Nanomaterials trigger functional responses in primary human immune cells

Targeting the immune system with nanoparticles (NPs) to deliver immunomodulatory molecules emerged as a solution to address intra-tumoral immunosuppression and enhance therapeutic response. While the potential of nanoimmunotherapies in reactivating immune cells has been evaluated in several preclinical studies, the impact of drug-free nanomaterials on the immune system remains unknown. Here, we characterize the molecular and functional response of human NK cells and pan T cells to a selection of five NPs that are commonly developed for biomedical applications. After a pre-screen to evaluate the toxicity of these nanomaterials on immune cells, we selected ultrasmall silica-based gadolinium (Si-Gd) NPs and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) NPs for further investigation.