PEI-PEG-Coated Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles Enhance the Antitumor Activity of Tanshinone IIA and Serve as a Gene Transfer Vector

Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Danshen) based nano-delivery systems for anticancer therapeutics

BACKGROUND

The ancient Chinese herb Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge (Danshen), plays the important role in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Furthermore, Danshen could also be used for curing carcinogenesis. Up to now, the anti-tumor effects of the main active constituents of Danshen have made great progress. However, the bioavailability of the active constituents of Danshen were restricted by their unique physical characteristics, like low oral bioavailability, rapid degradation in vivo and so on.

PURPOSE

With the leap development of nano-delivery systems, the shortcomings of the active constituents of Danshen have been greatly ameliorated. This review tried to summarize the recent progress of the active constituents of Danshen based delivery systems used for anti-tumor therapeutics.

METHODS

A systematic literature search was conducted using 5 databases (Embase, Google scholar, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases) for the identification of relevant data published before September 2023. The words "Danshen", "Salvia miltiorrhiza", "Tanshinone", "Salvianolic acid", "Rosmarinic acid", "tumor", "delivery", "nanomedicine" and other active ingredients contained in Danshen were searched in the above databases to gather information about pharmaceutical decoration for the active constituents of Danshen used for anti-tumor therapeutics.

RESULTS

The main extracts of Danshen could inhibit the proliferation of tumor cells effectively and a great deal of studies were conducted to design drug delivery systems to ameliorate the anti-tumor effect of the active contents of Danshen through different ways, like improving bioavailability, increasing tumor targeting ability, enhancing biological barrier permeability and co-delivering with other active agents.

CONCLUSION

This review systematically represented recent progress of pharmaceutical decorations for the active constituents of Danshen used for anti-tumor therapeutics, revealing the diversity of nano-decoration skills and trying to inspire more designs of Danshen based nanodelivery systems, with the hope that bringing the nanomedicine of the active constituents of Danshen for anti-tumor therapeutics from bench to bedside in the near future.

Ordered Mesoporous Silica Delivering siRNA as Cancer Nanotherapeutics: A Comprehensive Review

Nanosized mesoporous silica has emerged as a promising flexible platform delivering siRNA for cancer treatment. This ordered mesoporous nanosized silica provides attractive features of well-defined and tunable porosity, structure, high payload, and multiple functionalizations for targeted delivery and increasing biocompatibility over other polymeric nanocarriers. Moreover, it also overcomes the lacunae associated with traditional administration of drugs. Chemically modified porous silica matrix efficiently entraps siRNA molecules and prevents their enzymatic degradation and premature release. This Review discusses the synthesis of silica using the sol-gel approach and the advantages with different silica mesostructure. Herein, the factors affecting the synthesis of silica at nanometer scale, shape, porosity and nanoparticle surface modification are also highlighted to attain the desired nanostructured silica carriers. Additional emphasis is given to chemically modified silica delivering siRNA, where the silica nanoparticle surface was modified with different chemical moieties such as amine modified with (3-aminoropyl) triethoxysilane, polyethylenimine, chitosan, poly(ethylene glycol), and cyclodextrin polymer modification to attain high therapeutic loading, improved dispersibility and biocompatibility. Upon systemic administration, ordered mesoporous nanosized silica encounters blood cells, immune cells, and organs mainly of the reticuloendothelial system (RES). Thereby, biocompatibility and biodistribution of silica based nanocarriers are deliberated to design principles for smart and efficacious nanostructured silica-siRNA carriers and their clinical trial status. This Review further reports the future scopes and challenges for developing silica nanomaterial as a promising siRNA delivery vehicle demanding FDA approval.

Tanshinone IIA and hepatocellular carcinoma: A potential therapeutic drug

Because of its high prevalence and poor long-term clinical treatment effect, liver disease is regarded as a major public health problem around the world. Among them, viral hepatitis, fatty liver, cirrhosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and autoimmune liver disease are common causes and inducements of liver injury, and play an important role in the occurrence and development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Tanshinone IIA (TsIIA) is a fat soluble polyphenol of Salvia miltiorrhiza that is extracted from Salvia miltiorrhiza. Because of its strong biological activity (anti-inflammatory, antioxidant), it is widely used in Asia to treat cardiovascular and liver diseases. In addition, TsIIA has shown significant anti-HCC activity in previous studies. It not only has significant anti proliferation and pro apoptotic properties. It can also play an anti-cancer role by mediating a variety of signal pathways, including phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt)/rapamycin (mTOR), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB). This review not only reviews the existing evidence and molecular mechanism of TsIIA's anti-HCC effect but also reviews the liver-protective effect of TsIIA and its impact on liver fibrosis, NAFLD, and other risk factors for liver cancer. In addition, we also conducted network pharmacological analysis on TsIIA and HCC to further screen and explore the possible targets of TsIIA against hepatocellular carcinoma. It is expected to provide a theoretical basis for the development of anti-HCC-related drugs based on TsIIA.

How far are the new wave of mRNA drugs from us? mRNA product current perspective and future development

mRNA products are therapies that are regulated from the post-transcriptional, pre-translational stage of a gene and act upstream of protein synthesis. Compared with traditional small molecule drugs and antibody drugs, mRNA drugs had the advantages of simple design, short development cycle, strong target specificity, wide therapeutic field, and long-lasting effect. mRNA drugs were now widely used in the treatment of genetic diseases, tumors, and viral infections, and are expected to become the third major class of drugs after small molecule drugs and antibody drugs. The delivery system technology was the key to ensuring the efficacy and safety of mRNA drugs, which plays an important role in protecting RNA structure, enhancing targeting ability, reducing the dose of drug delivery, and reducing toxic side effects. Lipid nanoparticles (LNP) were the most common delivery system for mRNA drugs. In recent years, mRNA drugs have seen rapid development, with the number of drugs on the market increasing each year. The success of commercializing mRNA vaccines has driven a wave of nucleic acid drug development. mRNA drugs were clinically used in genetic diseases, oncology, and infectious diseases worldwide, while domestic mRNA clinical development was focused on COVID-19 vaccines, with more scope for future indication expansion.

Mesoporous Nanoparticles for Diagnosis and Treatment of Liver Cancer in the Era of Precise Medicine

Primary liver cancer is the seventh-most-common cancer worldwide and the fourth-leading cause of cancer mortality. In the current era of precision medicine, the diagnosis and management of liver cancer are full of challenges and prospects. Mesoporous nanoparticles are often designed as specific carriers of drugs and imaging agents because of their special morphology and physical and chemical properties. In recent years, the design of the elemental composition and morphology of mesoporous nanoparticles have greatly improved their drug-loading efficiency, biocompatibility and biodegradability. Especially in the field of primary liver cancer, mesoporous nanoparticles have been modified as highly tumor-specific imaging contrast agents and targeting therapeutic medicine. Various generations of complexes and structures have been determined for the complicated clinical management requirements. In this review, we summarize these advanced mesoporous designs in the different diagnostic and therapeutic fields of liver cancer and discuss the relevant advantages and disadvantages of transforming applications. By comparing the material properties, drug-delivery characteristics and application methods of different kinds of mesoporous materials in liver cancer, we try to help determine the most suitable drug carriers and information media for future clinical trials. We hope to improve the fabrication of biomedical mesoporous nanoparticles and provide direct evidence for specific cancer management.