LC-MS/MS monitoring of the colorectal carcinoma cellular uptake and entrapment of sorafenib and its N-oxide active metabolite

Pharmacodynamic components and mechanisms of ginger (Zingiber officinale) in the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Ginger is a "medicine-food homology" natural herb and has a longstanding medicinal background in treating intestinal diseases. Its remarkable bioactivities, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunoregulatory, flora regulatory, intestinal protective, and anticancer properties, make it a promising natural medicine for colorectal cancer (CRC) prevention and treatment.

AIM OF THE REVIEW

The purpose is to review the relevant literature on ginger and pharmacodynamic components for CRC prevention and treatment, summarize the possible mechanisms of ginger from clinical studies and animal and in vitro experiments, to provide theoretical support for the use of ginger preparations in the daily prevention and clinical treatment of CRC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Literatures about ginger and CRC were searched from electronic databases, such as PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI).

RESULTS

This article summarizes the molecular mechanisms of ginger and its pharmacodynamic components in the prevention and treatment of CRC, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunoregulatory, flora regulatory, intestinal protective, inhibit CRC cell proliferation, induce CRC cell cycle blockage, promote CRC cell apoptosis, suppress CRC cell invasion and migration, enhance the anticancer effect of chemotherapeutic drugs.

CONCLUSIONS

Ginger has potential for daily prevention and clinical treatment of CRC.

Designing an electrochemical sensor based on ZnO nanoparticle-supported molecularly imprinted polymer for ultra-sensitive and selective detection of sorafenib

BACKGROUND

Sorafenib (SOR) is a multikinase inhibitor anticancer drug that is used in treating non-small cell lung cancer. In this work, we focused on developing nanomaterial-supported smart porous interfaces by following the molecular imprinting approach for the selective determination of SOR. Determination-based studies in the literature for SOR are limited, and they are chromatographic techniques-based; hence, there is a need in the literature to elaborate the selective and sensitive analysis/monitoring of SOR in both biological and pharmaceutical samples with more studies.

RESULTS

The results showed that adding ZnO NPs enhanced the signal five times compared to the solo molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP). Under the optimized conditions, ZnO/AMPS@MIP-GCE showed a linear response in the concentration range between 1.0 × 10-12 and 1.0 × 10-11 M with LOD and LOQ values of 2.25 × 10-13 M and 7.51 × 10-13 M, respectively, in the serum sample. The selectivity study was conducted against common cations, anions, and compounds such as dopamine, paracetamol, ascorbic acid, and uric acid. Also, the imprinting factor (IF) analysis was performed on selected drug substances having structural similarities to SOR and the relative IF values of regorafenib, leflunomide, teriflunomide, nilotinib, axitinib, and dasatinib indicated the selectivity of the developed sensor for SOR. Finally, ZnO/AMPS@MIP-GCE was implemented to determine SOR in the spiked commercial human serum samples and tablet dosage form with bias% between -0.43 and + 0.66.

SIGNIFICANCE AND NOVELTY

This study is the first electrochemical study for the determination of SOR, and thanks to the ZnO NPs supported MIP sensor, it stands out in terms of both high sensitivity and superior selectivity. Also, this designed sensor provides controlled orientation of the template and complete removal of templates in a one-step process, allowing extremely low detection and quantification limits.

CREKA-modified liposomes target activated hepatic stellate cells to alleviate liver fibrosis by inhibiting collagen synthesis and angiogenesis

Activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are considered the key driver of excessive extracellular matrix and abnormal angiogenesis, which are the main pathological manifestations of hepatic fibrosis. However, the absence of specific targeting moieties has rendered the development of HSC-targeted drug delivery systems a significant obstacle in the treatment of liver fibrosis. Here we have identified a notable increase in fibronectin expression on HSCs, which positively correlates with the progression of hepatic fibrosis. Thus, we decorated PEGylated liposomes with CREKA, a peptide with high affinity for fibronectin, to facilitate the targeted delivery of sorafenib to activated HSCs. The CREKA-coupled liposomes exhibited enhanced cellular uptake in the human hepatic stellate cell line LX2 and selective accumulation in CCl4-induced fibrotic liver through the recognition of fibronectin. When loaded with sorafenib, the CREKA-modified liposomes effectively suppressed HSC activation and collagen accumulation in vitro. Furthermore. in vivo results demonstrated that the administration of sorafenib-loaded CREKA-liposomes at a low dose significantly mitigated CCl4-induced hepatic fibrosis, prevented inflammatory infiltration and reduced angiogenesis in mice. These findings suggest that CREKA-coupled liposomes have promising potential as a targeted delivery system for therapeutic agents to activated HSCs, thereby providing an efficient treatment option for hepatic fibrosis. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: In liver fibrosis, activated hepatic stellate cells (aHSCs) are the key driver of extracellular matrix and abnormal angiogenesis. Our investigation has revealed a significant elevation in fibronectin expression on aHSCs, which is positively associated with the progression of hepatic fibrosis. Thus, we developed PEGylated liposomes decorated with CREKA, a molecule with a high affinity for fibronectin, to facilitate the targeted delivery of sorafenib to aHSCs. The CREKA-coupled liposomes can specifically target aHSCs both in vitro and in vivo. Loading sorafenib into CREKA-Lip significantly alleviated CCl4-induced liver fibrosis, angiogenesis and inflammation at low doses. These findings suggest that our drug delivery system holds promise as a viable therapeutic option for liver fibrosis with minimal risk of adverse effects.