An Overview of Lipid Droplets in Cancer and Cancer Stem Cells

For decades, lipid droplets have been considered as the main cellular organelles involved in the fat storage, because of their lipid composition. However, in recent years, some new and totally unexpected roles have been discovered for them: (i) they are active sites for synthesis and storage of inflammatory mediators, and (ii) they are key players in cancer cells and tissues, especially in cancer stem cells. In this review, we summarize the main concepts related to the lipid droplet structure and function and their involvement in inflammatory and cancer processes.

Influence of ceria nanoparticles on chemical structure and properties of segmented polyesters

In this work, we present new nanocomposite materials derived from segmented copolyesters, comprising ethylene terephthalate (PET) segments and dimerized linoleic acid (DLA), and nanometric cerium oxide particles (CeO2). Nanoparticles were incorporated in situ during polycondensation in various concentrations, from 0.1 up to 0.6 wt.%. It was found that preparation of nanocomposites in situ, during polycondensation, had no significant influence on changes in segmental composition as determined from (1)H and (13)C, as well as 2D NMR. Thermal analysis and calculated degree of crystallinity showed that increasing concentration of ceria nanoparticles lead to an increase in mass content of PET crystallites in hard segments. The XRD investigations also showed an increased intensity of characteristic signals with increasing ceria concentration. Simultaneously, the incorporation of CeO2 led to an increase in tensile strength and elongation at break, indicating a reinforcing and plasticizing effect of ceria nanoparticles. However, the modulus at 10% strain decreased with increasing amount of nanoparticles. The in vitro culture of human cardiac progenitor cells (hCPCs) on the new materials indicated a homogenous cell displacement across the samples after 5 days with no signs of cytotoxicity, indicating good biocompatibility in vitro of CeO2-based nanocomposites and a potential for biomedical applications.