(334) Immunomodulatory effects of cholesterol oxidation and their implications in liposomal drug delivery

Introduction: Liposome-encapsulated chemotherapy improves drug pharmacokinetics and tolerability but shows no significant improvement in anticancer efficacy compared to conventional chemotherapy, based on a meta-analysis of 14 clinical trials.1 Cholesterol-containing liposomes can promote tumor growth by inducing angiogenesis and inhibiting antitumor immunity, indicating their immune modulatory effects.2 Macrophages can engulf these liposomes, converting cholesterol to oxysterols, which regulate immune responses.3 We aimed to determine whether liposome-associated oxysterols affect macrophage functionality.