Gold Nanoparticles Disrupt the IGFBP2/mTOR/PTEN Axis to Inhibit Ovarian Cancer Growth

The biomedical application of inorganic metal nanoparticles in aging and aging-associated diseases

Aging and aging-associated diseases (AAD), including neurodegenerative disease, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, are inevitable process. With the gradual improvement of life style, life expectancy is gradually extended. However, the extended lifespan has not reduced the incidence of disease, and most elderly people are in ill-health state in their later years. Hence, understanding aging and AAD are significant for reducing the burden of the elderly. Inorganic metal nanoparticles (IMNPs) predominantly include gold, silver, iron, zinc, titanium, thallium, platinum, cerium, copper NPs, which has been widely used to prevent and treat aging and AAD due to their superior properties (essential metal ions for human body, easily synthesis and modification, magnetism). Therefore, a systematic review of common morphological alternations of senescent cells, altered genes and signal pathways in aging and AAD, and biomedical applications of IMNPs in aging and AAD is crucial for the further research and development of IMNPs in aging and AAD. This review focus on the existing research on cellular senescence, aging and AAD, as well as the applications of IMNPs in aging and AAD in the past decade. This review aims to provide cutting-edge knowledge involved with aging and AAD, the application of IMNPs in aging and AAD to promote the biomedical application of IMNPs in aging and AAD.

Integrated Multiomics Reveals Silencing of has_circ_0006646 Promotes TRIM21-Mediated NCL Ubiquitination to Inhibit Hepatocellular Carcinoma Metastasis

Recent studies suggest that circular RNA (circRNA)-mediated post-translational modification of RNA-binding proteins (RBP) plays a pivotal role in metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the specific mechanism and potential clinical therapeutic significance remain vague. This study attempts to profile the regulatory networks of circRNA and RBP using a multi-omics approach. Has_circ_0006646 (circ0006646) is an unreported circRNA in HCC and is associated with a poor prognosis. Silencing of circ0006646 significantly hinders metastasis in vivo. Mechanistically, circ0006646 prevents the interaction between nucleolin (NCL) and the E3 ligase tripartite motif-containing 21 to reduce the proteasome-mediated degradation of NCL via K48-linked polyubiquitylation. Furthermore, the change of NCL expression is proven to affect the phosphorylation levels of multiple proteins and inhibit p53 translation. Moreover, patient-derived tumor xenograft and lentivirus injection, which is conducted to simulate clinical treatment confirmed the potential therapeutic value. Overall, this study describes the integrated multi-omics landscape of circRNA-mediated NCL ubiquitination degradation in HCC metastasis and provides a novel therapeutic target.

MAD2L2, a key regulator in ovarian cancer and promoting tumor progression

Ovarian cancer (OVCA), a prevalent gynecological malignancy, ranks as the fourth most common cancer among women. Mitotic Arrest Deficient 2 Like 2 (MAD2L2), a chromatin-binding protein and a component of DNA polymerase ζ, has been previously identified as an inhibitor of tumor growth in colorectal cancer. However, the roles of MAD2L2 in OVCA, including its expression, impact, and prognostic significance, remain unclear. We employed bioinformatics tools, Cox Regression analysis, and in vitro cell experiments to investigate its biological functions. Our findings reveal that MAD2L2 typically undergoes genomic alterations, such as amplifications and deep deletions. Moreover, we observed an overexpression of MAD2L2 mRNA in OVCA patients, correlating with reduced survival rates, particularly in those with Grade IV tumors. Furthermore, analysis of mRNA biofunctions indicated that MAD2L2 is predominantly localized in the organellar ribosome, engaging mainly in NADH dehydrogenase activity. This was deduced from the results of gene ontology enrichment analysis, which also identified its role as a structural constituent in mitochondrial translation elongation. These findings were corroborated by KEGG pathway analysis, further revealing MAD2L2's involvement in tumor metabolism and the cell death process. Notably, MAD2L2 protein expression showed significant associations with various immune cells, including CD4+T cells, CD8+T cells, B cells, natural killer cells, and Myeloid dendritic cells. Additionally, elevated levels of MAD2L2 were found to enhance cell proliferation and migration in OVCA cells. The upregulation of MAD2L2 also appears to inhibit the ferroptosis process, coinciding with increased mTOR signaling activity in these cells. Our study identifies MAD2L2 as a novel regulator in ovarian tumor progression and offers new insights for treating OVCA.

Autophagy-mediated nanomaterials for tumor therapy

Autophagy is a lysosomal self-degradation pathway that plays an important protective role in maintaining intracellular environment. Deregulation of autophagy is related to several diseases, including cancer, infection, neurodegeneration, aging, and heart disease. In this review, we will summarize recent advances in autophagy-mediated nanomaterials for tumor therapy. Firstly, the autophagy signaling pathway for tumor therapy will be reviewed, including oxidative stress, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling and autophagy-associated genes pathway. Based on that, many autophagy-mediated nanomaterials have been developed and applied in tumor therapy. According to the different structure of nanomaterials, we will review and evaluate these autophagy-mediated nanomaterials' therapeutic efficacy and potential clinical application.

Gold Nanoparticles Inhibit Macropinocytosis by Decreasing KRAS Activation

The RAS-transformed cells utilize macropinocytosis to acquire amino acids to support their uncontrolled growth. However, targeting RAS to inhibit macropinocytosis remains a challenge. Here, we report that gold nanoparticles (GNP) inhibit macropinocytosis by decreasing KRAS activation. Using surface-modified and unmodified GNP, we showed that unmodified GNP specifically sequestered both wild-type and mutant KRAS and inhibited its activation, irrespective of growth factor stimulation, while surface-passivated GNP had no effect. Alteration of KRAS activation is reflected on downstream signaling cascades, macropinocytosis and tumor cell growth in vitro, and two independent preclinical human xenograft models of pancreatic cancer in vivo. The current study demonstrates NP-mediated inhibition of macropinocytosis and KRAS activation and provides translational opportunities to inhibit tumor growth in a number of cancers where activation of KRAS plays a major role.

Gold nanostructure-mediated delivery of anticancer agents: Biomedical applications, reversing drug resistance, and stimuli-responsive nanocarriers

The application of nanoarchitectures in cancer therapy seems to be beneficial for the delivery of antitumor drugs. In recent years, attempts have been made to reverse drug resistance, one of the factors threatening the lives of cancer patients worldwide. Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are metal nanostructures with a variety of advantageous properties, such as tunable size and shape, continuous release of chemicals, and simple surface modification. This review focuses on the application of GNPs for the delivery of chemotherapy agents in cancer therapy. Utilizing GNPs results in targeted delivery and increased intracellular accumulation. Besides, GNPs can provide a platform for the co-delivery of anticancer agents and genetic tools with chemotherapeutic compounds to exert a synergistic impact. Furthermore, GNPs can promote oxidative damage and apoptosis by triggering chemosensitivity. Due to their capacity for providing photothermal therapy, GNPs can enhance the cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic agents against tumor cells. The pH-, redox-, and light-responsive GNPs are beneficial for drug release at the tumor site. For the selective targeting of cancer cells, surface modification of GNPs with ligands has been performed. In addition to improving cytotoxicity, GNPs can prevent the development of drug resistance in tumor cells by facilitating prolonged release and loading low concentrations of chemotherapeutics while maintaining their high antitumor activity. As described in this study, the clinical use of chemotherapeutic drug-loaded GNPs is contingent on enhancing their biocompatibility.

Self-Therapeutic Nanomaterials: Applications in Biology and Medicine

Over past decades, nanotechnology has contributed to the biomedical field in areas including detection, diagnosis, and drug delivery via opto-electronic properties or enhancement of biological effects. Though generally considered inert delivery vehicles, a plethora of past and present evidence demonstrates that nanomaterials also exude unique intrinsic biological activity based on composition, shape, and surface functionalization. These intrinsic biological activities, termed self-therapeutic properties, take several forms, including mediation of cell-cell interactions, modulation of interactions between biomolecules, catalytic amplification of biochemical reactions, and alteration of biological signal transduction events. Moreover, study of biomolecule-nanomaterial interactions offers a promising avenue for uncovering the molecular mechanisms of biology and the evolution of disease. In this review, we observe the historical development, synthesis, and characterization of self-therapeutic nanomaterials. Next, we discuss nanomaterial interactions with biological systems, starting with administration and concluding with elimination. Finally, we apply this materials perspective to advances in intrinsic nanotherapies across the biomedical field, from cancer therapy to treatment of microbial infections and tissue regeneration. We conclude with a description of self-therapeutic nanomaterials in clinical trials and share our perspective on the direction of the field in upcoming years.

Comprehensive Pan-Cancer Analyses of Immunogenic Cell Death as a Biomarker in Predicting Prognosis and Therapeutic Response

Immunogenic cell death (ICD), a form of regulated cell death, is related to anticancer therapy. Due to the absence of widely accepted markers, characterizing ICD-related phenotypes across cancer types remained unexplored. Here, we defined the ICD score to delineate the ICD landscape across 33 cancerous types and 31 normal tissue types based on transcriptomic, proteomic and epigenetics data from multiple databases. We found that ICD score showed cancer type-specific association with genomic and immune features. Importantly, the ICD score had the potential to predict therapy response and patient prognosis in multiple cancer types. We also developed an ICD-related prognostic model by machine learning and cox regression analysis. Single-cell level analysis revealed intra-tumor ICD state heterogeneity and communication between ICD-based clusters of T cells and other immune cells in the tumor microenvironment in colon cancer. For the first time, we identified IGF2BP3 as a potential ICD regulator in colon cancer. In conclusion, our study provides a comprehensive framework for evaluating the relation between ICD and clinical relevance, gaining insights into identification of ICD as a potential cancer-related biomarker and therapeutic target.