CS-PEI/Beclin-siRNA Downregulate Multidrug Resistance Proteins and Increase Paclitaxel Therapeutic Efficacy against NSCLC

GPRC5A promotes paclitaxel resistance and glucose content in NSCLC

Lung cancer is one of the most common and malignant cancers worldwide. Chemotherapy has been widely used in the clinical setting, and paclitaxel is the first-line therapy for lung cancer patients but paclitaxel resistance is the main problem. First, we successfully established paclitaxel-resistant lung cancer cells treated with elevated doses of paclitaxel for 3 months, as confirmed by the CCK-8 assay. Paclitaxel-resistant cancer cells increased glucose content. Second, Gtex, Oncomine, and gene expression omnibus database data mining identified GPRC5A, G protein-coupled receptor, as the most prominent differentially expressed gene in drug-resistant datasets including gemcitabine, paclitaxel, and gefitinib overlapped with the microarray data from cancer cell metabolism. Third, qPCR analysis and western blot technique showed that GPRC5A mRNA and protein levels were significantly enhanced in paclitaxel-resistant lung cancer cells. Fourth, functional analysis was conducted by siRNA-mediated transient knockdown of GPRC5A. Silencing GPRC5A significantly decreased paclitaxel resistance and glucose content. In the end, retinoic acid substantially upregulated GPRC5A proteins and promoted glucose content in two lung cancer cells. Kaplan-Meier plot also confirmed that lung cancer patients with high expression of GPRC5A had a relatively lower survival rate. Our study provided a potential drug target GPRC5A, which may benefit lung cancer patients with acquired paclitaxel resistance in the future and a theoretical basis for future preclinical trials.

Enhancing Therapeutic Efficacy in Cancer Treatment: Integrating Nanomedicine with Autophagy Inhibition Strategies

The complicated stepwise lysosomal degradation process known as autophagy is in charge of destroying and eliminating damaged organelles and defective cytoplasmic components. This mechanism promotes metabolic adaptability and nutrition recycling. Autophagy functions as a quality control mechanism in cells that support homeostasis and redox balance under normal circumstances. However, the role of autophagy in cancer is controversial because, mostly depending on the stage of the tumor, it may either suppress or support the disease. While autophagy delays the onset of tumors and slows the dissemination of cancer in the early stages of tumorigenesis, numerous studies demonstrate that autophagy promotes the development and spread of tumors as well as the evolution and development of resistance to several anticancer drugs in advanced cancer stages. In this Review, we primarily emphasize the therapeutic role of autophagy inhibition in improving the treatment of multiple cancers and give a broad overview of how its inhibition modulates cancer responses. There have been various attempts to inhibit autophagy, including the use of autophagy inhibitor drugs, gene silencing therapy (RNA interference), and nanoparticles. In this Review, all these topics are thoroughly covered and illustrated by recent studies and field investigations.

MiR-3074-5p suppresses non-small cell lung cancer progression by targeting the YWHAZ/Hsp27 axis

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for more than 80% of lung cancer cases, and the 5-year survival rate of patients remains unsatisfactory. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous noncoding RNAs that are considered essential posttranscriptional regulators of tumorigenesis, including NSCLC. In this study, we aimed to investigate the biological role of miR-3074-5p in NSCLC cells and the underlying molecular mechanisms. We showed that miR-3074-5p expression was decreased in human NSCLC specimens and cell lines. Moreover, miR-3074-5p overexpression inhibited cell proliferation, migration and invasion and induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. In addition, miR-3074-5p overexpression not only suppressed tumor growth but also enhanced the antitumor effect of paclitaxel (PTX) on NSCLC cells in vitro and in vivo. A transcriptome sequencing assay revealed genes that were differentially expressed after miR-3074-5p overexpression, and among the genes whose expression levels were most significantly decreased, tyrosine 3-monooxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein zeta (YWHAZ) was a target of miR-3074-5p. The regulatory effect of miR-3074-5p on YWHAZ expression was verified by Western blotting and dual-luciferase reporter assays. The inhibition of A549 cell growth, migration and invasion was reversed by YWHAZ overexpression. Furthermore, we showed that PTX stimulated the expression of the YWHAZ and Hsp27 proteins and promoted the phosphorylation of Hsp27 (at S15 and S78). YWHAZ was confirmed to interact with Hsp27 in A549 cells, and downregulating YWHAZ expression promoted the degradation of the Hsp27 protein. Taken together, these results suggest that the miR-3074-5p/YWHAZ/Hsp27 axis may be a novel therapeutic target for NSCLC treatment.

High oxidative stability of a complex fish liver oil nano-capsules in response to long-term storage, and to hyperthermal and sunlight exposure

BACKGROUND

In this study, a biocompatible nano-carrying platform using chitosan (ChI) and chondroitin sulfate (ChS) was developed for the encapsulation of cobia liver oil (CBLO) to prevent its oxidation and improve its absorption. An ionic gelation method was applied to encapsulate CBLO with different weight ratios (from 1.0 to 1.5) to obtain ChS-ChI nano-capsules (ChS-ChI@CBLO NCs).

RESULTS

Morphological observations of the nano-capsules revealed a spherical shape and diameter around 267-381 nm. The maximum loading capacity (LC) and encapsulation efficiency (EE) for ChS-ChI@CBLO NCs estimated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) analysis were 25.7% and 56.2%, respectively. The structural stability of ChS-ChI@CBLO NCs was confirmed through differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis; moreover DSC also further confirmed the oxidative stability of ChS-ChI@CBLO NCs. Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra confirmed the excellent stability of ChS-ChI@CBLO NCs against high temperature and sunlight exposure. Biocompatibility analysis also verified the non-toxicity of ChS-ChI@CBLO NCs, further indicating safety and potential application in complex-nutritional supplements.

CONCLUSION

Nano-degree of ChS-ChI@CBLO NCs has a loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency of around 16.5 ~ 25.7% and 33.4 ~ 56.2%, respectively, for encapsulation of CBLO. Characterization results also indicate that ChS-ChI@CBLO NCs display high oxidative stability against long-term, hyperthermal, and sunlight exposure. Bioassay results confirm that the ChS-ChI@CBLO NCs are safe and non-toxic. This study demonstrates that nano-capsules are also beneficial in preventing sensitive compounds from metamorphosis, and are non-toxic. These materials are suitable for use in the food and pharmaceutical industries. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Zebrafish tumour xenograft models: a prognostic approach to epithelial ovarian cancer

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the gynaecological malignancy with highest mortality. Although adjuvant treatment with carboplatin and paclitaxel leads to an objective response in ~80% of these patients, a majority will relapse within two years. Better methods for assessing long-term treatment outcomes are needed. To address this, we established safe and efficacious doses of carboplatin and paclitaxel using IGROV-1 zebrafish-CDX models. Then fluorescently-labelled cell suspensions from 83 tumour biopsies collected at exploratory laparotomy of women with suspected EOC were generated and 37 (45%) were successfully implanted in zebrafish larvae. Among these 19 of 27 pathology-confirmed EOC samples (70%) engrafted. These zebrafish patient-derived tumour xenograft (ZTX) models were treated with carboplatin or paclitaxel and tumour growth/regression and metastatic dissemination were recorded. In a subgroup of nine patients, four ZTX models regressed during carboplatin treatment. All four corresponding patients had >24 months PFS. Furthermore, both ZTX models established from two patients having <24 months PFS failed to regress during carboplatin treatment. Seven of eight models seeding <6 metastatic cells were established from patients having >24 months PFS. In eleven of fourteen patients, FIGO stage I + II or III tumours gave rise to ZTX models seeding <4 or >4 metastatic cells, respectively. In conclusion, ZTX models predicted patients having >24 or <24 months PFS, based on response/no response to carboplatin. Furthermore, high metastatic dissemination in ZTX models correlated to shorter PFS and more advanced disease at diagnosis. These preliminary results suggest that ZTX models could become a useful prognostic tool in EOC treatment planning.

The alpha-adrenergic antagonist prazosin promotes cytosolic siRNA delivery from lysosomal compartments

The widespread use of small interfering RNA (siRNA) is limited by the multiple extra- and intracellular barriers upon in vivo administration. Hence, suitable delivery systems, based on siRNA encapsulation in nanoparticles or its conjugation to targeting ligands, have been developed. Nevertheless, at the intracellular level, these state-of-the-art delivery systems still suffer from a low endosomal escape efficiency. Consequently, the bulk of the endocytosed siRNA drug rapidly accumulates in the lysosomal compartment. We recently reported that a wide variety of cationic amphiphilic drugs (CADs) can promote small nucleic acid delivery from the endolysosomal compartment into the cytosol via transient induction of lysosomal membrane permeabilization. Here, we describe the identification of alternate siRNA delivery enhancers from the NIH Clinical Compound Collection that do not have the typical physicochemical properties of CADs. Additionally, we demonstrate improved endolysosomal escape of siRNA via a cholesterol conjugate and polymeric carriers with the α1-adrenergic antagonist prazosin, which was identified as the best performing delivery enhancer from the compound screen. A more detailed assessment of the mode-of-action of prazosin suggests that a different cellular phenotype compared to typical CAD adjuvants drives cytosolic siRNA delivery. As it has been described in the literature that prazosin also induces cancer cell apoptosis and promotes antigen cross-presentation in dendritic cells, the proof-of-concept data in this work provides opportunities for the repurposing of prazosin in an anti-cancer combination strategy with siRNA.

Zebrafish in Lung Cancer Research

Zebrafish is increasingly used as a model organism for cancer research because of its genetic and physiological similarities to humans. Modeling lung cancer (LC) in zebrafish has received significant attention. This review focuses on the insights gained from using zebrafish in LC research. These insights range from investigating the genetic and molecular mechanisms that contribute to the development and progression of LC to identifying potential drug targets, testing the efficacy and toxicity of new therapies, and applying zebrafish for personalized medicine studies. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of LC research performed using zebrafish, highlights the advantages and limitations of this model organism, and discusses future directions in the field.

Nanotechnology-enabled topical delivery of therapeutics in chronic rhinosinusitis

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the paranasal sinuses which represents a significant health burden due to its widespread prevalence and impact on patients' quality of life. As the molecular pathways driving and sustaining inflammation in CRS become better elucidated, the diversity of treatment options is likely to widen significantly. Nanotechnology offers several tools to enhance the effectiveness of topical therapies, which has been limited by factors such as poor drug retention, mucosal permeation and adhesion, removal by epithelial efflux pumps and the inability to effectively penetrate biofilms. In this review, we highlight the successful application of nanomedicine in the field of CRS therapeutics, discuss current limitations and propose opportunities for future work.

Intense endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) / IRE1α enhanced Oxaliplatin efficacy by decreased ABCC10 in colorectal cancer cells

BACKGROUND

Attenuated Oxaliplatin efficacy is a challenge in treating colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, contributory to the failure in chemotherapy and the risks in relapse and metastasis. However, the mechanism of Oxaliplatin de-efficacy during CRC treatment has not been completely elucidated.

METHODS

Microarray screening, western blot and qPCR on clinic CRC samples were conducted to select the target gene ABCC10 transporter. The Cancer Genome Atlas data was analyzed to figure out the correlation between the clinical manifestation and ABCC10 expression. ABCC10 knock-down in CRC cells was conducted to identify its role in the Oxaliplatin resistance. Cell counting kit-8 assay was conducted to identify the CRC cell viability and Oxaliplatin IC₅₀. Flow cytometry was conducted to detect the cell apoptosis exposed to Oxaliplatin. The intracellular Oxaliplatin accumulation was measured by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry.

RESULTS

CRC patients with higher ABCC10 were prone to relapse and metastasis. Differential ABCC10 expression in multiple CRC cell lines revealed a strong positive correlation between ABCC10 expression level and decreased Oxaliplatin response. In ABCC10 knock-down CRC cells the Oxaliplatin sensitivity was evidently elevated due to an increase of intracellular Oxaliplatin accumulation resulted from the diminished drug efflux. To explore a strategy to block ABCC10 in CRC cells, we paid a special interest in the endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) / unfolded protein response (UPR) that plays a dual role in tumor development. We found that neither the inhibition of ERS nor the induction of mild ERS had anti-CRC effect. However, the CRC cell viability was profoundly decreased and the pro-apoptotic factor CHOP and apoptosis were increased by the induction of intense ERS. Significantly, the Oxaliplatin sensitivity of CRC cells was enhanced in response to the intense ERS, which was blocked by inhibiting IRE1α branch of UPR. Finally, we figured out that the intense ERS down-regulated ABCC10 expression via regulated IRE1-dependent decay activity.

CONCLUSION

Oxaliplatin was a substrate of ABCC10 efflux transporter. The intense ERS/IRE1α enhanced Oxaliplatin efficacy through down-regulating ABCC10 in addition to inducing CHOP. We suggested that introduction of intense ERS/UPR could be a promising strategy to restore chemo-sensitivity when used in combination with Oxaliplatin or other chemotherapeutic drugs pumped out by ABCC10.

Recent advances in anti-multidrug resistance for nano-drug delivery system

Chemotherapy for tumors occasionally results in drug resistance, which is the major reason for the treatment failure. Higher drug doses could improve the therapeutic effect, but higher toxicity limits the further treatment. For overcoming drug resistance, functional nano-drug delivery system (NDDS) has been explored to sensitize the anticancer drugs and decrease its side effects, which are applied in combating multidrug resistance (MDR) via a variety of mechanisms including bypassing drug efflux, controlling drug release, and disturbing metabolism. This review starts with a brief report on the major MDR causes. Furthermore, we searched the papers from NDDS and introduced the recent advances in sensitizing the chemotherapeutic drugs against MDR tumors. Finally, we concluded that the NDDS was based on several mechanisms, and we looked forward to the future in this field.

An EHMT2/NFYA-ALDH2 signaling axis modulates the RAF pathway to regulate paclitaxel resistance in lung cancer

Background

Lung cancer is a kind of malignancy with high morbidity and mortality worldwide. Paclitaxel (PTX) is the main treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and resistance to PTX seriously affects the survival of patients. However, the underlying mechanism and potential reversing strategy need to be further explored.

Methods

We identified ALDH2 as a PTX resistance-related gene using gene microarray analysis. Subsequently, a series of functional analysis in cell lines, patient samples and xenograft models were performed to explore the functional role, clinical significance and the aberrant regulation mechanism of ALDH2 in PTX resistance of NSCLC. Furthermore, the pharmacological agents targeting ALDH2 and epigenetic enzyme were used to investigate the diverse reversing strategy against PTX resistance.

Results

Upregulation of ALDH2 expression is highly associated with resistance to PTX using in vitro and in vivo analyses of NSCLC cells along with clinicopathological analyses of NSCLC patients. ALDH2-overexpressing NSCLC cells exhibited significantly reduced PTX sensitivity and increased biological characteristics of malignancy in vitro and tumor growth and metastasis in vivo. EHMT2 (euchromatic histone lysine methyltransferase 2) inhibition and NFYA (nuclear transcription factor Y subunit alpha) overexpression had a cooperative effect on the regulation of ALDH2. Mechanistically, ALDH2 overexpression activated the RAS/RAF oncogenic pathway. NSCLC/PTX cells re-acquired sensitivity to PTX in vivo and in vitro when ALDH2 was inhibited by pharmacological agents, including the ALDH2 inhibitors Daidzin (DZN)/Disulfiram (DSF) and JIB04, which reverses the effect of EHMT2.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that ALDH2 status can help predict patient response to PTX therapy and ALDH2 inhibition may be a promising strategy to overcome PTX resistance in the clinic.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12943-022-01579-9.

Noncoding RNAs and their therapeutics in paclitaxel chemotherapy: Mechanisms of initiation, progression, and drug sensitivity

The identification of agents that can reverse drug resistance in cancer chemotherapy, and enhance the overall efficacy is of great interest. Paclitaxel (PTX) belongs to taxane family that exerts an antitumor effect by stabilizing microtubules and inhibiting cell cycle progression. However, PTX resistance often develops in tumors due to the overexpression of drug transporters and tumor-promoting pathways. Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are modulators of many processes in cancer cells, such as apoptosis, migration, differentiation, and angiogenesis. In the present study, we summarize the effects of ncRNAs on PTX chemotherapy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) can have opposite effects on PTX resistance (stimulation or inhibition) via influencing YES1, SK2, MRP1, and STAT3. Moreover, miRNAs modulate the growth and migration rates of tumor cells in regulating PTX efficacy. PIWI-interacting RNAs, small interfering RNAs, and short-hairpin RNAs are other members of ncRNAs regulating PTX sensitivity of cancer cells. Long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) are similar to miRNAs and can modulate PTX resistance/sensitivity by their influence on miRNAs and drug efflux transport. The cytotoxicity of PTX against tumor cells can also be affected by circular RNAs (circRNAs) and limitation is that oncogenic circRNAs have been emphasized and experiments should also focus on onco-suppressor circRNAs.

Modulating intracellular pathways to improve non-viral delivery of RNA therapeutics

RNA therapeutics (e.g. siRNA, oligonucleotides, mRNA, etc.) show great potential for the treatment of a myriad of diseases. However, to reach their site of action in the cytosol or nucleus of target cells, multiple intra- and extracellular barriers have to be surmounted. Several non-viral delivery systems, such as nanoparticles and conjugates, have been successfully developed to meet this requirement. Unfortunately, despite these clear advances, state-of-the-art delivery agents still suffer from relatively low intracellular delivery efficiencies. Notably, our current understanding of the intracellular delivery process is largely oversimplified. Gaining mechanistic insight into how RNA formulations are processed by cells will fuel rational design of the next generation of delivery carriers. In addition, identifying which intracellular pathways contribute to productive RNA delivery could provide opportunities to boost the delivery performance of existing nanoformulations. In this review, we discuss both established as well as emerging techniques that can be used to assess the impact of different intracellular barriers on RNA transfection performance. Next, we highlight how several modulators, including small molecules but also genetic perturbation technologies, can boost RNA delivery by intervening at differing stages of the intracellular delivery process, such as cellular uptake, intracellular trafficking, endosomal escape, autophagy and exocytosis.

The Long-Term DEHP Exposure Confers Multidrug Resistance of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells through ABC Transporters and Intracellular ROS

The characteristics of phthalates had been thought to be similar to endocrine disruptors, which increases cancer risk. The role of phthalates in acquired drug resistance remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the effect of di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) on acquired drug resistance in breast cancer. MCF7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were exposed to long-term physiological concentration of DEHP for more than three months. Long-exposure DEHP permanently attenuated the anti-proliferative effect of doxorubicin with estrogen receptor-independent activity even after withdrawal of DEHP. Long term DEHP exposure significantly reduced ROS (O2-) level in MDA-MB-231 cells while increased in MCF7 cells. ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters possess a widely recognized mechanism of drug resistance and are considered a target for drug therapy. Upregulation of ABC family proteins, ABCB-1 and ABCC-1 observed in DEHP-exposed clones compared to doxorubicin-resistant (DoxR) and parental MDA-MB-231 cells. A viability assay showed enhanced multidrug resistance in DEHP-exposed clones against Dox, topotecan, and irinotecan. Inhibition of ABC transporters with tariquidar, enhanced drug cytotoxicity through increased drug accumulation reversing acquired multidrug resistance in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. Tariquidar enhanced Dox cytotoxicity by increasing intracellular ROS production leading to caspase-3 mediated apoptosis. Activation of PI3K/Akt signaling enhanced proliferation and growth of DEHP-exposed MDA-MB-231 cells. Overall, long-term DEHP exposure resulted in acquired multidrug resistance by upregulating ABCB-1 and ABCC1; apart from proliferation PI3K/Akt may be responsible for acquired drug resistance through ABC transporter upregulation. Targeting ABCB1 and ABCC1 with tariquidar may be a promising strategy for reversing the acquired multidrug resistance of triple-negative breast cancer cells.

Employing siRNA tool and its delivery platforms in suppressing cisplatin resistance: Approaching to a new era of cancer chemotherapy

Although chemotherapy is a first option in treatment of cancer patients, drug resistance has led to its failure, requiring strategies to overcome it. Cancer cells are capable of switching among molecular pathways to ensure their proliferation and metastasis, leading to their resistance to chemotherapy. The molecular pathways and mechanisms that are responsible for cancer progression and growth, can be negatively affected for providing chemosensitivity. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a powerful tool extensively applied in cancer therapy in both pre-clinical (in vitro and in vivo) and clinical studies because of its potential in suppressing tumor-promoting factors. As such oncogene pathways account for cisplatin (CP) resistance, their targeting by siRNA plays an important role in reversing chemoresistance. In the present review, application of siRNA for suppressing CP resistance is discussed. The first priority of using siRNA is sensitizing cancer cells to CP-mediated apoptosis via down-regulating survivin, ATG7, Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, and XIAP. The cancer stem cell properties and related molecular pathways including ID1, Oct-4 and nanog are inhibited by siRNA in CP sensitivity. Cell cycle arrest and enhanced accumulation of CP in cancer cells can be obtained using siRNA. In overcoming siRNA challenges such as off-targeting feature and degradation, carriers including nanoparticles and biological carriers have been applied. These carriers are important in enhancing cellular accumulation of siRNA, elevating gene silencing efficacy and reversing CP resistance.

Progress in Natural Compounds/siRNA Co-delivery Employing Nanovehicles for Cancer Therapy

Chemotherapy using natural compounds, such as resveratrol, curcumin, paclitaxel, docetaxel, etoposide, doxorubicin, and camptothecin, is of importance in cancer therapy because of the outstanding therapeutic activity and multitargeting capability of these compounds. However, poor solubility and bioavailability of natural compounds have limited their efficacy in cancer therapy. To circumvent this hurdle, nanocarriers have been designed to improve the antitumor activity of the aforementioned compounds. Nevertheless, cancer treatment is still a challenge, demanding novel strategies. It is well-known that a combination of natural products and gene therapy is advantageous over monotherapy. Delivery of multiple therapeutic agents/small interfering RNA (siRNA) as a potent gene-editing tool in cancer therapy can maximize the synergistic effects against tumor cells. In the present review, co-delivery of natural compounds/siRNA using nanovehicles are highlighted to provide a backdrop for future research.

Synergistic Combination of Sodium Aescinate-Stabilized, Polymer-Free, Twin-Like Nanoparticles to Reverse Paclitaxel Resistance

BACKGROUND

The development of paclitaxel (PTX) resistance seriously restricts its clinical efficacy. An attractive option for combating resistance is inhibiting the expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in tumor cells. We have reported that flavokawain A (FKA) inhibited P-gp protein expression in PTX-resistant A549 (A549/T) cells, indicating that FKA combined with PTX may reverse PTX resistance. However, due to the variable pharmacokinetics of FKA and PTX, the conventional cocktail combination in clinics may cause uncertainty of treatment efficacy in vivo.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To synergistically elevate the anti-cancer activity of PTX and FKA in vivo, the national medical products administration (NMPA) approved sodium aescinate (Aes) was utilized to stabilize hydrophobic PTX and FKA to form polymer-free twin like PTX-A nanoparticles (NPs) and FKA-A NPs.

RESULTS

The resulting nanoparticles prepared simply by nanoprecipitation possessed similar particle size, good stability and ultrahigh drug loadings of up to 50%. With the aid of Aes, these two drugs accumulated in tumor tissue by passive targeting and were efficiently taken up by A549/T cells; this resulted in significant suppression of tumor growth in A549/T homograft mice at a low PTX dose (2.5 mg·kg-1). Synergistic effects and reversed PTX resistance were achieved by the combination of PTX-A NPs and FKA-A NPs by inhibiting P-gp expression in tumor cells.

CONCLUSION

Using NMPA-approved Aes to prepare twin-like nanoparticles without introducing any new materials provides an efficient platform for combination chemotherapy and clinical translation.

FNDC5 promotes paclitaxel sensitivity of non-small cell lung cancers via inhibiting MDR1

Therapeutic benefits and clinical application of paclitaxel for treating non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs) are extremely hampered due to the chemoresistance. A recent study found that fibronectin type III domain-containing protein 5 (FNDC5) was downregulated in NSCLCs cells and negatively correlated with the clinicopathological characteristics in patients with NSCLCs. However, the role and potential molecular basis for FNDC5 in paclitaxel sensitivity of NSCLCs remain unclear. Paclitaxel-sensitive or resistant NSCLCs cell lines were exposed to small interfering RNA against FNDC5 (siFndc5) or recombinant irisin in the presence or absence of paclitaxel. NSCLCs cell lines have decreased FNDC5 expression compared with the normal human lung epithelial cells, which was further downregulated in paclitaxel-resistant cells. Irisin treatment suppressed, whereas Fndc5 silence promoted NSCLCs cells proliferation under basal conditions. Besides, we found that FNDC5 increased paclitaxel chemosensitivity in paclitaxel-sensitive or resistant NSCLCs cell lines via downregulating multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1). Further studies revealed that FNDC5 inhibited MDR1 expression via blocking nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation. FNDC5 promotes paclitaxel sensitivity of NSCLCs cells via inhibiting NF-κB/MDR1 signaling, and FNDC5 might be a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of NSCLCs.

Chondroitin sulfate derived theranostic and therapeutic nanocarriers for tumor-targeted drug delivery

The standard chemotherapy is facing the challenges of lack of cancer selectivity and development of drug resistance. Currently, with the application of nanotechnology, the rationally designed nanocarriers of chondroitin sulfate (CS) have been fabricated and their unique features of low toxicity, biocompatibility, and active and passive targeting made them drug delivery vehicles of the choice for cancer therapy. The hydrophilic and anionic CS could be incorporated as a building block into- or decorated on the surface of nanoformulations. Micellar nanoparticles (NPs) self-assembled from amphiphilic CS-drug conjugates and CS-polymer conjugates, polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) and nanogels of CS have been widely implicated in cancer directed therapy. The surface modulation of organic, inorganic, lipid and metallic NPs with CS promotes the receptor-mediated internalization of NPs to the tumor cells. The potential contribution of CS and CS-proteoglycans (CSPGs) in the pathogenesis of various cancer types, and CS nanocarriers in immunotherapy, radiotherapy, sonodynamic therapy (SDT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) of cancer are summarized in this review paper.

Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Autophagy-Mediated Treatment Resistance in Cancer

Despite advances in diagnostic tools and therapeutic options, treatment resistance remains a challenge for many cancer patients. Recent studies have found evidence that autophagy, a cellular pathway that delivers cytoplasmic components to lysosomes for degradation and recycling, contributes to treatment resistance in different cancer types. A role for autophagy in resistance to chemotherapies and targeted therapies has been described based largely on associations with various signaling pathways, including MAPK and PI3K/AKT signaling. However, our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the role of autophagy in facilitating treatment resistance remains limited. Here we provide a comprehensive summary of the evidence linking autophagy to major signaling pathways in the context of treatment resistance and tumor progression, and then highlight recently emerged molecular mechanisms underlying autophagy and the p62/KEAP1/NRF2 and FOXO3A/PUMA axes in chemoresistance.

Autophagy Modulators: Mechanistic Aspects and Drug Delivery Systems

Autophagy modulation is considered to be a promising programmed cell death mechanism to prevent and cure a great number of disorders and diseases. The crucial step in designing an effective therapeutic approach is to understand the correct and accurate causes of diseases and to understand whether autophagy plays a cytoprotective or cytotoxic/cytostatic role in the progression and prevention of disease. This knowledge will help scientists find approaches to manipulate tumor and pathologic cells in order to enhance cellular sensitivity to therapeutics and treat them. Although some conventional therapeutics suffer from poor solubility, bioavailability and controlled release mechanisms, it appears that novel nanoplatforms overcome these obstacles and have led to the design of a theranostic-controlled drug release system with high solubility and active targeting and stimuli-responsive potentials. In this review, we discuss autophagy modulators-related signaling pathways and some of the drug delivery strategies that have been applied to the field of therapeutic application of autophagy modulators. Moreover, we describe how therapeutics will target various steps of the autophagic machinery. Furthermore, nano drug delivery platforms for autophagy targeting and co-delivery of autophagy modulators with chemotherapeutics/siRNA, are also discussed.

Overexpression of SLFN5 induced the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human lung cancer cell line A549 through β-catenin/Snail/E-cadherin pathway

Lung cancer is a disease with increasing morbidity worldwide in recent years. Approaches such as chemotherapy and biological targeting for its treatment are urgently needed. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is an important initiation stage for tumor cells to acquire invasive and metastatic abilities. Increasing findings have shown that human schlafen family member 5 (SLFN5) plays a key role in malignant tumors. However, the role of SLFN5 in lung cancer cells is not completely elucidated yet. In this study, overexpression or knockdown of SLFN5 gene were induced by lentiviral transfection in human lung cancer cell line A549, then the EMT of A549 was detected by green fluorescent protein labeling method, the migrative and invasive abilities were evaluated via transwell and wound-healing tests in vitro and chick chorioallantoic membrane inoculation in vivo, and the possible mechanism was studied by quantitative real-time PCR and Western blotting. Our results demonstrated that overexpression of SLFN5 promoted the morphology transformation of A549 from epithelial to mesenchymal, as well as migration and invasion. However, knockdown of SLFN5 resulted in the opposite results. Moreover, with the development of EMT after SLFN5 was overexpressed, A549 exhibited enhanced translocation of β-catenin from membrane to cytoplasm or nucleus, with higher level of EMT-related transcription factor Snail, and lower expression of adhesin E-cadherin. Together these results suggest that SLFN5 may act as a synergist in lung cancer cell tumorigenesis and progression, providing a potential target for developing drugs for lung cancer therapy in future.