ROS-sensitive PD-L1 siRNA cationic selenide nanogels for self-inhibition of autophagy and prevention of immune escape

In the field of cancer therapy,inhibiting autophagy has emerged as a promising strategy.However,pharmacological disruption of autophagy can lead to the upregulation of programmed death-ligand 1(PD-L1),enabling tumor immune evasion.To address this issue,we developed innovative ROS-responsive cationic poly(ethylene imine)(PEI)nanogels using selenol chemistry-mediated multicomponent reaction(MCR)technology.This procedure involved simple mixing of low-molecular-weight PEI(LMW PEI),γ-selenobutylacetone(γ-SBL),and poly(ethylene glycol)methacrylate(PEGMA).Through high-throughput screening,we constructed a library of AxSeyOz nanogels and identified the optimized A1.8Se3O0.5/siPD-L1 nanogels,which exhibited a size of approximately 200 nm,excellent colloidal stability,and the most effective PD-L1 silencing efficacy.These nanogels demonstrated enhanced uptake by tumor cells,excellent oxidative degradation ability,and inhibited autophagy by alkalinizing lysosomes.The A1.8Se3O0.5/siPD-L1 nanogels significantly downregulated PD-L1 expression and increased the expression of major histocompatibility complex class I(MHC-I),resulting in robust proliferation of specific CD8+T cells and a decrease in MC38 tumor growth.As a result,the A1.8Se3O0.5/siPD-L1 nanogels inhibited tumor growth through self-inhibition of autophagy,upregulation of MHC-I,and downregulation of PD-L1.Designed with dynamic diselenide bonds,the A1.8Se3O0.5/siPD-L1 nanogels showed synergistic antitumor efficacy through self-inhibition of autophagy and prevention of immune escape.