Role of β-Interferon Inducer (DEAE-Dextran) in Tumorigenesis by VEGF and NOTCH1 Inhibition along with Apoptosis Induction

Olsalazine pretreatment augments chemosensitivity of gemcitabine in hepatocellular carcinoma

Recently, olsalazine a DNA hypomethylating agent was found to inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells. The present study was carried out to evaluate the effects of olsalazine pretreatment in the potentiation of chemosensitivity of gemcitabine for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In silico molecular docking was performed to analyze the interaction of olsalazine and gemcitabine with DNMT1 and DNA, respectively, using the AutoDock tools 1.5.6. Cytotoxicity of olsalazine, gemcitabine, and combination were measured on human HePG2 cells using MTT assay. Antiproliferative effects were assessed using animal model of N-nitrosodiethylamine and carbon tetrachloride-induced HCC. Treatment was initiated from 8th week of induction to 11th week and change in body weight, liver weight, and survival rate were measured. Following treatment, blood samples were collected for estimation serum biochemistry. Blood serum was used for the estimation of inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein [CRP], lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and P53 levels. Oxidative stress markers were measured in liver tissue homogenates. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were performed on liver sections to detect the morphological changes and P53 expression. Docking analysis revealed the interactions between olsalazine and DNMT1 with a binding energy score of -5.34 and gemcitabine and DNA with a binding energy score of -5.93. Olsalazine pretreatment potentiated the antiproliferative effect of gemcitabine in cell line study. In the group receiving olsalazine pretreatment showed significant reductions in relative liver weight and improved survival rate of gemcitabine treatment group. Serum biochemical markers: serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, and bilirubin revealed improved liver functions. Olsalazine pretreatment also reduced the levels of inflammatory markers like CRP, LDH, TNF-α, and IL-6 and oxidative stress markers dose dependently. Histopathology and IHC showed improved liver morphology with potentiated the induction of P53 upon olsalazine pretreatment in combination with gemcitabine. In conclusion, sequential combination of olsalazine and gemcitabine improved the treatment outcomes during the progression of HCC.

Diethylaminoethyl-dextran and monocyte cell membrane coated 1,8-cineole delivery system for intracellular delivery and synergistic treatment of atherosclerosis

We have developed a biomimetic delivery system termed the Monocyte Cell Membrane-Coated 1,8-Cineole Biomimetic Delivery System (MM-CIN-BDS or BDS), which integrates diethylaminoethyl-dextran (DEAE) and monocyte cell membrane (MM). This innovative approach enhances the cellular uptake efficiency of 1,8-cineole (CIN) and facilitates targeted therapy for atherosclerosis. Our findings demonstrate the successful modification of the drug carrier with DEAE and MM, as validated by measurements of particle size, zeta potential, microscopic morphology, and western blotting analyses. Notably, cellular uptake experiments unveil a significant enhancement in cellular uptake efficiency due to DEAE modification. However, the introduction of monocyte cell membranes diminishes this effect in normal human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), although this efficiency is notably restored in HUVECs activated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Through in vivo imaging investigations, we observe that the MM coating augments distribution in the spleen, brain, and atherosclerotic plaques, while concurrently diminishing distribution in the heart and kidneys. Animal studies corroborate these findings, illustrating that MM-CIN-BDS treatment curtails lipid parameters, dampens the expression of inflammatory factors and proteins, mitigates vascular tissue damage, and ultimately reduces the extent of atherosclerotic lesion areas. To encapsulate, DEAE emerges as an especially adept agent for modifying drug carriers with suboptimal cellular uptake efficiency in the realm of cardiovascular diseases. The potential therapeutic promise of MM-CIN-BDS for atherosclerosis treatment is evident from our research.

The role of peptides in reversing chemoresistance of breast cancer: current facts and future prospects

Breast cancer is the first malignant tumor in women, and its incidence is also increasing year by year. Chemotherapy is one of the standard therapies for breast cancer, but the resistance of breast cancer cells to chemotherapy drugs is a huge challenge for the effective treatment of breast cancer. At present, in the study of reversing the drug resistance of solid tumors such as breast cancer, peptides have the advantages of high selectivity, high tissue penetration, and good biocompatibility. Some of the peptides that have been studied can overcome the resistance of tumor cells to chemotherapeutic drugs in the experiment, and effectively control the growth and metastasis of breast cancer cells. Here, we describe the mechanism of different peptides in reversing breast cancer resistance, including promoting cancer cell apoptosis; promoting non-apoptotic regulatory cell death of cancer cells; inhibiting the DNA repair mechanism of cancer cells; improving the tumor microenvironment; inhibiting drug efflux mechanism; and enhancing drug uptake. This review focuses on the different mechanisms of peptides in reversing breast cancer drug resistance, and these peptides are also expected to create clinical breakthroughs in promoting the therapeutic effect of chemotherapy drugs in breast cancer patients and improving the survival rate of patients.

Synthesis of Cationic Quaternized Nanolevan Derivative for Small Molecule and Nucleic Acid Delivery

Levan is a biopolymer composed of fructose chains covalently linked by β−2,6 glycosidic linkages. This polymer self−assembles into a nanoparticle of uniform size, making it useful for a wide range of applications. Also, levan exhibits various biological activities such as antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor, that make this polymer very attractive for biomedical application. In this study, levan synthesized from Erwinia tasmaniensis was chemically modified by glycidyl trimethylammonium chloride (GTMAC) to produce cationized nanolevan (QA-levan). The structure of the obtained GTMAC−modified levan was determined by FT-IR, 1H-NMR and elemental (CHN) analyzer. The size of the nanoparticle was calculated using the dynamic light scattering method (DLS). The formation of DNA/QA-levan polyplex was then investigated by gel electrophoresis. The modified levan was able to increase the solubility of quercetin and curcumin by 11-folds and 205-folds, respectively, compared to free compounds. Cytotoxicity of levan and QA−levan was also investigated in HEK293 cells. This finding suggests that GTMAC−modified levan should have a potential application for drug and nucleic acid delivery.

Evaluation of immunohistopathological profile of tubular and solid canine mammary carcinomas

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, but the incidence of mammary carcinoma in female dogs is even higher than in humans. These two tumors have similarities that can be seen by its biological behavior, molecular genetic alterations, and histology. This suggest that female dogs can be an excellent model for preclinical oncological studies. And the mammary carcinoma most frequently found in this species is the tubular and solid carcinomas. The extracellular matrix (ECM) has an important role in the progression of these tumors. Because of that we proposed to evaluate the ECM components of these carcinomas through histology with specific stains such as Masson's Trichrome, Picrosirius Red and the technique of scanning electron microscopy. With that, we found the presence of collagen fibers in the tubular carcinoma and around its parenchyma. On the other hand, the solid carcinoma presented collagen fibers throughout the parenchyma and around each tumor cell. With the transmission electron microscopy, we observed the presence of mitochondrias and rough endoplasmic reticulum in both tumors. And finally, we evaluated the expression of proteins through the immunohistochemistry, in which we found a high expression of VEGF, PCNA, CK-18 and vimentin in solid carcinoma, and a positive mark in the tubular and solid carcinoma for collagen I, III and fibronectin. Thus, we demonstrated some differences in the ECM of these mammary carcinomas, allowing a better understanding of its histological characteristics, and these data may contribute to future studies about therapies focused on tumors ECM.

Cationic Nanostructures for Vaccines Design

Subunit vaccines rely on adjuvants carrying one or a few molecular antigens from the pathogen in order to guarantee an improved immune response. However, to be effective, the vaccine formulation usually consists of several components: an antigen carrier, the antigen, a stimulator of cellular immunity such as a Toll-like Receptors (TLRs) ligand, and a stimulator of humoral response such as an inflammasome activator. Most antigens are negatively charged and combine well with oppositely charged adjuvants. This explains the paramount importance of studying a variety of cationic supramolecular assemblies aiming at the optimal activity in vivo associated with adjuvant simplicity, positive charge, nanometric size, and colloidal stability. In this review, we discuss the use of several antigen/adjuvant cationic combinations. The discussion involves antigen assembled to 1) cationic lipids, 2) cationic polymers, 3) cationic lipid/polymer nanostructures, and 4) cationic polymer/biocompatible polymer nanostructures. Some of these cationic assemblies revealed good yet poorly explored perspectives as general adjuvants for vaccine design.