2. Academic Validation
  3. A modular mRNA platform for programmable induction of tumour-specific immunogenic cell death

A modular mRNA platform for programmable induction of tumour-specific immunogenic cell death

  • Nat Nanotechnol. 2025 Oct 29. doi: 10.1038/s41565-025-02045-5.
Songtao Dong # 1,  Shannon N Tsai # 1,  Yue Xu 1,  Fanglin Gong 2,  Tiana L Young 1,  Nicholas C Solek 2,  David X W Chen 1,  Lauren Healy 3,  Margarita Savguira 2,  Muye Zhou 1,  Jingan Chen 2,  Alex Golubovic 1,  Rick X Z Lu 1,  Tingzhen He 1,  Bell X Wu 4 5,  Benjamin H Lok 4 5,  Housheng Hansen He 4 5,  Bowen Li 6 7 8 9
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  • 2 Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  • 3 Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  • 4 Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  • 5 Department of Medical Biophysics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
  • 6 Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. bw.li@utoronto.ca.
  • 7 Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. bw.li@utoronto.ca.
  • 8 Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. bw.li@utoronto.ca.
  • 9 Princess Margaret Cancer Center, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. bw.li@utoronto.ca.
  • # Contributed equally.
PMID: 41162605 DOI: 10.1038/s41565-025-02045-5
Abstract

Messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics hold great promise for oncology but their efficacy is limited by systemic off-target effects and immunosuppressive tumour microenvironments. Here we present TITUR, a tumour-customizable mRNA nanomedicine platform that integrates tumour-customizable ionizable lipids (TIs) and tumour-specific untranslated regions (TURs) to enhance tumour-selective mRNA delivery and expression. This dual-engineered approach enables the precise intratumoural expression of 4HB, an immunogenic cell death-inducing protein, while mitigating systemic toxicities. Using murine models of immunologically cold tumours, including melanoma and triple-negative breast Cancer, TITUR-mediated 4HB delivery induced tumour-specific immunogenic cell death, remodelled the tumour microenvironment and enhanced immune cell infiltration. When combined with immune checkpoint inhibitors, 4HB TITUR suppressed primary and metastatic tumour growth, while also exhibiting vaccine-like properties by reducing tumour recurrence and eliciting systemic antitumour immunity. Furthermore, it demonstrated a superior safety profile compared with conventional mRNA delivery methods. Our data indicate that TITUR may serve as a versatile approach to address the limitations of current immunotherapies and support the development of personalized mRNA nanomedicines.

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