Advances in magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents for glioblastoma-targeting theranostics

Cancer cell membrane-coated nanoparticles: a promising anti-tumor bionic platform

Nanoparticle (NP) drug delivery systems have shown promise in tumor therapy. However, limitations such as susceptibility to immune clearance and poor targeting in a complex intercellular environment still exist. Recently, cancer cell membrane-encapsulated nanoparticles (CCM-NPs) constructed using biomimetic nanotechnology have been developed to overcome these problems. Proteins on the membrane surface of cancer cells can provide a wide range of activities for CCM-NPs, including immune escape and homologous cell recognition properties. Meanwhile, the surface of the cancer cell membrane exhibits obvious antigen enrichment, so that CCM-NPs can transmit tumor-specific antigen, activate a downstream immune response, and produce an effective anti-tumor effect. In this review, we first provided an overview of the functions of cancer cell membranes and summarized the preparation techniques and characterization methods of CCM-NPs. Then, we focused on the application of CCM-NPs in tumor therapy. In addition, we summarized the functional modifications of cancer cell membranes and compiled the patent applications related to CCM-NPs in recent years. Finally, we proposed the future challenges and directions of this technology in order to provide guidance for researchers in this field.

A transferrin receptor targeting dual-modal MR/NIR fluorescent imaging probe for glioblastoma diagnosis

The prognosis of glioblastoma (GBM) remains challenging, primarily due to the lack of a precise, effective imaging technique for comprehensively characterization. Addressing GBM diagnostic challenges, our study introduces an innovative dual-modal imaging that merges near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent imaging with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This method employs superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles coated with NIR fluorescent dyes, specifically Cyanine 7, and targeted peptides. This synthetic probe facilitates MRI functionality through superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, provides NIR imaging capability via Cyanine 7 and enhances tumor targeting trough peptide interactions, offering a comprehensive diagnostic tool for GBM. Notably, the probe traverses the blood-brain barrier, targeting GBM in vivo via peptides, producing clear and discernible images in both modalities. Cytotoxicity and histopathology assessments confirm the probe's favorable safety profile. These findings suggest that the dual-modal MR\NIR fluorescent imaging probe could revolutionize GBM prognosis and survival rates, which can also be extended to other tumors type.

Recent advancements and theranostics strategies in glioblastoma therapy

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most aggressive and lethal malignant brain tumor, and it is challenging to cure with surgery and treatment. The prevention of permanent brain damage and tumor invasion, which is the ultimate cause of recurrence, are major obstacles in GBM treatment. Besides, emerging treatment modalities and newer genetic findings are helping to understand and manage GBM in patients. Accordingly, researchers are focusing on advanced nanomaterials-based strategies for tackling the various problems associated with GBM. In this context, researchers explored novel strategies with various alternative treatment approaches such as early detection techniques and theranostics approaches. In this review, we have emphasized the recent advancement of GBM cellular models and their roles in designing GBM therapeutics. We have added a special emphasis on the novel genetic and drug target findings as well as strategies for early detection. Besides, we have discussed various theranostic approaches such as hyperthermia therapy, phototherapy and image-guided therapy. Approaches utilized for targeted drug delivery to the GBM were also discussed. This article also describes the recentin vivo, in vitroandex vivoadvances using innovative theranostic approaches.

An Overview of EGFR Mechanisms and Their Implications in Targeted Therapies for Glioblastoma

Despite all of the progress in understanding its molecular biology and pathogenesis, glioblastoma (GBM) is one of the most aggressive types of cancers, and without an efficient treatment modality at the moment, it remains largely incurable. Nowadays, one of the most frequently studied molecules with important implications in the pathogenesis of the classical subtype of GBM is the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Although many clinical trials aiming to study EGFR targeted therapies have been performed, none of them have reported promising clinical results when used in glioma patients. The resistance of GBM to these therapies was proven to be both acquired and innate, and it seems to be influenced by a cumulus of factors such as ineffective blood-brain barrier penetration, mutations, heterogeneity and compensatory signaling pathways. Recently, it was shown that EGFR possesses kinase-independent (KID) pro-survival functions in cancer cells. It seems imperative to understand how the EGFR signaling pathways function and how they interconnect with other pathways. Furthermore, it is important to identify the mechanisms of drug resistance and to develop better tailored therapeutic agents.

Smart One-for-All Agent with Adaptive Functions for Improving Photoacoustic /Fluorescence Imaging-Guided Photodynamic Immunotherapy

Multifunctional phototheranostics that integrate several diagnostic and therapeutic strategies into one platform hold great promise for precision medicine. However, it is really difficult for one molecule to possess multimodality optical imaging and therapy properties that all functions are in the optimized mode because the absorbed photoenergy is fixed. Herein, a smart one-for-all nanoagent that the photophysical energy transformation processes can be facilely tuned by external light stimuli is developed for precise multifunctional image-guided therapy. A dithienylethene-based molecule is designed and synthesized because it has two light-switchable forms. In the ring-closed form, most of the absorbed energy dissipates via nonradiative thermal deactivation for photoacoustic (PA) imaging. In the ring-open form, the molecule possesses obvious aggregation-induced emission features with excellent fluorescence and photodynamic therapy properties. In vivo experiments demonstrate that preoperative PA and fluorescence imaging help to delineate tumors in a high-contrast manner, and intraoperative fluorescence imaging is able to sensitively detect tiny residual tumors. Furthermore, the nanoagent can induce immunogenic cell death to elicit antitumor immunity and significantly suppress solid tumors. This work develops a smart one-for-all agent that the photophysical energy transformation and related phototheranostic properties can be optimized by light-driven structure switch, which is promising for multifunctional biomedical applications.

An injectable and active hydrogel induces mutually enhanced mild magnetic hyperthermia and ferroptosis

Magnetic hyperthermia therapy (MHT) is a promising new modality to deal with solid tumors, yet the low magnetic-heat conversion efficacy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) artifacts, easy leakage of magnetic nanoparticles, and thermal resistance are the main obstacles to expand its clinical applications. Herein, a synergistic strategy based on a novel injectable magnetic and ferroptotic hydrogel is proposed to overcome these bottlenecks and boost the antitumor efficacy of MHT. The injectable hydrogel (AAGel) exhibiting a sol-gel transition upon heating is made of arachidonic acid (AA)-modified amphiphilic copolymers. Ferrimagnetic Zn_0.4Fe_2.6O₄ nanocubes with high-efficiency hysteresis loss mechanism are synthesized and co-loaded into AAGel with RSL3, a potent ferroptotic inducer. This system maintains the temperature-responsive sol-gel transition, and provides the capacity of multiple MHT and achieves accurate heating after a single injection owing to the firm anchoring and uniform dispersion of nanocubes in the gel matrix. The high magnetic-heat conversion efficacy of nanocubes coupled with the application of echo limiting effect avoids the MRI artifacts during MHT. Besides the function of magnetic heating, Zn_0.4Fe_2.6O₄ nanocubes combined with multiple MHT can sustain supply of redox-active iron to generate reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxides and accelerate the release of RLS3 from AAGel, thus enhancing the antitumor efficacy of ferroptosis. In turn, the reinforced ferroptosis can alleviate the MHT-triggered thermal resistance of tumors by impairment of the protective heat shock protein 70. The synergy strategy achieves the complete elimination of CT-26 tumors in mice without causing local tumor recurrence and other severe side effects.

Prediction of Glioma Grade by Tumor Heterogeneity Radiomic Analysis Based on Multiparametric MRI

Predicting glioma grade plays a pivotal role in treatment and prognosis. However, several current methods for grading depend on the characteristics of the whole tumor. Predicting grade by analyzing tumor subregions has not been thoroughly investigated, which aims to improve the prediction performance. To predict glioma grade via analysis of tumor heterogeneity with features extracted from tumor subregions, it is mainly divided into four magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences, including T2-weighted (T2), fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), pre-gadolinium T1-weighted (T1), and post-gadolinium T1-weighted methods. This study included the data of 97 patients with glioblastomas and 42 patients with low-grade gliomas before surgery. Three subregions, including enhanced tumor (ET), non-enhanced tumor, and peritumoral edema, were obtained based on segmentation labels generated by the GLISTRBoost algorithm. One hundred radiomic features were extracted from each subregion. Feature selection was performed using the cross-validated recursive feature elimination with a support vector machine (SVM) algorithm. SVM classifiers with grid search were established to predict glioma grade based on unparametric and multiparametric MRI. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to evaluate the performance of the classifiers, and the performance of the subregions was compared with the results of the whole tumor. In uniparametric analysis, the features from the ET subregion yielded a higher AUC value of 0.8697, 0.8474, and 0.8474 than those of the whole tumor of FLAIR, T1, and T2. In multiparametric analysis, the ET subregion achieved the best performance (AUC = 0.8755), which was higher than the uniparametric results. Radiomic features from the tumor subregion can potentially be used as clinical markers to improve the predictive accuracy of glioma grades.

Recent advances in regenerative biomaterials

Nowadays, biomaterials have evolved from the inert supports or functional substitutes to the bioactive materials able to trigger or promote the regenerative potential of tissues. The interdisciplinary progress has broadened the definition of 'biomaterials', and a typical new insight is the concept of tissue induction biomaterials. The term 'regenerative biomaterials' and thus the contents of this article are relevant to yet beyond tissue induction biomaterials. This review summarizes the recent progress of medical materials including metals, ceramics, hydrogels, other polymers and bio-derived materials. As the application aspects are concerned, this article introduces regenerative biomaterials for bone and cartilage regeneration, cardiovascular repair, 3D bioprinting, wound healing and medical cosmetology. Cell-biomaterial interactions are highlighted. Since the global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019, the review particularly mentions biomaterials for public health emergency. In the last section, perspectives are suggested: (i) creation of new materials is the source of innovation; (ii) modification of existing materials is an effective strategy for performance improvement; (iii) biomaterial degradation and tissue regeneration are required to be harmonious with each other; (iv) host responses can significantly influence the clinical outcomes; (v) the long-term outcomes should be paid more attention to; (vi) the noninvasive approaches for monitoring in vivo dynamic evolution are required to be developed; (vii) public health emergencies call for more research and development of biomaterials; and (viii) clinical translation needs to be pushed forward in a full-chain way. In the future, more new insights are expected to be shed into the brilliant field-regenerative biomaterials.

An update on the molecular biology of glioblastoma, with clinical implications and progress in its treatment

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive and common malignant primary brain tumor. Patients with GBM often have poor prognoses, with a median survival of ∼15 months. Enhanced understanding of the molecular biology of central nervous system tumors has led to modifications in their classifications, the most recent of which classified these tumors into new categories and made some changes in their nomenclature and grading system. This review aims to give a panoramic view of the last 3 years' findings in glioblastoma characterization, its heterogeneity, and current advances in its treatment. Several molecular parameters have been used to achieve an accurate and personalized characterization of glioblastoma in patients, including epigenetic, genetic, transcriptomic and metabolic features, as well as age- and sex-related patterns and the involvement of several noncoding RNAs in glioblastoma progression. Astrocyte-like neural stem cells and outer radial glial-like cells from the subventricular zone have been proposed as agents involved in GBM of IDH-wildtype origin, but this remains controversial. Glioblastoma metabolism is characterized by upregulation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, promotion of the glycolytic flux, maintenance of lipid storage, and other features. This metabolism also contributes to glioblastoma's resistance to conventional therapies. Tumor heterogeneity, a hallmark of GBM, has been shown to affect the genetic expression, modulation of metabolic pathways, and immune system evasion. GBM's aggressive invasion potential is modulated by cell-to-cell crosstalk within the tumor microenvironment and altered expressions of specific genes, such as ANXA2, GBP2, FN1, PHIP, and GLUT3. Nevertheless, the rising number of active clinical trials illustrates the efforts to identify new targets and drugs to treat this malignancy. Immunotherapy is still relevant for research purposes, given the amount of ongoing clinical trials based on this strategy to treat GBM, and neoantigen and nucleic acid-based vaccines are gaining importance due to their antitumoral activity by inducing the immune response. Furthermore, there are clinical trials focused on the PI3K/Akt/mTOR axis, angiogenesis, and tumor heterogeneity for developing molecular-targeted therapies against GBM. Other strategies, such as nanodelivery and computational models, may improve the drug pharmacokinetics and the prognosis of patients with GBM.

Magnetic Levitation of Personalized Nanoparticle-Protein Corona as an Effective Tool for Cancer Detection

Unprecedented opportunities for early stage cancer detection have recently emerged from the characterization of the personalized protein corona (PC), i.e., the protein cloud that surrounds nanoparticles (NPs) upon exposure to a patients’ bodily fluids. Most of these methods require “direct characterization” of the PC., i.e., they necessitate protein isolation, identification, and quantification. Each of these steps can introduce bias and affect reproducibility and inter-laboratory consistency of experimental data. To fulfill this gap, here we develop a nanoparticle-enabled blood (NEB) test based on the indirect characterization of the personalized PC by magnetic levitation (MagLev). The MagLev NEB test works by analyzing the levitation profiles of PC-coated graphene oxide (GO) NPs that migrate along a magnetic field gradient in a paramagnetic medium. For the test validation, we employed human plasma samples from 15 healthy individuals and 30 oncological patients affected by four cancer types, namely breast cancer, prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Over the last 15 years prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, and PDAC have continuously been the second, third, and fourth leading sites of cancer-related deaths in men, while breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and PDAC are the second, third and fourth leading sites for women. This proof-of-concept investigation shows that the sensitivity and specificity of the MagLev NEB test depend on the cancer type, with the global classification accuracy ranging from 70% for prostate cancer to an impressive 93.3% for PDAC. We also discuss how this tool could benefit from several tunable parameters (e.g., the intensity of magnetic field gradient, NP type, exposure conditions, etc.) that can be modulated to optimize the detection of different cancer types with high sensitivity and specificity.

PEGylated amphiphilic polymeric manganese(II) complex as magnetic resonance angiographic agent

Currently, the most commonly used clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents, Gd(III) chelates, have been found in association with nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in renally compromised patients. Toxicity concerns...