The potential of nanosystems in disrupting adenosine signaling pathways for tumor immunotherapy.

Introduction: Adenosine (ADO) is a naturally occurring nucleoside primarily synthesized through the hydrolysis of extracellular adenosine triphosphate. Within the tumor microenvironment, ADO levels substantially increase, resulting in suppressed immune responses.

Areas covered: Nanosystems offer a promising approach for precise drug delivery to tumor lesions. In this review, we provide an overview of the current research progress in the development of nanosystems that modulate adenosine signaling for tumor immunotherapy. These nanosystems are designed to target adenosine-hydrolyzing proteins, increase adenosine decomposition, and antagonize adenosine receptors.

Expert opinion: Based on the literature review, adenosine has great potential in tumor immunotherapy, and nano-drug delivery system has great application prospects in targeted cancer therapy in the near future due to its superior characteristics.