Empty Pfizer-Formula Lipid Particles Alone Multiplied Mouse Tumor Spread Tenfold
Researchers at West China Hospital in Chengdu found the lipid shell alone triggers a neutrophil trap that plants metastasis in the lungs.
- The empty shell mirrors Pfizer's Comirnaty formula: ALC-0315, cholesterol, DSPC and DMG-PEG 2000.
- In a CT26 colorectal mouse model, empty particles raised metastatic tumor burden more than tenfold.
- Dying muscle cells released mitochondrial DNA that pushed neutrophils into NETosis, seeding tumors in the lungs.
Why it matters: Regulators approved the shell as an inert carrier; it was never tested for what it does alone.
Nano Today (Sichuan University/West China Hospital study, DOI 10.1016/j.nantod.2026.103039) ↗ · Sep 4, 20269/4/26