Engineered stem cell biomimetic liposomes carrying levamisole for macrophage immunity reconstruction in leukemia therapy

Most cancers recur after clinical treatment. Activation of the patient's own immunity can not only play a therapy role, but also consolidate the treatment prognosis. However, an effective immunity reconstruction strategy remains an impeding issue to be solved. Here, we report a macrophage immunity reconstruction strategy by engineering the stem cell biomimetic liposomes that carry levamisole (sLipo leva) to treat leukemia. The results demonstrated that sLipo leva was successfully constructed by incorporating the membrane of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). sLipo leva displayed a significant targeting effect on macrophages, induced the differentiation of them into M1 phenotype, exhibited a robust anticancer efficacy and an acceptable safety in leukemia-bearing mice. The immunity reconstruction mechanism of sLipo leva could be explained by two aspects: activation of macrophages themselves, and further activation of T cells, both of which contributed to the killing of leukemia cells. In conclusion, the present study offers a promising new strategy to activate the patient's own immunity for playing therapy efficacy and for consolidating treatment prognosis of leukemia.