Sophora Flavescens-derived extracellular vesicles loaded with oncolytic vaccinia virus/IR1061 for NIR-II photoacoustic imaging guided multimodal treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, characterized by high heterogeneity and significant clinical challenges. Despite the widespread adoption of the R-CHOP regimen as the standard treatment, approximately 30 %–40 % of patients experience relapse, necessitating the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Here, we presented a multifunctional therapeutic platform combining oncolytic vaccinia virus (OVV) and the second near-infrared (NIR-II) fluorescent dye IR1061, encapsulated within Sophora flavescens-derived extracellular vesicles (SFNPs), termed SFOVV@IR1061. The OVV exhibits selective tropism for tumor cells, inducing targeted lysis while concurrently stimulating robust antitumor immune responses. In parallel, IR1061 serves a dual function, showing high-resolution tumor visualization through photoacoustic imaging while simultaneously enabling precise photothermal therapy (PTT) via its exceptional photothermal conversion efficiency. Utilizing SFNPs as a bioinspired coating improves the stability and tumor-targeting efficiency of OVV while mitigating off-target effects. In vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate that SFOVV@IR1061 effectively promotes tumor cell apoptosis by inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD) and activating innate and adaptive immune responses. The synergistic combination of OVV-mediated oncolysis and IR1061-driven PTT enhance the therapeutic efficacy and minimize systemic toxicity, which underscores the potential of SFOVV@IR1061 as a promising multimodal therapeutic approach for improving outcomes in DLBCL treatment.

Lichen Ji is a Ph.D. candidate at Tongji University School of Medicine. His research focuses on nanomaterials for cancer therapy, with particular emphasis on phototherapeutic materials and oncolytic viruses. He has published multiple SCI papers in JCR Q1 journals with impact factors exceeding 10.