyrrhizae radix extract induced the production of proinflammatory cytokines. Therefore, these NPs could be used as a vaccine adjuvant. Here, a feasibility study on the use of Glycyrrhiza NPs as a vaccine adjuvant in cancer immunotherapy is reported. T-cell responses and antitumor effects were evaluated after the immunization of ovalbumin (OVA) with Glycyrrhiza NPs. The immunization of OVA with Glycyrrhiza NPs effectively induced OVA-specific T-cells and completely rejected OVA-expressing tumor cells. Therefore, Glycyrrhiza NPs could induce antitumor immunity and be an effective vaccine adjuvant in cancer immunotherapy.

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Papers of special note have been highlighted as: • of interest; •• of considerable interest

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Vol. 14, No. 18

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History

Received 11 July 2022

Accepted 1 December 2022

Published online 4 January 2023

Published in print December 2022

Information

Keywords

Author contributions

Y Suzuki and R Suzuki were responsible for study conception and design. Y Suzuki, K Koizumi and R Suzuki were responsible for the acquisition of experimental data and data analysis. Y Suzuki, L Munakata, D Omata, K Koizumi and R Suzuki were responsible for drafting and revision of the manuscript.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Ms. Haruka Inoue, Ms. Nao Yamamoto, Ms. Mayu Arimoto and Ms. Yoshika Tomizawa (Laboratory of Drug and Gene Delivery Research, Faculty of Pharma-Science, Teikyo University, Japan) for technical assistance. The authors would like to thank Enago (www.enago.jp) for the English language review.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This study was partially supported by ACRO Team Research Grants of Teikyo University (TeTe20-03), JST Moonshot R&D Grant Number JPMJMS2021, JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP17KT0050, a Grant-in-Aid for the Cooperative Research Project from Institute of Natural Medicine, University of Toyama in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical conduct of research

The authors state that they have obtained appropriate institutional review board approval or have followed the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki for all human or animal experimental investigations. In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, informed consent has been obtained from the participants involved.

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