Tandem Molecular Self-Assembly Selectively Inhibits Lung Cancer Cells by Inducing Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress

Smart Molecular Imaging and Theranostic Probes by Enzymatic Molecular In Situ Self-Assembly

Enzymatic molecular in situ self-assembly (E-MISA) that enables the synthesis of high-order nanostructures from synthetic small molecules inside a living subject has emerged as a promising strategy for molecular imaging and theranostics. This strategy leverages the catalytic activity of an enzyme to trigger probe substrate conversion and assembly in situ, permitting prolonging retention and congregating many molecules of probes in the targeted cells or tissues. Enhanced imaging signals or therapeutic functions can be achieved by responding to a specific enzyme. This E-MISA strategy has been successfully applied for the development of enzyme-activated smart molecular imaging or theranostic probes for in vivo applications. In this Perspective, we discuss the general principle of controlling in situ self-assembly of synthetic small molecules by an enzyme and then discuss the applications for the construction of "smart" imaging and theranostic probes against cancers and bacteria. Finally, we discuss the current challenges and perspectives in utilizing the E-MISA strategy for disease diagnoses and therapies, particularly for clinical translation.

ZDHHC9-mediated Bip/GRP78 S-palmitoylation inhibits unfolded protein response and promotes bladder cancer progression

Recent studies have highlighted palmitoylation, a novel protein post-translational modification, as a key player in various signaling pathways that contribute to tumorigenesis and drug resistance. Despite this, its role in bladder cancer (BCa) development remains inadequately understood. In this study, ZDHHC9 emerged as a significantly upregulated oncogene in BCa. Functionally, ZDHHC9 knockdown markedly inhibited tumor proliferation, promoted tumor cell apoptosis, and enhanced the efficacy of gemcitabine (GEM) and cisplatin (CDDP). Mechanistically, SP1 was found to transcriptionally activate ZDHHC9 expression. ZDHHC9 subsequently bound to and palmitoylated the Bip protein at cysteine 420 (Cys420), thereby inhibiting the unfolded protein response (UPR). This palmitoylation at Cys420 enhanced Bip's protein stability and preserved its localization within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). ZDHHC9 might become a novel therapeutic target for BCa and could also contribute to combination therapy with GEM and CDDP.

From cells to subcellular organelles: Next-generation cancer therapy based on peptide self-assembly

Due to the editability, functionality, and excellent biocompatibility of peptides, in situ self-assembly of peptides in cells is a powerful strategy for biomedical applications. Subcellular organelle targeting of peptides assemblies enables more precise drug delivery, enhances selectivity to disease cells, and mitigates drug resistance, providing an effective strategy for disease diagnosis and therapy. This reviewer first introduces the triggering conditions, morphological changes, and intracellular locations of self-assembling peptides. Then, the functions of peptide assemblies are summarized, followed by a comprehensive understanding of the interactions between peptide assemblies and subcellular organelles. Finally, we provide a brief outlook and the remaining challenges in this field.

Do alkaline phosphatases have great potential in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of tumors?

Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is a group of enzymes that catalyze hydrolysis of phosphate esters at an alkaline pH, resulting in the generation of inorganic phosphate. These enzymes are widely distributed, and their activity is found in various tissues including bone, liver, intestine, and placenta. However, abnormalities in ALP expression and activity have been observed in certain types of cancer. In some cases, elevated serum levels of ALP are observed in patients with liver and bone metastasis. In other cases, increased levels of ALP have been observed in patients with pancreatic and lung cancer. On the other hand, low expression of ALP has also been associated with poor prognosis in patients with certain types of tumors, including colorectal cancer (CRC), breast cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In these cases, low ALP activity may be associated with decreased differentiation of cancer cells and increased cancer cell proliferation. Overall, the role of ALP in cancer is complex and context-dependent. This article reviews application progress of ALP in cancer, and we hypothesize that ALP might be a potential tumor biomarker, combined detection of aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/alanine aminotransferase (ALT), bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BSAP), carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and ALP isozymes levels can be used for more accurate diagnosis of a particular tumor. Further research is needed to better understand the mechanisms underlying ALP dysregulation in cancer and to identify potential therapeutic targets.

Identification of subclusters and prognostic genes based on glycolysis/gluconeogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

This study aimed to examine glycolysis/gluconeogenesis-related genes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and evaluate their potential roles in HCC progression and immunotherapy response.

Methods

Data analyzed in this study were collected from GSE14520, GSE76427, GSE174570, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), PXD006512, and GSE149614 datasets, metabolic pathways were collected from MSigDB database. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between HCC and controls. Differentially expressed glycolysis/gluconeogenesis-related genes (candidate genes) were obtained and consensus clustering was performed based on the expression of candidate genes. Bioinformatics analysis was used to evaluate candidate genes and screen prognostic genes. Finally, the key results were tested in HCC patients.

Results

Thirteen differentially expressed glycolysis/gluconeogenesis-related genes were validated in additional datasets. Consensus clustering analysis identified two distinct patient clusters (C1 and C2) with different prognoses and immune microenvironments. Immune score and tumor purity were significantly higher in C1 than in C2, and CD4+ memory activated T cell, Tfh, Tregs, and macrophage M0 were higher infiltrated in HCC and C1 group. The study also identified five intersecting DEGs from candidate genes in TCGA, GSE14520, and GSE141198 as prognostic genes, which had a protective role in HCC patient prognosis. Compared with the control group, the prognostic genes all showed decreased expression in HCC patients in RT-qPCR and Western blot analyses. Flow cytometry verified the abnormal infiltration level of immune cells in HCC patients.

Conclusion

Results showed that glycolysis/gluconeogenesis-related genes were associated with patient prognosis, immune microenvironment, and response to immunotherapy in HCC. It suggests that the model based on five prognostic genes may valuable for predicting the prognosis and immunotherapy response of HCC patients.

Controlled sequential in situ self-assembly and disassembly of a fluorogenic cisplatin prodrug for cancer theranostics

Temporal control of delivery and release of drugs in tumors are important in improving therapeutic outcomes to patients. Here, we report a sequential stimuli-triggered in situ self-assembly and disassembly strategy to direct delivery and release of theranostic drugs in vivo. Using cisplatin as a model anticancer drug, we design a stimuli-responsive small-molecule cisplatin prodrug (P-CyPt), which undergoes extracellular alkaline phosphatase-triggered in situ self-assembly and succeeding intracellular glutathione-triggered disassembly process, allowing to enhance accumulation and elicit burst release of cisplatin in tumor cells. Compared with cisplatin, P-CyPt greatly improves antitumor efficacy while mitigates off-target toxicity in mice with subcutaneous HeLa tumors and orthotopic HepG2 liver tumors after systemic administration. Moreover, P-CyPt also produces activated near-infrared fluorescence (at 710 nm) and dual photoacoustic imaging signals (at 700 and 750 nm), permitting high sensitivity and spatial-resolution delineation of tumor foci and real-time monitoring of drug delivery and release in vivo. This strategy leverages the advantages offered by in situ self-assembly with those of intracellular disassembly, which may act as a general platform for the design of prodrugs capable of improving drug delivery for cancer theranostics.

Intracellular Enzyme-Instructed Self-Assembly of Peptides (IEISAP) for Biomedical Applications

Despite the remarkable significance and encouraging breakthroughs of intracellular enzyme-instructed self-assembly of peptides (IEISAP) in disease diagnosis and treatment, a comprehensive review that focuses on this topic is still desirable. In this article, we carefully review the advances in the applications of IEISAP, including the development of various bioimaging techniques, such as fluorescence imaging, photoacoustic imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, positron-emission tomography imaging, radiation imaging, and multimodal imaging, which are successfully leveraged in visualizing cancer tissues and cells, bacteria, and enzyme activity. We also summarize the utilization of IEISAP in disease treatments, including anticancer, antibacterial, and antiinflammation applications, among others. We present the design, action modes, structures, properties, functions, and performance of IEISAP materials, such as nanofibers, nanoparticles, nanoaggregates, and hydrogels. Finally, we conclude with an outlook towards future developments of IEISAP materials for biomedical applications. It is believed that this review may foster the future development of IEISAP with better performance in the biomedical field.

Targeting Aberrant Histone Posttranscription Modification Machinery in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Current Findings and Challenges

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is an aggressive malignancy, but the survival rates of patients with ESCC have not improved as yet largely because the available targeted therapies are limited. Histone posttranscription modification (PTM) is a critical epigenetic regulation. Several deregulations in histone PTM machinery have been identified to promote malignant phenotypes of ESCC, providing druggable targets in treating ESCC. Hereby, we briefly describe current progress and challenges ahead in this field.

Supramolecular Nanomedicines of In-Situ Self-Assembling Peptides

Nanomedicines provide distinct clinical advantages over traditional monomolecular therapeutic and diagnostic agents. Supramolecular nanomedicines made from in-situ self-assembling peptides have emerged as a promising strategy in designing and fabricating nanomedicines. In-situ self-assambly (SA) allows the combination of nanomedicines approach with prodrug approach, which exhibited both advantages of these strategies while addressed the problems of both and thus receiving more and more research attention. In this review, we summarized recently designed supramolecular nanomedicines of in-situ SA peptides in the manner of applications and design principles, and the interaction between the materials and biological environments was also discussed.

Research on endoplasmic reticulum-targeting fluorescent probes and endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated nanoanticancer strategies: A review

Subcellular localization of organelles can achieve accurate drug delivery and maximize drug efficacy. As the largest organelle in eukaryotic cells, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays an important role in protein synthesis, folding, and posttranslational modification; lipid biosynthesis; and calcium homeostasis. Observing the changes in various metal ions, active substances, and the microenvironment in the ER is crucial for diagnosing and treating many diseases, including cancer. Excessive endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) can have a killing effect on malignant cells and can mediate cell apoptosis, proper modulation of ERS can provide new perspectives for the treatment of many diseases, including cancer. Therefore, the ER is used as a new anticancer target in cancer treatment. This review discusses ER-targeting fluorescent probes and ERS-mediated nanoanticancer strategies.

Propulsion Gait Analysis and Fluidic Trapping of Swinging Flexible Nanomotors

Micro- and nanomachines as feasible agents to exploit the microworld have attracted extensive research interest, particularly in the manipulation of soft nanorobots at small scales. Herein, we propose a model for regulating the motion of a swinging flexible nanomotor (SFN) driven by an oscillating magnetic field. Multisegments of an SFN are synthesized from nickel, gold, and porous silver. The coupling of magnetic actuation and the swinging pattern of SFNs are studied to reveal their mobility. Additionally, an optimal frequency occurs from the coupling of magnetic torque and structural deformation, rather than the simply considered step-out phenomenon. Meanwhile, a fluidic trapping region is formulated alongside the SFN. Such a trapping region is demonstrated by trapping a living neutrophil and accomplishing in vitro transportation using fluidic mediation. On-demand cargo delivery can be realized using a programmable magnetic field, and SFNs can be recycled with ease after manipulation owing to environmental concerns. In this study, we demonstrated the properties of SFNs that are useful bases for their customization and control. These flexible nanomotors may have the potential to promote drug delivery and biomedical operations in noncontact modes.

Biomaterials based on noncovalent interactions of small molecules

Unlike conventional materials that covalent bonds connecting atoms as the major force to hold the materials together, supramolecular biomaterials rely on noncovalent intermolecular interactions to assemble. The reversibility and biocompatibility of supramolecular biomaterials render them with diverse range of functions and lead to rapid development in the past two decades. This review focuses on the noncovalent and enzymatic control of supramolecular biomaterials, with the introduction to various triggering mechanism to initiate self-assembly. Representative applications of supramolecular biomaterials are highlighted in four categories: tissue engineering, cancer therapy, drug delivery, and molecular imaging. By introducing various applications, we intend to show enzymatic control and noncovalent interactions as a powerful tool for achieving spatiotemporal control of biomaterials both invitro and in vivo for biomedicine.

Enzymatic Noncovalent Synthesis

Enzymatic reactions and noncovalent (i.e., supramolecular) interactions are two fundamental nongenetic attributes of life. Enzymatic noncovalent synthesis (ENS) refers to a process where enzymatic reactions control intermolecular noncovalent interactions for spatial organization of higher-order molecular assemblies that exhibit emergent properties and functions. Like enzymatic covalent synthesis (ECS), in which an enzyme catalyzes the formation of covalent bonds to generate individual molecules, ENS is a unifying theme for understanding the functions, morphologies, and locations of molecular ensembles in cellular environments. This review intends to provide a summary of the works of ENS within the past decade and emphasize ENS for functions. After comparing ECS and ENS, we describe a few representative examples where nature uses ENS, as a rule of life, to create the ensembles of biomacromolecules for emergent properties/functions in a myriad of cellular processes. Then, we focus on ENS of man-made (synthetic) molecules in cell-free conditions, classified by the types of enzymes. After that, we introduce the exploration of ENS of man-made molecules in the context of cells by discussing intercellular, peri/intracellular, and subcellular ENS for cell morphogenesis, molecular imaging, cancer therapy, and other applications. Finally, we provide a perspective on the promises of ENS for developing molecular assemblies/processes for functions. This review aims to be an updated introduction for researchers who are interested in exploring noncovalent synthesis for developing molecular science and technologies to address societal needs.

Photothermally Responsive Conjugated Polymeric Singlet Oxygen Carrier for Phase Change-Controlled and Sustainable Phototherapy for Hypoxic Tumor

Hypoxia significantly compromises the therapeutic performance of photodynamic therapy (PDT) owing to the oxygen level which plays a key role in the production of singlet oxygen (¹O₂). Herein, the photothermally responsive phase change materials (PCM) are used to encapsulate 1,4-dimethylnaphthalene-functionalized platinum(II)-acetylide conjugated polymer (CP1) with intense near-infrared (NIR) absorption to prepare new ¹O₂ nanocarriers (CP1-NCs). The 1,4-dimethylnaphthalene moieties in CP1-NCs can trap the ¹O₂ produced from CP1 under irradiation and form a stable endoperoxide. Then, the endoperoxide undergoes cycloreversion to controllably release ¹O₂ via the NIR light-triggered photothermal effect of CP1 and controllable phase change of PCM, which can be used for oxygen-independent PDT for hypoxic tumor. Furthermore, the in vivo luminescence imaging-guided synergistic PDT and photothermal therapy showed better efficiency in tumor ablation. The smart design shows the potent promise of CP1-NCs in PCM-controlled and sustainable phototherapy under tumor hypoxic microenvironment, providing new insights for constructing oxygen-independent precise cancer phototherapeutic platform.