Abstract

Purpose The invention and application of new immunotherapeutic methods can compensate for the inefficiency of conventional cancer treatment approaches, partly due to the inhibitory microenvironment of the tumor. In this study, we tried to inhibit the growth of cancer cells and induce anti-tumor immune responses by silencing the expression of the beta-catenin in the tumor microenvironment and transmitting interleukin (IL)-15 cytokine to provide optimal conditions for the dendritic cell (DC) vaccine. Methods For this purpose, we used folic acid (FA)-conjugated SPION-carboxymethyl dextran (CMD) chitosan (C) nanopartides (NPs) to deliver anti-beta-catenin siRNA and IL-15 to cancer cells. Results The results showed that the codelivery of beta-catenin siRNA and IL-15 significantly reduced the growth of cancer cells and increased the immune response. The treatment also considerably stimulated the performance of the DC vaccine in triggering anti-tumor immunity, which inhibited tumor development and increased survival in mice in two different cancer models. Conclusions These findings suggest that the use of new nanocarriers such as SPION-C-CMD-FA could be an effective way to use as a novel combination therapy consisting of beta-catenin siRNA, 1L-15, and DC vaccine to treat cancer.