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  • Review Article
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Immunoregulatory nanomedicine for respiratory infections

Nature Reviews Bioengineering volume 2, pages 244–259 (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Immune-regulation strategies, such as vaccination and immunotherapy, are key to the prevention and treatment of respiratory infectious diseases. In particular, nanomedicines can be engineered and formulated to regulate host immunity in various tissues, including in the lungs. In this Review, we discuss the design of nanovaccines, including lipid-nanocarrier-based messenger RNA nanovaccines, highlighting engineering strategies for different administration routes, including nasal administration. We further discuss the engineering of immunomodulatory nanomedicines for the treatment of respiratory infectious diseases by blocking pro-inflammatory signalling pathways and virus entry, modulating stimulated immune cells and scavenging reactive oxygen species. In addition, we examine the funding situation for research on respiratory infectious diseases before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, we summarize future opportunities, challenges and global trends for immunoregulatory nanomedicine for the treatment of respiratory infections.

Key points

  • Nanomedicines can be designed to optimize the physical and chemical properties of immunologic agents for immune regulation in the prevention and treatment of respiratory infectious diseases.

  • Nanovaccines based on lipid and polymeric nanoparticles can deliver mRNA, overcome the physiological barriers of nasal mucosal immunity and improve the efficiency of antigen presentation.

  • Nanotherapeutics can be engineered to regulate the immune microenvironment in respiratory infectious diseases by blocking pro-inflammatory signalling pathways and virus entry, modulating stimulated immune cells and scavenging inflammatory cytokines and reactive oxygen species.

  • Research funding for respiratory infectious diseases has increased after the COVID-19 outbreak.

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Fig. 1: Nanomaterials for immune stimulation.
Fig. 2: Immune-regulating nanotherapeutics.
Fig. 3: Research funding for respiratory infectious diseases approved by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in the past ten years.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (grant numbers 2021YFA1201000, 2018YFE0117800, 2021YFC2302400 and 2021YFE0106900), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) key project (grant number 32030060); the NSFC (grant numbers 31971302, 31871003 and 32171394), the NSFC international collaboration key project (grant number 51861135103), the Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province of China (grant number 2019A1515011597), and the joint grant between Guangzhou City and College (grant number 202102010106), The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Basic Research Cooperation Project (grant number 19JCZDJC64100) and the Educational Commission of Guangdong Province of China key project (grant number 2020ZDZX2001).

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Yafang Xiao, Yuanyu Huang, Maobin Xie.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Minimally Invasive Interventional Radiology, the State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease, School of Biomedical Engineering & The Second Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P. R. China

    Yafang Xiao, Maobin Xie, Ying Tao, Jiasheng Wu, Guoxi Xie, Tao Xu, Weisheng Guo & Xing-Jie Liang

  2. Advanced Research Institute of Multidisciplinary Science, School of Life Science; School of Medical Technology; Key Laboratory of Molecular Medicine and Biotherapy; Key Laboratory of Medical Molecule Science and Pharmaceutics Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, P. R. China

    Yuanyu Huang & Minghui Yang

  3. Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, CAS Key Laboratory for Biomedical Effects of Nanomaterials and Safety, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology of China, Beijing, P.R. China

    Lu Liu & Xing-Jie Liang

  4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China

    Lu Liu, Tao Xu & Xing-Jie Liang

  5. State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Disease and School of Basic Medicine, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P. R. China

    Jinbao Liu

  6. National Laboratory of Biomedicine at Guangzhou, Guangzhou, P. R. China

    Tao Xu

  7. Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, P. R. China

    Tao Xu

  8. Department of Health Sciences, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing, P. R. China

    Weisheng Guo

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Contributions

Y.X., Y.H. and M.X. contributed equally to the preparation of this manuscript. Y.X. and X.-J.L. contributed to writing and editing of this manuscript. Y.H., M.X. and X.-J.L. researched data for the article and contributed to the discussion of content and writing. M.Y., Y.T., L.L., J.W. and X.-J.L. researched data for the article. G.X., J.L. and T.X. contributed to reviewing and editing the manuscript. Y.H., W.G. and X.-J.L. contributed to the discussions and writing, reviewing and editing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yuanyu Huang, Weisheng Guo or Xing-Jie Liang.

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Xiao, Y., Huang, Y., Xie, M. et al. Immunoregulatory nanomedicine for respiratory infections. Nat Rev Bioeng 2, 244–259 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44222-023-00131-8

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