Mesoporous Silica Nano-Modified Ginsenoside Rh2 Promote Tumor Immunosuppression and Inhibit Lung Cancer Development through the PD-1/PD-L1 Pathway.

Objective: To explore the mechanism for mesoporous silica nano-modified ginsenoside Rh2 promoting tumor immunosuppression in lung cancer through PD-1/PD-L1 pathway.

Methods: Firstly, G-Rh2-MSN were prepared and lung cancer A549 cells were cultured. The following groups were set up to analyze whether G-Rh2-MSN down-regulates PD-1/PD-L1 to promote tumor immunity, inhibit activities of lung cancer cells, and promote apoptosis: Model control group, G-Rh2 group, G-Rh2-MSN group, G-Rh2-MSN+PT001 group, G-Rh2-MSN+nivolumab group, G-Rh2-MSN+Durvalumab group, G-Rh2-MSN+atezolizumab group, and G-Rh2-MSN+nivolumab+Durvalumab group.

Results: G-Rh2-MSN was successfully prepared and found to promote tumor immunity, inhibit the behaviors of lung cancer cells, and accelerate apoptosis. Down-regulation of PD-1/PD-L1 pathway by G-Rh2-MSN can accelerate development of tumor immunosuppressive lung cancer. G-Rh2-MSN promoted tumor immunity by downregulating PD-1/PD-L1, inhibiting activities of lung cancer cells, and promoting apoptosis.

Conclusion: We clarified the mechanism for G-Rh2-MSN in lung cancer A549 cells, showing that it can significantly down-regulate PD-1/PD-L1 signaling, thereby promoting tumor immunity. G-Rh2-MSN modified material inhibits immune escape and reduces behaviors of lung cancer A549 cells by affecting PD-1 and PD-L1 expression, which has potential clinical application prospects.