Reprogramming Macrophage via an Antigen Phagocytosis-Presentation Nanoenhancer for Improved Cancer Immunotherapy

Blocking CD47 effectively stimulates macrophage-mediated phagocytosis of tumor cells, which has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy but suffers from off-target toxicity. Moreover, despite being specialized in engulfing tumor debris, macrophages are inferior antigen-presenting cells (APCs), leading to attenuated adaptive antitumor immune responses. We find that inhibiting the phosphoinositide-3-kinase γ isoform (PI3Kγ) pathway enhances the macrophage’s ability to function as potent APCs. Mechanistically, PI3Kγ inhibition reduces phagolysosomal acidity and prevents fast degradation of engulfed tumor antigens, thereby skewing tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) toward an immunopermissive lineage and priming cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses. Building on these insights, we developed a sequential pH-responsive nanomedicine termed NanoAPP to upregulate the “Antigen Phagocytosis-Presentation” cascade machinery and unlock the full antitumor potential of TAMs. NanoAPP comprises a hybrid polymeric micelle system allowing on-demand delivery of (1) αCD47 to the mildly acidic tumor microenvironment to block the “don’t eat me” signal, thus favoring phagocytosis of tumor cells, and (2) PI3Kγ inhibitors in response to more acidic intracellular pH to facilitate antigen processing and presentation by macrophages. This dual-targeting strategy lowers the activation threshold for TAMs compared to αCD47 monotherapy and effectively bridges innate and adaptive immune responses. As a result, NanoAPP suppresses tumor growth and improves survival in established and metastatic murine tumor models. The therapeutic effects are abolished in mice lacking CD8+ T cells or macrophages but not type I conventional dendritic cells. The coordinated nanoimmunomodulation of CD47 and PI3Kγ empowers TAMs with an optimized antigen phagocytosis-presentation cascade for safe and effective cancer therapy.