Engineering oral commensal nanovaccines to activate mucosal-systemic immune cascades against tumor.

Bacterial membrane-hybridized oral nanovaccines activate mucosal and systemic immune responses, achieving tumor control and memory formation in cancer models.

• Why it matters: Harnessing mucosal immunity offers a potent but underused approach for cancer vaccination, addressing the need for effective, non-invasive immunotherapies that stimulate both local and systemic defenses.
• What they did: Researchers developed an oral biohybrid vaccine by integrating tumor antigens with fimbriae-enriched bacteria through membrane hybridization, promoting antigen delivery via M-cell transcytosis and immune activation.
• The result: This strategy reprograms tumor microenvironments, enhances antitumor efficacy especially with PD-1 blockade, and establishes immune memory, paving the way for versatile mucosal cancer immunotherapies.