Metabolic Profiling Reveals an Abnormal Pattern of Serum Fatty Acids in MRL/lpr Mice Under Treatment With Prednisone

Multifunctional Graphene Oxide Nanodelivery Platform for Breast Cancer Treatment

Background

Breast cancer (BC) has the highest global prevalence among all malignancies in women and the second highest prevalence in the overall population. Paclitaxel (PTX), a tricyclic diterpenoid, is effective against BC. However, its poor solubility in water and the allergenicity of its dissolution medium limited its clinical application.

Methods

In this work, we established a multifunctional graphene oxide (GO) tumor-targeting drug delivery system using nanosized graphene oxide (nGO) modified with D-tocopherol polyethylene glycol succinate (TPGS) and arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) for PTX loading.

Results

The obtained RGD-TPGS-nGO-PTX was 310.20±19.86 nm in size; the polydispersity index (PDI) and zeta potential were 0.21±0.020 and -23.42 mV, respectively. The mean drug loading capacity of RGD-TPGS-nGO-PTX was 48.78%. RGD-TPGS-nGO-PTX showed satisfactory biocompatibility and biosafety and had no significant toxic effects on zebrafish embryos. Importantly, it exerted excellent cytotoxicity against MDA-MB-231 cells, reversed multi-drug resistance (MDR) in MCF-7/ADR cells, and showed significant anti-tumor efficacy in tumor-bearing nude mice.

Conclusion

These findings strongly suggested that the multifunctional GO tumor-targeting drug delivery system RGD-TPGS-nGO-PTX could be used in clinical settings to improve PTX delivery, reverse MDR and increase the therapeutic efficacy of BC treatment.

Hydrocortisone-Containing Animal-Derived Food Intake Affects Lipid Nutrients Utilization

SCOPE

As the tremendous increases in consumption of animal-derived food, endogenous hydrocortisone migrating along the food chain to organism arouses extensive attention. This study aims to investigate the cumulative impacts of dietary hydrocortisone intake and mechanistic understanding on metabolism of lipid nutrients.

METHODS AND RESULTS

A total of 120 porcine muscles samples with different concentrations of hydrocortisone are collected at three time points. An operational food chain simulation framework is constructed and 175 lipid molecules are identified by UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap HRMS. Compared to the control group, 66 lipid molecules are significantly different, including 17 triglycerides and 31 glycerophospholipids. Integrated analyses of lipidomics and proteomics indicate that hydrocortisone promotes adipose triglyceride lipase and hormone sensitive lipase activity to precondition for triglycerides hydrolysis. Quantitative lipidomics analysis shows the presence of hydrocortisone decreases the concentration of docosahexaenoic acid (3.66 ± 0.15-3.09 ± 0.12 mg kg^-1 ) and eicosapentanoic acid (0.54 ± 0.09-0.48 ± 0.06 mg kg^-1 ). A noteworthy increase of most saturated triglycerides concentration with the prolonging of time is observed.

CONCLUSIONS

Hydrocortisone originating from animal-derived food induces glycerophospholipids degradation and triglycerides hydrolysis through promoting adipose triglyceride lipase, hormone sensitive lipase, and phosphoglycerate kinase activity and further intervenes lipid nutrients utilization.

An Open-label Phase I/IIa Clinical Trial of 11β-HSD1 Inhibitor for Cushing's Syndrome and Autonomous Cortisol Secretion

CONTEXT

11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD1) inhibitors demonstrate antimetabolic and antisarcopenic effects in Cushing's syndrome (CS) and autonomous cortisol secretion (ACS) patients.

OBJECTIVE

To confirm the efficacy and safety of S-707106 (11β-HSD1 inhibitor) administered to CS and ACS patients.

DESIGN

A 24-week single-center, open-label, single-arm, dose-escalation, investigator-initiated clinical trial on a database.

SETTING

Kyushu University Hospital, Kurume University Hospital, and related facilities.

PATIENTS

Sixteen patients with inoperable or recurrent CS and ACS, with mildly impaired glucose tolerance.

INTERVENTION

Oral administration of 200 mg S-707106 after dinner, daily, for 24 weeks. In patients with insufficient improvement in oral glucose tolerance test results at 12 weeks, an escalated dose of S-707106 (200 mg twice daily) was administered for the residual 12 weeks.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The rate of participants responding to glucose tolerance impairment, defined as those showing a 25% reduction in the area under the curve (AUC) of plasma glucose during the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test at 24 weeks.

RESULTS

S-707106 administration could not achieve the primary endpoint of this clinical trial (>20% of responsive participants). AUC glucose decreased by -7.1% [SD, 14.8 (90% CI -14.8 to -1.0), P = 0.033] and -2.7% [14.5 (-10.2 to 3.4), P = 0.18] at 12 and 24 weeks, respectively. S-707106 administration decreased AUC glucose significantly in participants with a high body mass index. Body fat percentage decreased by -2.5% [1.7 (-3.3 to -1.8), P < 0.001] and body muscle percentage increased by 2.4% [1.6 (1.7 to 3.1), P < 0.001].

CONCLUSIONS

S-707106 is an effective insulin sensitizer and antisarcopenic and antiobesity medication for these patients.

Serum levels of n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and their association with disease activity: a pilot study

Objective: Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) may modulate the inflammatory process in systemic autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The aim of this study was to assess the serum concentrations of essential 18-carbon PUFAs and their long-chain derivatives in patients with SLE and healthy controls, and to analyse their associations with laboratory and clinical features of the disease.Method: n-6 and n-3 PUFA composition was assessed in the sera of 30 SLE patients and 20 healthy controls using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. We investigated the associations between PUFAs and disease activity measured with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Activity Index (SLEDAI) scores, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, complement C3 and C4 concentrations, anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) titre, anti-double-stranded DNA (anti-dsDNA) antibody concentration, and medications.Results: Serum linoleic acid (LA) and α-linolenic acid concentrations were significantly higher in SLE patients compared with healthy controls. LA concentration correlated positively with the ANA titre and corticosteroid doses; eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid correlated inversely with anti-dsDNA antibody concentration. Patients treated with immunosuppressants had significantly lower concentrations of LA, arachidonic acid, and EPA.Conclusion: Both n-6 and n-3 PUFA precursors can participate in the inflammatory process in SLE patients. The mechanism of the PUFA metabolism disturbance needs further exploration.

Time Course of Metabolic Alterations Associated with the Progression of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in MRL/lpr Mice Based on GC/MS

Exploring the dynamic changes of metabolites and metabolic pathways during the development of the disease can help to further understand the etiology and pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this study, serum metabolomics based on gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was employed to investigate the metabolic alterations at different stages of SLE using lupus-prone mice (MRL/lpr) of 9, 11, and 13 weeks of age. Multivariate statistical analysis was performed to view the alterations of metabolic profiles between MRL/lpr mice and age-matched C57BL/6 mice, and t-test and fold change criteria were used to identify differential metabolites at each stage. 11 changed metabolites were found in MRL/lpr mice at 9 weeks of age, which were mainly involved in the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, glycolysis, and butanoate metabolism; with the increase of week age, the TCA cycle was still disturbed, and the biosynthesis of fatty acids was significantly upregulated since 11 weeks of age; in addition, urea, urate, and indole-3-lactate were increased at 13 weeks of age. We found a time course of metabolic alterations in MRL/lpr mice, which may be related to the progression of SLE. These findings could provide a reference for studying the mechanism of SLE and judging the pathological stage and severity of the disease. The MS data have been deposited in Mendeley (https://www.mendeley.com/).