Synergism of cisplatin-oleanolic acid co-loaded calcium carbonate nanoparticles on hepatocellular carcinoma cells for enhanced apoptosis and reduced hepatotoxicity

The development of nanocarriers for natural products

Natural bioactive compounds from plants exhibit substantial pharmacological potency and therapeutic value. However, the development of most plant bioactive compounds is hindered by low solubility and instability. Conventional pharmaceutical forms, such as tablets and capsules, only partially overcome these limitations, restricting their efficacy. With the recent development of nanotechnology, nanocarriers can enhance the bioavailability, stability, and precise intracellular transport of plant bioactive compounds. Researchers are increasingly integrating nanocarrier-based drug delivery systems (NDDS) into the development of natural plant compounds with significant success. Moreover, natural products benefit from nanotechnological enhancement and contribute to the innovation and optimization of nanocarriers via self-assembly, grafting modifications, and biomimetic designs. This review aims to elucidate the collaborative and reciprocal advancement achieved by integrating nanocarriers with botanical products, such as bioactive compounds, polysaccharides, proteins, and extracellular vesicles. This review underscores the salient challenges in nanomedicine, encompassing long-term safety evaluations of nanomedicine formulations, precise targeting mechanisms, biodistribution complexities, and hurdles in clinical translation. Further, this study provides new perspectives to leverage nanotechnology in promoting the development and optimization of natural plant products for nanomedical applications and guiding the progression of NDDS toward enhanced efficiency, precision, and safety. This article is categorized under: Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology.

Calcium Carbonate-Based Nanoplatforms for Cancer Therapeutics: Current State of Art and Future Breakthroughs

With the rapid development of nanotechnology, nanomaterials have shown immense potential for antitumor applications. Nanosized calcium carbonate (CaCO3) materials exhibit excellent biocompatibility and degradability, and have been utilized to develop platform technologies for cancer therapy. These materials can be engineered to carry anticancer drugs and functional groups that specifically target cancer cells and tissues, thereby enhancing therapeutic efficacy. Additionally, their physicochemical properties can be tailored to enable stimuli-responsive therapy and precision drug delivery. This Review consolidates recent literatures focusing on the synthesis, physicochemical properties, and multimodal antitumor therapies of CaCO3-based nanoplatforms (CBN). We also explore the current challenges and potential breakthroughs in the development of CBN for antitumor applications, providing a valuable reference for researchers in the field.

Recent Developments in CaCO3 Nano-Drug Delivery Systems: Advancing Biomedicine in Tumor Diagnosis and Treatment

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3), a natural common inorganic material with good biocompatibility, low toxicity, pH sensitivity, and low cost, has a widespread use in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. In recent years, an increasing number of CaCO3-based nano-drug delivery systems have been developed. CaCO3 as a drug carrier and the utilization of CaCO3 as an efficient Ca2+ and CO2 donor have played a critical role in tumor diagnosis and treatment and have been explored in increasing depth and breadth. Starting from the CaCO3-based nano-drug delivery system, this paper systematically reviews the preparation of CaCO3 nanoparticles and the mechanisms of CaCO3-based therapeutic effects in the internal and external tumor environments and summarizes the latest advances in the application of CaCO3-based nano-drug delivery systems in tumor therapy. In view of the good biocompatibility and in vivo therapeutic mechanisms, they are expected to become an advancing biomedicine in the field of tumor diagnosis and treatment.

Recent advances of novel targeted drug delivery systems based on natural medicine monomers against hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most prevalent type of liver cancer, is often diagnosed at an advanced stage. Surgical interventions are often ineffective, leading HCC patients to rely on systemic chemotherapy. Unfortunately, commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs have limited efficacy and can adversely affect vital organs, causing significant physical and psychological distress for patients. Natural medicine monomers (NMMs) have shown promising efficacy and safety profiles in HCC treatment, garnering attention from researchers. In recent years, the development of novel targeted drug delivery systems (TDDS) combining NMMs with nanocarriers has emerged. These TDDS aim to concentrate drugs effectively in HCC cells by manipulating the characteristics of nanomedicines, leveraging receptor and ligand interactions, and utilizing endogenous stimulatory responses to promote specific nanomedicines distribution. This comprehensive review presents recent research on TDDS for HCC treatment using NMMs from three perspectives: passive TDDS, active TDDS, and stimuli-responsive drug delivery systems (SDDS). It consolidates the current state of research on TDDS for HCC treatment with NMMs and highlights the potential of these innovative approaches in improving treatment outcomes. Moreover, the review also identifies research gaps in the related fields to provide references for future targeted therapy research in HCC.

Targeting metabolic reprogramming in hepatocellular carcinoma to overcome therapeutic resistance: A comprehensive review

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) poses a heavy burden on human health with high morbidity and mortality rates. Systematic therapy is crucial for advanced and mid-term HCC, but faces a significant challenge from therapeutic resistance, weakening drug effectiveness. Metabolic reprogramming has gained attention as a key contributor to therapeutic resistance. Cells change their metabolism to meet energy demands, adapt to growth needs, or resist environmental pressures. Understanding key enzyme expression patterns and metabolic pathway interactions is vital to comprehend HCC occurrence, development, and treatment resistance. Exploring metabolic enzyme reprogramming and pathways is essential to identify breakthrough points for HCC treatment. Targeting metabolic enzymes with inhibitors is key to addressing these points. Inhibitors, combined with systemic therapeutic drugs, can alleviate resistance, prolong overall survival for advanced HCC, and offer mid-term HCC patients a chance for radical resection. Advances in metabolic research methods, from genomics to metabolomics and cells to organoids, help build the HCC metabolic reprogramming network. Recent progress in biomaterials and nanotechnology impacts drug targeting and effectiveness, providing new solutions for systemic therapeutic drug resistance. This review focuses on metabolic enzyme changes, pathway interactions, enzyme inhibitors, research methods, and drug delivery targeting metabolic reprogramming, offering valuable references for metabolic approaches to HCC treatment.

Progress of cell membrane-derived biomimetic nanovesicles for cancer phototherapy

In recent years, considerable attention has been given to phototherapy, including photothermal and photodynamic therapy to kill tumor cells by producing heat or reactive oxygen species (ROS). It has the high merits of noninvasiveness and limited drug resistance. To fully utilize this therapy, an extraordinary nanovehicle is required to target phototherapeutic agents in the tumor cells. Nanovesicles embody an ideal strategy for drug delivery applications. Cell membrane-derived biomimetic nanovesicles represent a developing type of nanocarrier. Combining this technique with cancer phototherapy could enable a novel strategy. Herein, efforts are made to describe a comprehensive overview of cell membrane-derived biomimetic nanovesicles for cancer phototherapy. The description in this review is mainly based on representative examples of exosome-derived biomimetic nanomedicine research, ranging from their comparison with traditional nanocarriers to extensive applications in cancer phototherapy. Additionally, the challenges and future prospectives for translating these for clinical application are discussed.

The improving strategies and applications of nanotechnology-based drugs in hepatocellular carcinoma treatment

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of tumor-related death worldwide. Conventional treatments for HCC include drugs, radiation, and surgery. Despite the unremitting efforts of researchers, the curative effect of HCC has been greatly improved, but because HCC is often found in the middle and late stages, the curative effect is still not satisfactory, and the 5-year survival rate is still low. Nanomedicine is a potential subject, which has been applied to the treatment of HCC and has achieved promising results. Here, we summarized the factors affecting the efficacy of drugs in HCC treatment and the strategies for improving the efficacy of nanotechnology-based drugs in HCC, reviewed the recent applications' progress on nanotechnology-based drugs in HCC treatment, and discussed the future perspectives and challenges of nanotechnology-based drugs in HCC treatment.

Bionic natural small molecule co-assemblies towards targeted and synergistic Chemo/PDT/CDT

BACKGROUND

Multi-component nano-delivery systems based on chemotherapy (chemo)- photodynamic therapy (PDT)- chemodynamic therapy (CDT) have gained increased attention as a promising strategy to improve clinical outcomes in cancer treatment. However, there remains a challenge in developing biodegradable, biocompatible, less toxic, yet highly efficient multicomponent nanobased drug delivery systems (DDS). Here, our study presents the screening and development of a novel DDS based on co-assemblies natural small molecule (NSMs). These molecules (oleanolic acid, and betulinic acid) are combined with photosensitizers Chlorine6 (Ce6) and Cu²⁺ that are encapsulated by tumor cell membranes. This nanocarrier encapsulated in tumor cell membranes achieved good tumor targeting and a significant improvement in tumor accumulation.

METHODS

A reprecipitation method was used to prepare the co-assembled nanocarrier, followed by the introduction of Cu^2 + into the DDS (OABACe6 NPs). Then, by wrapping the surface of NPs with the cell membranes of 4T1 which is a kind of mouse breast cancer cells (CM@OABACe6/Cu NPs). and analysis of its structure and size distribution with UV-Vis, XPS, FT-IR, SEM, TEM, and DLS. The synergistic effects of in vitro chemotherapy, CDT and PDT and targeting were also validated by cellular and animal studies.

RESULTS

It was shown that CM@OABACe6/Cu NPs achieved good tumor targeting and a significant improvement in tumor accumulation. In the composite nano-assembly, the NSMs work together with the Ce6 to provide effective and safe chemo and PDT. Moreover, the effect of reduced PDT due to the depletion of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by excess glutathione (GSH) in the tumor can be counteracted when Cu^2 + is introduced. More importantly, it also confers CDT through a Fenton-like catalytic reaction with H₂O overexpressed at the tumor site.

CONCLUSIONS

By constructing CM@OABACe6/Cu NPs with homologous targeting, we create a triple synergistic platform for cancer therapy using PDT, chemo, and CDT. We propose here a novel combinatorial strategy for designing more naturally co-assembled small molecules, especially for the development of multifunctional synergistic therapies that utilize NSMs.

New advances into cisplatin resistance in head and neck squamous carcinoma: Mechanisms and therapeutic aspects

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) arises from the interplay of multiple factors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, and viral infections. Cisplatin-based concurrent radiotherapy regimens represent the first-line treatment for advanced HNSCC cases. However, cisplatin resistance significantly contributes to poor prognoses in HNSCC patients, making it crucial to unravel the underlying mechanisms to overcome this resistance. The complexity of cisplatin resistance in HNSCC involves cancer stem cells, autophagy, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, drug efflux, and metabolic reprogramming. Recent advances in nanodrug delivery systems, combined with existing small-molecule inhibitors and innovative genetic technologies, have opened new therapeutic avenues for addressing cisplatin resistance in HNSCC. This review systematically summarizes research progress from the past five years on cisplatin resistance in HNSCC, with a particular focus on the roles of cancer stem cells and autophagy. Additionally, potential future treatment strategies to overcome cisplatin resistance are discussed, including the targeting of cancer stem cells or autophagy through nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems. Furthermore, the review highlights the prospects and challenges associated with nanodelivery platforms in addressing cisplatin resistance in HNSCC.

Codelivery of Phytochemicals with Conventional Anticancer Drugs in Form of Nanocarriers

Anticancer drugs in monotherapy are ineffective to treat various kinds of cancer due to the heterogeneous nature of cancer. Moreover, available anticancer drugs possessed various hurdles, such as drug resistance, insensitivity of cancer cells to drugs, adverse effects and patient inconveniences. Hence, plant-based phytochemicals could be a better substitute for conventional chemotherapy for treatment of cancer due to various properties: lesser adverse effects, action via multiple pathways, economical, etc. Various preclinical studies have demonstrated that a combination of phytochemicals with conventional anticancer drugs is more efficacious than phytochemicals individually to treat cancer because plant-derived compounds have lower anticancer efficacy than conventional anticancer drugs. Moreover, phytochemicals suffer from poor aqueous solubility and reduced bioavailability, which must be resolved for efficacious treatment of cancer. Therefore, nanotechnology-based novel carriers are employed for codelivery of phytochemicals and conventional anticancer drugs for better treatment of cancer. These novel carriers include nanoemulsion, nanosuspension, nanostructured lipid carriers, solid lipid nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles, polymeric micelles, dendrimers, metallic nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes that provide various benefits of improved solubility, reduced adverse effects, higher efficacy, reduced dose, improved dosing frequency, reduced drug resistance, improved bioavailability and higher patient compliance. This review summarizes various phytochemicals employed in treatment of cancer, combination therapy of phytochemicals with anticancer drugs and various nanotechnology-based carriers to deliver the combination therapy in treatment of cancer.

p53/p21 Inhibits Osteoarthritis Progression by Regulating Chondrocyte Pyroptosis

This study aimed to explore the role of p53/p21 in osteoarthritis (OA). OA animal model was established by the anterior cruciate ligamentotomy (ACLT). 24 rats were randomly divided into control, OA, OA+p53 inhibitor and OA+pyroptosis inducer groups (n = 6). In the knee joint tissue, microstructural changes were analysed by Micro-CT. Histopathological changes were stained by HE and safranin-fast green. NLRP3 and Caspase-1 were detected by immunohistochemistry. The chondrocytes C-28I2 were divided into control, LPS+ ATP and p53 inhibitor groups. The cell viability, apoptosis, and LDH release were measured by MTT assay, TUNEL staining and LDH kit. The expression of p53/p21 and pyroptosis pathways were examined by western blot. The p53 inhibitor reduced the relative volume of trabecular bone (BV/TV) and trabecular bone thickness (Tb.Th), while increased trabecular separation (Tb.Sp). Moreover, the p53 inhibitor improved histopathological changes in the knee joint, attenuated cartilage damage, and reduced the expression of p53/p21 and pyroptosis pathways-related proteins. In vitro assay showed that the p53 inhibitor increased C-28I2 cell activity, reduced LDH release and apoptosis and reduced p53/p21 and pyroptosis pathways-related proteins. Totally, p53 inhibitors improved the cartilage tissue and chondrocyte damage, inhibited cell pyroptosis and the progression of OA.

Nano-drug co-delivery system of natural active ingredients and chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatment: a review

Chemotherapy drugs have been used for a long time in the treatment of cancer, but serious side effects are caused by the inability of the drug to be solely delivered to the tumor when treating cancer with chemotherapy. Natural products have attracted more and more attention due to the antitumor effect in multiple ways, abundant resources and less side effects. Therefore, the combination of natural active ingredients and chemotherapy drugs may be an effective antitumor strategy, which can inhibit the growth of tumor and multidrug resistance, reduce side effects of chemotherapy drugs. Nano-drug co-delivery system (NDCDS) can play an important role in the combination of natural active ingredients and chemotherapy drugs. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the research status and application prospect of nano-delivery strategies for the combination of natural active ingredients and chemotherapy drugs, aiming to provide a basis for the development of anti-tumor drugs.

Nanotechnology strategies for hepatocellular carcinoma diagnosis and treatment

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy threatening human health, and existing diagnostic and therapeutic techniques are facing great challenges. In the last decade or so, nanotechnology has been developed and improved for tumor diagnosis and treatment. For example, nano-intravenous injections have been approved for malignant perivascular epithelioid cell tumors. This article provides a comprehensive review of the applications of nanotechnology in HCC in recent years: (I) in radiological imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), fluorescence imaging (FMI) and multimodality imaging. (II) For diagnostic applications in HCC serum markers. (III) As embolic agents in transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) or directly as therapeutic drugs. (IV) For application in photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy. (V) As carriers of chemotherapeutic drugs, targeted drugs, and natural plant drugs. (VI) For application in gene and immunotherapy. Compared with the traditional methods for diagnosis and treatment of HCC, nanoparticles have high sensitivity, reduce drug toxicity and have a long duration of action, and can also be combined with photothermal and photodynamic multimodal combination therapy. These summaries provide insights for the further development of nanotechnology applications in HCC.

Blocked metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 enhances chemosensitivity in hepatocellular carcinoma and attenuates chemotoxicity in the normal liver by regulating DNA damage

DNA damaging agents are used as chemotherapeutics in many cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, they are associated with problems such as low sensitivity to chemotherapy and the induction of liver injury, underscoring the need to identify new therapies. Here, we investigated the differential regulatory effect of metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) on chemosensitivity in HCC and chemotoxicity to the normal liver. The expression of mGlu5 was higher in HCC than in the normal liver, and correlated with poor prognosis according to The Cancer Genome Atlas database and Integrative Molecular Database of Hepatocellular Carcinoma. Cisplatin, oxaliplatin or methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) caused cell death by decreasing mGlu5 expression in HCC cells and increased mGlu5 expression in hepatic cells. In HCC cells, inhibition of mGlu5 aggravated MMS-induced DNA damage by increasing intracellular Ca2+ overload and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation, thereby promoting cell death, and activation of mGlu5 rescued the effect of MMS. However, in hepatic cells, mGlu5 inhibition alleviated MMS-induced DNA damage by downregulating Ca2+-derived MAPK pathways to advance hepatic cell survival. The opposite effects of mGlu5 overexpression or knockdown on MMS-induced DNA damage supported that cell death is a result of the differential regulation of mGlu5 expression. Inhibition of mGlu5 increased chemosensitivity and decreased chemotoxicity in a rat tumor model. This study suggests that mGlu5 inhibition could act synergistically with HCC chemotherapeutics with minimal side effects, which may improve the treatment of patients with HCC in the future.

Recent Advances Regarding the Molecular Mechanisms of Triterpenic Acids: A Review (Part I)

Triterpenic acids are phytocompounds with a widespread range of biological activities that have been the subject of numerous in vitro and in vivo studies. However, their underlying mechanisms of action in various pathologies are not completely elucidated. The current review aims to summarize the most recent literature, published in the last five years, regarding the mechanism of action of three triterpenic acids (asiatic acid, oleanolic acid, and ursolic acid), corelated with different biological activities such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, cardioprotective, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, and antimicrobial. All three discussed compounds share several mechanisms of action, such as the targeted modulation of the PI3K/AKT, Nrf2, NF-kB, EMT, and JAK/STAT3 signaling pathways, while other mechanisms that proved to only be specific for a part of the triterpenic acids discussed, such as the modulation of Notch, Hippo, and MALAT1/miR-206/PTGS1 signaling pathway, were highlighted as well. This paper stands as the first part in our literature study on the topic, which will be followed by a second part focusing on other triterpenic acids of therapeutic value.

Nanotechnology-Based Diagnostic and Therapeutic Strategies for Neuroblastoma

Neuroblastoma (NB), as the most common extracranial solid tumor in childhood, is one of the critical culprits affecting children's health. Given the heterogeneity and invisibility of NB tumors, the existing diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are inadequate and ineffective in early screening and prognostic improvement. With the rapid innovation and development of nanotechnology, nanomedicines have attracted widespread attention in the field of oncology research for their excellent physiological and chemical properties. In this review, we first explored the current common obstacles in the diagnosis and treatment of NB. Then we comprehensively summarized the advancements in nanotechnology-based multimodal synergistic diagnosis and treatment of NB and elucidate the underlying mechanisms. In addition, a discussion of the pending challenges in biocompatibility and toxicity of nanomedicine was conducted. Finally, we described the development and application status of nanomaterials against some of the recognized targets in the field of NB research, and pointed out prospects for nanomedicine-based precision diagnosis and therapy of NB.

Lipid-Based Nanocarrier Systems for Drug Delivery: Advances and Applications

Lipid-based nanocarriers have been extensively investigated for drug delivery due to their advantages including biodegradability, biocompatibility, nontoxicity, and nonimmunogenicity. However, the shortcomings of traditional lipid-based nanocarriers such as insufficient targeting, capture by the reticuloendothelial system, and fast elimination limit the efficiency of drug delivery and therapeutic efficacy. Therefore, a series of multifunctional lipid-based nanocarriers have been developed to enhance the accumulation of drugs in the lesion site, aiming for improved diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. In this review, we summarized the advances and applications of lipid-based nanocarriers from traditional to novel functional lipid preparations, including liposomes, stimuli-responsive lipid-based nanocarriers, ionizable lipid nanoparticles, lipid hybrid nanocarriers, as well as biomembrane-camouflaged nanoparticles, and further discussed the challenges and prospects of this system. This exploration may give a complete idea viewing the lipid-based nanocarriers as a promising choice for drug delivery system, and fuel the advancement of pharmaceutical products by materials innovation and nanotechnology.

Lipid based nanoparticles as a novel treatment modality for hepatocellular carcinoma: a comprehensive review on targeting and recent advances

Liver cancer is considered one of the deadliest diseases with one of the highest disease burdens worldwide. Among the different types of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma is considered to be the most common type. Multiple conventional approaches are being used in treating hepatocellular carcinoma. Focusing on drug treatment, regular agents in conventional forms fail to achieve the intended clinical outcomes. In order to improve the treatment outcomes, utilizing nanoparticles-specifically lipid based nanoparticles-are considered to be one of the most promising approaches being set in motion. Multiple forms of lipid based nanoparticles exist including liposomes, solid lipid nanoparticles, nanostructured lipid carriers, microemulsion, nanoemulsion, phytosomes, lipid coated nanoparticles, and nanoassemblies. Multiple approaches are used to enhance the tumor uptake as well tumor specificity such as intratumoral injection, passive targeting, active targeting, and stimuli responsive nanoparticles. In this review, the effect of utilizing lipidic nanoparticles is being discussed as well as the different tumor uptake enhancement techniques used.

Cisplatin and oleanolic acid Co-loaded pH-sensitive CaCO3 nanoparticles for synergistic chemotherapy

Despite being one of the most potent anticancer agents, cisplatin (CDDP) clinical usage is limited owing to the acquired resistance and severe adverse effects including nephrotoxicity. The current work has offered a unique approach by designing a pH-sensitive calcium carbonate drug delivery system for CDDP and oleanolic acid (OA) co-delivery, with an enhanced tumor efficacy and reduced unwanted effects. Micro emulsion method was employed to generate calcium carbonate cores (CDDP encapsulated) followed by lipid coating along with the OA loading resulting in the generation of lipid-coated cisplatin/oleanolic acid calcium carbonate nanoparticles (CDDP/OA-LCC NPs). In vitro biological assays confirmed the synergistic apoptotic effect of CDDP and OA against HepG2 cells. It was further verified in vivo through the tumor-bearing nude mice model where NPs exhibited enhanced satisfactory antitumor efficacy in contrast to free drug solutions. In vivo pharmacokinetic study demonstrated that a remarkable long circulation time with a constant therapeutic concentration for both drugs could be achieved via this drug delivery system. In addition, the in vivo imaging study revealed that DiR-loaded NPs were concentrated more in tumors for a longer period of time as compared to other peritoneal tissues in tumor bearing mice, demonstrating the site specificity of the delivery system. On the other hand, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of Kunming mice kidney tissue sections revealed that OA greatly reduced CDDP induced nephrotoxicity in the formulation. Overall, these results confirmed that our pH-sensitive dual loaded drug delivery system offers a handy direction for effective and safer combination chemotherapy.

Despite being one of the most potent anticancer agents, cisplatin (CDDP) clinical usage is limited owing to the acquired resistance and severe adverse effects including nephrotoxicity.

Recent advances in the targeted delivery of paclitaxel nanomedicine for cancer therapy

Cancer cases have reached an all-time high in the current era.

Recent advances in hepatocellular carcinoma therapeutic strategies and imaging-guided treatment

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignant cancer in the world, which greatly threatens human health. However, the routine treatment strategies for HCC have failed to specifically eradicate the tumorigenic cells, leading to the occurrence of metastasis and recurrence. To improve treatment efficacies, the development of novel effective technologies is urgently required. Recently, nanotechnologies have gained the extensive attention in cancer targeted therapy, which could provide a promising way for HCC clinical practice. However, a successful cancer management depends on accurate diagnosis of the tumour along with precise therapeutic protocol, thereby predicting the tumour response to existing therapies. The synergistic effect of targeted therapeutic systems and imaging approaches (also called 'imaging-guided cancer treatment') may establish a more effective platform for individual cancer care. This review outlines the recent advanced nano-targeted and -traceable therapeutic strategies for HCC management. The multifunctional nano agents that have both diagnosis and therapy abilities are highlighted. Finally, we conclude with our perspectives on the future development and challenges of HCC nanotheranostics.

Recent Advances in Gelatin-Based Nanomedicine for Targeted Delivery of Anti-Cancer Drugs

Nanoparticles based on natural polymers are utilized for the development of a wide range of drug delivery systems (DDS) in the current era. Gelatin-based nanoparticles, for example, are a remarkable cancer therapy with high efficacy and specificity. This paper reviews the recent advancements in gelatin-based nanomedicine for use in cancer therapeutics. Due to the characteristics features of gelatin, such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, stability, and good surface properties, these nanoparticles provide high therapeutic potency in cancer nanomedicine. The surface of gelatin can be modified in a number of ways using various ligands to explore the platform for the development of a more novel DDS. Various methods are available for the preparation of gelatin nanomedicine discussed in this review. In addition, various cross-linkers to stabilized nanocarriers and stimuli base gelatin nanoparticles are reviewed. Furthermore, recent advances and research in gelatin-based nanomedicine are discussed. Also, some drawbacks and challenges are evaluated. In general, this paper paves the pathway to identify the details about the gelatin-based DDS for cancer therapy.

Amelioration of Cisplatin-induced Liver Injury by Extract Ethanol of Pometia pinnata

BACKGROUND: Cisplatin use in clinical practice has been associated with an increase in aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase, and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). AIM: The aim of this study is to determine the hepatoprotective activity of extract ethanol Pometia pinnata on rats induced Cisplatin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty rats were separated into six groups (five rats). Group I was received only carboxy methyl cellulose. Group II was received a 7 mg/kgbw Cisplatin injection on day 3. Group III-VI were extract groups (Vitamin C 1%, 100 mg/kgbb, 200 mg/kgbb, and 400 mg/kgbb) administered orally from day 1 to 7, followed by Cisplatin injection on day 3. On day 8, rats were injected with 1% ketamine, open the chest and draw blood directly from the heart and centrifugated 5000 RPM (10–15 min), take the supernatant layer for analysis AST, ALT, total protein, and LDH levels. RESULTS: The effect of extract ethanol of P. pinnata on liver injury biochemical markers AST, ALT, LDH, and total protein. Group negative had a significant increase (p < 0.05) in comparison to the normal that did not receive extract or Cisplatin. Meanwhile, there was a drop in biochemical parameters in the group given the extract in groups dose 100, 200, 400 mg/kgbw. Group VI of biochemical parameters statistically there is no significant different with group normal group (p > 0.05) that showing P. pinnata extract has hepatoprotective activity. CONCLUSION: In summary, extract ethanol of P. pinnata has hepatoprotective effect by reducing the level of AST, ALT, total protein, and LDH levels.

Conventional and hybrid nanoparticulate systems for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma: An updated review

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considered a serious malignancy which affects a large number of people worldwide. Despite the presence of some diagnostic techniques for HCC, the fact that its symptoms somehow overlap with other diseases causes it to be diagnosed at a late stage, hence negatively affecting the prognosis of the disease. The currently available treatment strategies have many shortcomings such as high cost, induction of serious side effects as well as multiple drug resistance, hence resulting in therapeutic failure. Accordingly, nanoformulations have been developed in order to overcome the clinical challenges, enhance the therapeutic efficacy, and elicit chemotherapy tailor-ability. Hybrid nanoparticulate carriers in particular, which are composed of two or more drug vehicles with different physicochemical characteristics combined together in one system, have been recently reported to advance nanotechnology-based therapies. Therefore, this review sheds the light on HCC, and the role of nanotechnology and hybrid nanoparticulate carriers as well as the latest developments in the use of conventional nanoparticles in combating this disease.

Recent progress on nanomedicine-induced ferroptosis for cancer therapy

The current treatment strategies for cancer therapy have posed many problems in achieving high efficacy. Therefore, an urgent step is needed to develop innovative therapies that can win beyond satisfactory results against tumor. Ferroptosis that is a kind of non-apoptotic based programmed cell death has played a crucial role in eradicating tumors by reactive oxygen species and iron-dependent pathways. Research shows a remarkable potential of ferroptosis in eliminating aggressive malignancies resistant to traditional therapies. The combination of nanomedicine and ferroptosis has revealed a close relationship for the treatment of various cancer types with high efficacy. This review introduces the basics of nanomedicine-based ferroptosis first to emphasize the feasibility and properties of ferroptosis in cancer therapy. Then, the current research on the applications of nanomedicine for the ferroptosis-based anticancer therapy is highlighted. Finally, conclusions and future research directions in perspective of various challenges in developing nanomedicine-based ferroptosis into clinical therapeutics are discussed.

Antitumor Effects of Triterpenes in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Triterpenes are a large group of secondary metabolites mainly produced by plants with a variety of biological activities, including potential antitumor effects. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a very common primary liver disease spread worldwide. The treatment can consist of surgical intervention, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and chemotherapeutic drugs. These drugs mainly include tyrosine multikinase inhibitors, although their use is limited by the underlying liver disease and displays side effects. For that reason, the utility of natural compounds such as triterpenes to treat HCC is an interesting line of research. No clinical studies are reported in humans so far.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the present work is to review the knowledge about the effects of triterpenes as a possible coadjuvant tool to treat HCC.

RESULTS

In vitro and xenograft models have pointed out the cytotoxic and anti-proliferative effects as well as improvements in tumor growth and development of many triterpenes. In addition, they have also shown to be chemosensitizing agents when co-administered with chemotherapeutic agents. The mechanisms of action are diverse and involve the participation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, including JNK, p38 MAPK and ERK, and the survival-associated PI3K / Akt signaling pathway. However, no clinical studies are still reported in humans.

CONCLUSION

Triterpenes could become a future strategy to address HCC or at least improve results when administered in combination with chemotherapeutic agents.

Diallyl trisulfide protects against concanavalin A-induced acute liver injury in mice by inhibiting inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis

AIMS

To investigate the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of diallyl trisulfide (DATS) against acute liver injury induced by concanavalin A (Con A).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

DATS (20, 40, 80 mg/kg) were gavaged to ICR mice 1 h before Con A (20 mg/kg) tail vein injection. The survival rate of mice, alterations of serum biochemical markers and liver histopathology were measured to evaluate the protective effects of DATS at 24 h after Con A exposure. The indexes of inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis were determined to explore the possible mechanisms.

KEY FINDINGS

DATS pretreatment increased survival rate of mice in a dose-dependent manner, inhibited the increase of liver-to-spleen ratio and serum liver injury markers, and attenuated liver pathological damage induced by Con A. Further study showed that DATS pretreatment inhibited the activation of Kupffer cells/macrophages, release of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and Caspase-1-dependent inflammation induced by Con A. Moreover, DATS pretreatment alleviated the oxidative stress induced by Con A, which was evidenced by increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities and decreased malondialdehyde (MDA) content in DATS and Con A co-treated mice compared with Con A alone group. Finally, DATS pretreatment reduced eosinophilic body formation, TUNEL positive staining and increased Bcl-2/Bax ratio in liver of Con A-injected mice, indicating attenuated apoptosis.

SIGNIFICANCE

Collectively, the results suggest that DATS displays potent protective effects against Con A-induced acute liver injury in mice possibly through inhibition of inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis.

Exosomes function as nanoparticles to transfer miR-199a-3p to reverse chemoresistance to cisplatin in hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a frequently seen malignant tumor globally. The occurrence of cisplatin (DDP) resistance is one of the main reasons for the high mortality of HCC patients. Therefore, it is of great theoretical significance and application value to explore the mechanism of chemotherapy resistance. Drug resistance can be modulated by exosomes containing mRNAs, micro RNAs (miRNAs) and other non-coding RNA (ncRNAs). Exosomal miR-199a-3p (Exo-miR-199a-3p) was subjected to extraction and verification. Whether exo-miR-199a-3p could make HCC cells sensitive to DDP in vitro was verified via flow cytometry, Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, immunofluorescence assay and Transwell assay. Intravenous injection of exo-miR-199a-3p and intraperitoneal injection of DDP were carried out in vivo. Moreover, the possible targets of miR-199a-3p were screened through bioinformatics analysis, which were ascertained by Western blotting (WB). Then, miR-199a-3p levels in human normal liver epithelial cell line HL-7702 and HCC cell lines HuH7 and HuH7/DDP were elevated in a concentration-dependent manner. Exo-miR-199a-3p has abilities to adjust underlying targets and conjugate cells, to repress cells to invade, stimulate their apoptosis and abate their ability. Additionally, the caudal injection of exo-miR-199a-3p reversed the chemoresistance of tumors and slowed down their growth in the body owing to the up-regulation of miR-199a-3p and down-regulation of underlying target proteins in tumors. Finally, exo-miR-199a-3p was found to overturn the HCC’s resistance to DDP, and it may function in DDP-refractory HCC therapy as an underlying option in the future.

Advances in Our Understanding of the Molecular Mechanisms of Action of Cisplatin in Cancer Therapy

Cisplatin and other platinum-based chemotherapeutic drugs have been used extensively for the treatment of human cancers such as bladder, blood, breast, cervical, esophageal, head and neck, lung, ovarian, testicular cancers, and sarcoma. Cisplatin is commonly administered intravenously as a first-line chemotherapy for patients suffering from various malignancies. Upon absorption into the cancer cell, cisplatin interacts with cellular macromolecules and exerts its cytotoxic effects through a series of biochemical mechanisms by binding to Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and forming intra-strand DNA adducts leading to the inhibition of DNA synthesis and cell growth. Its primary molecular mechanism of action has been associated with the induction of both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of apoptosis resulting from the production of reactive oxygen species through lipid peroxidation, activation of various signal transduction pathways, induction of p53 signaling and cell cycle arrest, upregulation of pro-apoptotic genes/proteins, and down-regulation of proto-oncogenes and anti-apoptotic genes/proteins. Despite great clinical outcomes, many studies have reported substantial side effects associated with cisplatin monotherapy, while others have shown substantial drug resistance in some cancer patients. Hence, new formulations and several combinational therapies with other drugs have been tested for the purpose of improving the clinical utility of cisplatin. Therefore, this review provides a comprehensive understanding of its molecular mechanisms of action in cancer therapy and discusses the therapeutic approaches to overcome cisplatin resistance and side effects.

Recent Advances in Cell Membrane-Derived Biomimetic Nanotechnology for Cancer Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy will significantly impact the standard of care in cancer treatment. Recent advances in nanotechnology can improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. However, concerns regarding efficiency of cancer nanomedicine, complex tumor microenvironment, patient heterogeneity, and systemic immunotoxicity drive interest in more novel approaches to be developed. For this purpose, biomimetic nanoparticles are developed to make innovative changes in the delivery and biodistribution of immunotherapeutics. Biomimetic nanoparticles have several advantages that can advance the clinical efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. Thus there is a greater push toward the utilization of biomimetic nanotechnology for developing effective cancer immunotherapeutics that demonstrate increased specificity and potency. The recent works and state-of-the-art strategies for anti-tumor immunotherapeutics are highlighted here, and particular emphasis has been given to the applications of cell-derived biomimetic nanotechnology for cancer immunotherapy.

Oleanolic acid inhibits osteosarcoma cell proliferation and invasion by suppressing the SOX9/Wnt1 signaling pathway

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary bone malignancy in children and adolescents. Inhibition of SOX9/Wnt1-mediated signaling might suppress osteosarcoma metastasis, and oleanolic acid (OA) might decrease the activity of the SOX9/Wnt1 signaling pathway. The aim of the present study was to determine the role of OA in osteosarcoma cell proliferation and invasion. Osteosarcoma cell lines (KHOS and U2OS) and an osteoblastic cell line (hFOB1.19) were used for cell viability, proliferation and invasion analysis. The data suggested that OA significantly inhibited cell viability on days 3, 4 and 5 compared with the control (Ctrl) group in both U2OS and KHOS cells. Cell proliferation in the OA-treated group was significantly decreased compared with the Ctrl group in the osteosarcoma cell lines. Analysis of the cell cycle indicated that OA significantly reduced the percentage of U2OS and KHOS cells in the S phase compared with the Ctrl group. The wound healing assay results indicated that the OA group displayed significantly decreased cell re-colonization of the wound at 48 h compared with the Ctrl group. The Transwell chamber assay results also indicated that cell invasion was significantly inhibited by OA compared with the Ctrl group. Furthermore, OA significantly increased osteosarcoma cell apoptosis compared with the Ctrl group. Similarly, the protein expression levels of SOX9 and Wnt1 were significantly decreased in OA-treated U2OS and KHOS cells compared with Ctrl cells. OA-mediated downregulation of Wnt1 expression was reversed following SOX9 small interfering RNA transfection. Collectively, the results indicated that OA inhibited SOX9/Wnt1-associated osteosarcoma cell proliferation, migration and invasion.

Nanotechnology for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: From Surveillance, Diagnosis to Management

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. However, the clinical diagnosis and treatment modalities are still relatively limited, which urgently require the development of new effective technologies. Recently, nanotechnology has gained extensive attention in HCC surveillance, imaging and pathological diagnosis, and therapeutic strategies. Typically, nanomedicines have been focused on early HCC diagnosis and precise treatment of advanced HCC, which has developed and improved a variety of new technologies and agents for future clinical practice. Furthermore, strategies of facilitating drug release and delivery in current treatment processes such as ablation, systematic therapy, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, molecular targeted therapy, and immune-modulating therapy have also been studied widely. This review summarizes the recent advances in this area according to current clinical HCC guidelines: 1) Nanoparticle-based HCC surveillance; 2) Nanotechnology for HCC diagnosis; 3) Therapeutic advances for HCC Management; 4) Limitations of applications in nanotechnology for HCC; 5) Conclusions and perspectives. Although there are still many limitations and difficulties to overcome, the investigations of nanomedicines are believed to show potential applications in clinical practice.

Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles using plant extracts and their antimicrobial activities: a review of recent literature

Synthesis of metal nanoparticles using plant extracts is one of the most simple, convenient, economical, and environmentally friendly methods that mitigate the involvement of toxic chemicals. Hence, in recent years, several eco-friendly processes for the rapid synthesis of silver nanoparticles have been reported using aqueous extracts of plant parts such as the leaf, bark, roots, etc. This review summarizes and elaborates the new findings in this research domain of the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using different plant extracts and their potential applications as antimicrobial agents covering the literature since 2015. While highlighting the recently used different plants for the synthesis of highly efficient antimicrobial green AgNPs, we aim to provide a systematic in-depth discussion on the possible influence of the phytochemicals and their concentrations in the plants extracts, extraction solvent, and extraction temperature, as well as reaction temperature, pH, reaction time, and concentration of precursor on the size, shape and stability of the produced AgNPs. Exhaustive details of the plausible mechanism of the interaction of AgNPs with the cell wall of microbes, leading to cell death, and high antimicrobial activities have also been elaborated. The shape and size-dependent antimicrobial activities of the biogenic AgNPs and the enhanced antimicrobial activities by synergetic interaction of AgNPs with known commercial antibiotic drugs have also been comprehensively detailed.

Preparation, Pharmacokinetics, and Antitumor Potential of Miltefosine-Loaded Nanostructured Lipid Carriers

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to investigate the suitability of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) loaded with miltefosine (HePC) as an anticancer drug for the treatment of breast cancer.

METHODS

HePC-NLCs were prepared using a microemulsion technique and then evaluated for particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), incorporation efficiency, in vitro release of entrapped drug, and hemolytic potential. Furthermore, pharmacokinetic, biodistribution, and liver toxicity analyses were performed in Sprague-Dawley rats, and antitumor efficacy was evaluated in Michigan Cancer Foundation-7 (MCF-7) and squamous cell carcinoma-7 (SCC-7) cells in vitro and in tumour-bearing BALB/c mice in vivo. Advanced analyses including survival rate, immunohistopathology, and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) assays were performed to evaluate apoptosis in vivo.

RESULTS

The average particle size of the HePC-NLCs was 143 ± 16 nm, with a narrow PDI (0.104 ± 0.002), and the incorporation efficiency was found to be 91 ± 7%. The NLCs released HePC in a sustained manner, and this release was significantly lower than that of free drug. The in vitro hemolytic assay demonstrated a significantly reduced hemolytic potential (~9%) of the NLCs compared to that of the test formulations. The HePC-NLCs demonstrated enhanced pharmacokinetic behaviour over free drug, including extended blood circulation and an abridged clearance rate in rats. Furthermore, the HePC-NLCs exhibited higher cytotoxicity than the free drug in MCF-7 and SCC-7 cells. Moreover, the HePC-NLCs showed significantly enhanced (P < 0.005) antitumor activity compared to that of the control and free drug-treated mouse groups. Tumour cell apoptosis was also confirmed, indicating the antitumor potential of the HePC-NLCs.

CONCLUSION

These findings demonstrate the ability of NLCs as a drug delivery system for enhanced pharmacokinetic, antitumor, and apoptotic effects, most importantly when loaded with HePC.

Development and Evaluation of Oleanolic Acid Dosage Forms and Its Derivatives

Oleanolic acid is a pentacyclic triterpenoid compound that exists widely in medicinal herbs and other plants. Because of the extensive pharmacological activity, oleanolic acid has attracted more and more attention. However, the structural characteristics of oleanolic acid prevent it from being directly made into new drugs, which limits the application of oleanolic acid. Through the application of modern preparation techniques and methods, different oleanolic acid dosage forms and derivatives have been designed and synthesized. These techniques can improve the water solubility and bioavailability of oleanolic acid and lay a foundation for the new drug development. In this review, the recent progress in understanding the oleanolic acid dosage forms and its derivatives are discussed. Furthermore, these products were evaluated comprehensively from the perspective of characterization and pharmacokinetics, and this work may provide ideas and references for the development of oleanolic acid preparations.

Synergism of cisplatin-oleanolic acid co-loaded hybrid nanoparticles on gastric carcinoma cells for enhanced apoptosis and reversed multidrug resistance

Combined administration of different drugs is a widely acknowledged approach for effective cancer therapy. However, the limited targeting, as well as inferior drug loading capacities of current drug delivery systems (DDS), are still the bottleneck for better performance in cancer treatment. Herein, we successfully developed a cancer cell membrane (CM) decorated calcium carbonate (CC) hybrid nanoparticles (HN) for the co-delivery of cisplatin (CDDP) and oleanolic acid (OA). The physicochemical property of HN/CDDP/OA was evaluated, which revealed that the as-prepared DDS was core-shell structured and well-dispersed nanoparticles with size around 100 nm. The HN/CDDP/OA showed high stability and biocompatibility with pH-responsive drug release. Moreover, the CM modification in HN also demonstrated highly elevated tumor-homing nature than bare CC. Finally, the feasibility of HN/CDDP/OA in the treatment of gastric cancer (MGC-803 cell line) was assessed. HN/CDDP/OA showed better performance than mono systems with enhanced apoptosis and capable of reversing multidrug resistance (MDR) of cancer cells.

Antioxidant Supplementation in the Treatment of Neurotoxicity Induced by Platinum-Based Chemotherapeutics-A Review

Cancer represents one of the most pernicious public health problems with a high mortality rate among patients worldwide. Chemotherapy is one of the major therapeutic approaches for the treatment of various malignancies. Platinum-based drugs (cisplatin, oxaliplatin, carboplatin, etc.) are highly effective chemotherapeutic drugs used for the treatment of several types of malignancies, but their application and dosage are limited by their toxic effects on various systems, including neurotoxicity. Simultaneously, researchers have tried to improve the survival rate and quality of life of cancer patients and decrease the toxicity of platinum-containing drugs by combining them with non-chemotherapy-based drugs, dietary supplements and/or antioxidants. Additionally, recent studies have shown that the root cause for the many side effects of platinum chemotherapeutics involves the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in naive cells. Therefore, suppression of ROS generation and their inactivation with antioxidants represents an appropriate approach for platinum drug-induced toxicities. The aim of this paper is to present an updated review of the protective effects of different antioxidant agents (vitamins, dietary antioxidants and supplements, medicaments, medicinal plants and their bioactive compounds) against the neurotoxicity induced by platinum-based chemotherapeutics. This review highlights the high potential of plant antioxidants as adjuvant strategies in chemotherapy with platinum drugs.

Paclitaxel and betulonic acid synergistically enhance antitumor efficacy by forming co-assembled nanoparticles

The side effects and low bioavailability of paclitaxel (PTX) limit its clinical application. The formation of self-assembled nanomedicines without structural modification is attractive for biomedical applications. Here, we constructed a supramolecular co-assembled nanoparticles (NPs), which is formed by betulonic acid (BTA) and PTX mainly through hydrogen bond interaction and hydrophobic interaction. It not only has the characteristics of NPs but also the activity of natural small molecules (NSMs). The results of in vitro and in vivo experiments showed that BTA-PTX NPs showed excellent synergistic enhancement of anti-tumor efficacy, because BTA and PTX have different anti-tumor mechanisms. What's more, BTA-PTX NPs showed excellent biosafety and low toxicity, because BTA has impressive biological activity and biosafety. This work provides an effective and simple method to construct high efficiency and minimize side effects of NPs, which provides more possibilities for the application of NSMs in drug delivery.

Nanomedicine-Cum-Carrier by Co-Assembly of Natural Small Products for Synergistic Enhanced Antitumor with Tissues Protective Actions

The application of natural small products with self-assembly characteristics in a drug-delivery system is attractive for biomedical applications because of its inherent biological safety and pharmacological activity, and there is no complex structural modification process. However, drug carriers with pharmacological effects have not been developed enough. Here, we report a pure natural nanomedicine-cum-carrier (NMC) drug delivery system. The NMC is formed by the direct co-assembly of two small molecular natural compounds through noncovalent interaction, and a molecular dynamics model for predicting the co-assembly of two small molecular compounds was established. The representative co-assembled NMC (oleanolic acid and glycyrrhetinic acid) not only shows excellent stability, high drug loading, and sustained release characteristics but also the co-assembled NMC formed by two small molecular compounds has a synergistic antitumor effect (CI < 0.7). After drug loading, the antitumor effect is further improved. In addition, this NMC highlights the unique advantages of active natural products in biosafety and health benefits. Compared with free drugs, it can reduce the liver damage caused by chemotherapy drugs through upregulating key antioxidant pathways. Compared to nonpharmacologically active drug delivery systems, it can reduce the risk of nanotoxicity. Taken together, this co-assembly drug-carrier system overcomes the shortcomings that pharmacologically active compounds cannot be directly applied, enhances the pharmacological activity of bioactive drug carriers, improves the antitumor efficacy, and slows down the side effects induced by chemotherapy drugs and the additional toxicity caused by long-term use of non-bioactive nanocarriers.

Enhanced targeted delivery of adenine to hepatocellular carcinoma using glycyrrhetinic acid-functionalized nanoparticles in vivo and in vitro

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), a common malignancy in China and globally, is primarily treated through surgical resection and liver transplantation, with chemotherapy as a significant synergistic option. Adenine (Ade), a nucleobase, exhibits antitumor effects by blocking human hepatic carcinoma cells in S phase and inhibiting tumor cell proliferation. However, its use is limited owing to its low solubility, poor targeting ability, and nephrotoxicity. Therefore, liver-targeting drug delivery systems have attracted considerable attention for the treatment of HCC. In this study, we explored the liver-targeting efficacy and antitumor effect of adenine-loaded glycyrrhetinic acid-modified hyaluronic acid (Ade/GA-HA) nanoparticles in vitro and in vivo. The GA-HA nanoparticles possessed obvious targeting specificity toward liver cancer cells, which was mainly achieved by the specific binding of the GA ligand to the GA receptor that was highly expressed on the liver cell membrane. In vitro and in vivo results showed that Ade/GA-HA nanoparticles could inhibit liver cancer cell proliferation and migration, promote apoptosis, and significantly inhibit the growth of tumor tissues. Altogether, this study is the first to successfully demonstrate that the targeting activity and antitumor effect of Ade against HCC are enhanced by using GA-HA nanoparticles in vitro and in vivo.

Salinomycin-Loaded Small-Molecule Nanoprodrugs Enhance Anticancer Activity in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Background

There is currently no effective treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and chemotherapy has little effect on long-term survival of HCC patients, largely due to the cancer stem cell (CSC) chemoresistance of HCC.

Methods

We constructed a small-molecule nanometer-sized prodrug (nanoprodrug) loaded with salinomycin (SAL) for the treatment of HCC. SAL was encapsulated by the prodrug LA-SN38 (linoleic acid modified 7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin) to construct a self-assembled nanoprodrug further PEGylated with DSPE-PEG₂₀₀₀. We characterized this codelivered nanoprodrug and its antitumor activity both in vitro in human HCC cell lines and in vivo in mice.

Results

Delivery of the SAL- and LA-SN38-based nanoprodrugs effectively promoted apoptosis of HCC cells, exerted inhibition of HCC tumor-sphere formation as well as HCC cell motility and invasion, and reduced the proportion of CD133+ HCC-CSC cells. In nude mice, the nanoprodrug suppressed growth of tumor xenografts derived from human cell lines and patient.

Conclusion

Our results show that SAL-based nanoprodrugs are a promising platform for treating patients with HCC and a novel strategy for combination therapy of cancers.

Molecularly Imprinting Polymers (MIP) Based on Nitrogen Doped Carbon Dots and MIL-101(Fe) for Doxorubicin Hydrochloride Delivery

MIL-based molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) nanocomposites were successfully synthesized through a simple and versatile stirring auxiliary encapsulation method. MIP as a carrier has been applied to the highly efficient selective recognition and sustained release of doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX). The adsorption mechanism and release behavior of MIP@DOX in vitro were also discussed. Adsorption studies showed that MIP using DOX as template had specific selectivity to DOX, and its optimal drug loading efficiency reached 97.99%. The adsorption isotherm accorded with Freundlich models. The cumulative release curve showed that at the conditions of pH 5.5 and 7.4, the nanomaterials have a slow-release effect on the release of DOX. In addition, the cytotoxicity and bioactivity of MIP nanoparticles on HepG2 and HL-7702 cell lines measured by MTT assay also proved their low toxicity and biological activity. The cell activity of HepG2 and HL-7702 incubated with MIP for 24 h was 69.9% and 76.07%, respectively. These results collectively illustrated that the MIP nano-materials synthesized in this study can be efficiently employed to the drug delivery systems.

The role of MDM2-p53 axis dysfunction in the hepatocellular carcinoma transformation

Liver cancer is the second most frequent cause of cancer-related death globally. The main histological subtype is hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), which is derived from hepatocytes. According to the epidemiologic studies, the most important risk factors of HCC are chronic viral infections (HBV, HCV, and HIV) and metabolic disease (metabolic syndrome). Interestingly, these carcinogenic factors that contributed to HCC are associated with MDM2-p53 axis dysfunction, which presented with inactivation of p53 and overactivation of MDM2 (a transcriptional target and negative regulator of p53). Mechanically, the homeostasis of MDM2-p53 feedback loop plays an important role in controlling the initiation and progression of HCC, which has been found to be dysregulated in HCC tissues. To maintain long-term survival in hepatocytes, hepatitis viruses have lots of ways to destroy the defense strategies of hepatocytes by inducing TP53 mutation and silencing, promoting MDM2 overexpression, accelerating p53 degradation, and stabilizing MDM2. As a result, genetic instability, chronic ER stress, oxidative stress, energy metabolism switch, and abnormalities in antitumor genes can be induced, all of which might promote hepatocytes' transformation into hepatoma cells. In addition, abnormal proliferative hepatocytes and precancerous cells cannot be killed, because of hepatitis viruses-mediated exhaustion of Kupffer cells and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and CD4+T cells by disrupting their MDM2-p53 axis. Moreover, inefficiency of hepatic immune response can be further aggravated when hepatitis viruses co-infected with HIV. Unlike with chronic viral infections, MDM2-p53 axis might play a dual role in glucolipid metabolism of hepatocytes, which presented with enhancing glucolipid catabolism, but promoting hepatocyte injury at the early and late stages of glucolipid metabolism disorder. Oxidative stress, fatty degeneration, and abnormal cell growth can be detected in hepatocytes that were suffering from glucolipid metabolism disorder, and all of which could contribute to HCC initiation. In this review, we focus on the current studies of the MDM2-p53 axis in HCC, and specifically discuss the impact of MDM2-p53 axis dysfunction by viral infection and metabolic disease in the transformation of normal hepatocytes into hepatoma cells. We also discuss the therapeutic avenues and potential targets that are being developed to normalize the MDM2-p53 axis in HCC.

Targeted Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Co-Delivery of Sorafenib and Curcumin Using Lactosylated pH-Responsive Nanoparticles

PURPOSE

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cancer worldwide. In the present investigation, sorafenib (SFN) and curcumin (CCM) were co-delivered using pH-sensitive lactosylated nanoparticles (LAC-NPs) for targeted HCC treatment.

METHODS

pH-responsive lactosylated materials were synthesized. SFN and CCM co-delivered, pH-responsive lactosylated nanoparticles (LAC-SFN/CCM-NPs) were self-assembled by using the nanoprecipitation technique. The nanoparticles were characterized in terms of particle size, charge and drug release profile. The anti-cancer effects of the nanoparticles were evaluated in human hepatic carcinoma cells (HepG2) cells and HCC tumor xenograft models.

RESULTS

LAC-SFN/CCM-NPs are spherical particles with light coats on the surface. The size and zeta potential of LAC-SFN/CCM-NPs were 115.5 ± 3.6 nm and -34.6 ± 2.4, respectively. The drug release of LAC-SFN/CCM-NPs in pH 5.5 was more efficient than in pH 7.4. LAC-SFN/CCM-NPs group exhibited the smallest tumor volume (239 ± 14 mm3), and the inhibition rate of LAC-SFN/CCM-NPs was 77.4%.

CONCLUSION

In summary, LAC-SFN/CCM-NPs was proved to be a promising system for targeted HCC therapy.

Cancer Cell Membrane-Decorated Zeolitic-Imidazolate Frameworks Codelivering Cisplatin and Oleanolic Acid Induce Apoptosis and Reversed Multidrug Resistance on Bladder Carcinoma Cells

Combination therapy is emerging as a preferable approach in cancer therapy with minimized side effects and elevated performance. Nevertheless, the poor targeting and drug loading of currently available drug delivery systems (DDSs) are the main difficulties to realize preferable combination therapy of cancer. As a result, a cancer cell membrane-decorated zeolitic-imidazolate framework hybrid nanoparticle (HP) was successfully constructed in our study to codeliver cisplatin (DDP) and oleanolic acid (OLA). Our results showed positive results of the platform (HP/DDP/OLA) for the treatment of bladder cancer (SW780). In detail, HP/DDP/OLA could enhance apoptosis while reverse multidrug resistance in SW780 cells than free drugs alone or monodelivery systems, which might be a suitable DDS for codelivery of different drugs with great promise.

First series of mixed (PIII, SeIV)-heteroatomoriented rare-earth-embedded polyoxotungstates containing distinct building blocks

A series of unprecedented mixed heteroatoms-oriented rare-earth-embedded heteropolyoxotungstates 1–8 were prepared and the 1@CMWCNT-GCE electrochemical sensing performances toward DA and UA were studied.