DNA Methylation in Human Breast Cancer Cell Lines Adapted to High Nitric Oxide

Application of hydrogels in cancer immunotherapy: a bibliometric analysis

Background

Cancer immunotherapy has made significant progress in recent years, with numerous studies worldwide. Immunotherapy has had a transformative impact on oncology and autoimmune diseases. In the biomedical arena, hydrogels with good properties are widely used in cancer immunotherapy. Our study used bibliometrics to analyze the changing trends in using hydrogels for cancer immunotherapy.

Methods

From 2013 to 2023, a systematic search was conducted in the Web of Science Core Collection database to identify reviews and articles discussing the applications of hydrogels in cancer immunotherapy. The software CiteSpace was used to visually perform the bibliometric analysis in terms of research trends, countries, institutions, authors, journals, and keywords. Individual authors' productivity was assessed with the Lotka's law. The most relevant publication sources were identified by Bradford's law.

Results

A total of 422 English-language publications related to hydrogels in cancer immunotherapy were collected. The number of annual publications increased rapidly after 2021 and remained constant for the past two years. China published the most articles in this field. The institution with the maximum number of published articles was the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China. Chen. Q was the most prolific author, and Liu. Z was the second most published author. In terms of journal contributions, the journal "Biomaterials" had the highest number of publications (n = 30). Biomaterials, Advanced Functional Materials and Journal of Controlled Release were the most influential journals. Keyword analysis revealed that cancer immunotherapy, drug delivery, immunogenic cell death, tumor microenvironment, injectable hydrogels, and immune checkpoint blockade were the primary research hotspots. In recent 3 years, adoptive T-cell therapy, black phosphorus, cell capture, adaptive cell therapy, tumor microenvironment, photodynamic therapy, and sustained release were the research hotspots in this field. Our study summarizes the objective of hydrogels in cancer immunotherapy in recent years, providing a reference for potential researchers in related field.

Conclusion

This bibliometric analysis shows the progress and trend of research on hydrogels in cancer immunotherapy. This study provides a significant avenue for future investigation into current concerns and trends in research within this field.

Gasotransmitters in the tumor microenvironment: Impacts on cancer chemotherapy (Review)

Nitric oxide, carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide are three endogenous gasotransmitters that serve a role in regulating normal and pathological cellular activities. They can stimulate or inhibit cancer cell proliferation and invasion, as well as interfere with cancer cell responses to drug treatments. Understanding the molecular pathways governing the interactions between these gases and the tumor microenvironment can be utilized for the identification of a novel technique to disrupt cancer cell interactions and may contribute to the conception of effective and safe cancer therapy strategies. The present review discusses the effects of these gases in modulating the action of chemotherapies, as well as prospective pharmacological and therapeutic interfering approaches. A deeper knowledge of the mechanisms that underpin the cellular and pharmacological effects, as well as interactions, of each of the three gases could pave the way for therapeutic treatments and translational research.

Nitric Oxide and Immune Responses in Cancer: Searching for New Therapeutic Strategies

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in understanding the mysterious functions of nitric oxide (NO) and how this pleiotropic signaling molecule contributes to tumorigenesis. This review attempts to expose and discuss the information available on the immunomodulatory role of NO in cancer and recent approaches to the role of NO donors in the area of immunotherapy. To address the goal, the following databases were searched to identify relevant literature concerning empirical evidence: The Cochrane Library, Pubmed, Medline, EMBASE from 1980 through March 2020. Valuable attempts have been made to develop distinctive NO-based cancer therapy. Although the data do not allow generalization, the evidence seems to indicate that low / moderate levels may favor tumorigenesis while higher levels would exert anti-tumor effects. In this sense, the use of NO donors could have an important therapeutic potential within immunotherapy, although there are still no clinical trials. The emerging understanding of NO-regulated immune responses in cancer may help unravel the recent features of this "double-edged sword" in cancer physiological and pathologic processes and its potential use as a therapeutic agent for cancer treatment. In short, in this review, we discuss the complex cellular mechanism in which NO, as a pleiotropic signaling molecule, participates in cancer pathophysiology. We also debate the dual role of NO in cancer and tumor progression, and clinical approaches for inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) based therapy against cancer.

Nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide: Sibling rivalry in the family of epigenetic regulators

Nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) were previously only known for their toxic properties. Now they are regarded as potent gaseous messenger molecules (gasotransmitters) that rapidly transverse cell membranes and transduce cellular signals through their chemical reactions and modifications to protein targets. Both are known to regulate numerous physiological functions including angiogenesis, vascular tone, and immune response, to name a few. NO and H₂S often work synergistically and in competition to regulate each other's synthesis, target protein activity via posttranslational modifications (PTMs), and chemical interactions. In addition to their canonical modes of action, increasing evidence has demonstrated that NO and H₂S share another signaling mechanism: epigenetic regulation. This review will compare and contrast biosynthesis and metabolism of NO and H₂S, their individual and shared interactions, and the growing body of evidence for their roles as endogenous epigenetic regulatory molecules.

New Insights into Mechanisms of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in Thyroid Diseases: The Epigenetic Way

In recent years, the presence in the environment of chemical compounds with thyroid-disrupting effects is progressively increased. This phenomenon has risen concern for human health as the preservation of thyroid system homeostasis is essential for fetal development and for maintaining psychological and physiological wellbeing. An increasing number of studies explored the role of different classes of toxicants in the occurrence and severity of thyroid diseases, but large epidemiological studies are limited and only a few animal or in vitro studies have attempted to identify the mechanisms of chemical action. Recently, epigenetic changes such as alteration of methylation status or modification of non-coding RNAs have been suggested as correlated to possible deleterious effects leading to different thyroid disorders in susceptible individuals. This review aims to analyze the epigenetic alterations putatively induced by chemical exposures and involved in the onset of frequent thyroid diseases such as thyroid cancer, autoimmune thyroiditis and disruption of fetal thyroid homeostasis.