Unlocking the potential of amorphous calcium carbonate: A star ascending in the realm of biomedical application

Calcium-based biomaterials have been intensively studied in the field of drug delivery owing to their excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability. Calcium-based materials can also deliver contrast agents, which can enhance real-time imaging and exert a Ca2+-interfering therapeutic effect. Based on these characteristics, amorphous calcium carbonate (ACC), as a brunch of calcium-based biomaterials, has the potential to become a widely used biomaterial. Highly functional ACC can be either discovered in natural organisms or obtained by chemical synthesis However, the standalone presence of ACC is unstable in vivo. Additives are required to be used as stabilizers or core-shell structures formed by permeable layers or lipids with modified molecules constructed to maintain the stability of ACC until the ACC carrier reaches its destination. ACC has high chemical instability and can produce biocompatible products when exposed to an acidic condition in vivo, such as Ca2+ with an immune-regulating ability and CO2 with an imaging-enhancing ability. Owing to these characteristics, ACC has been studied for self-sacrificing templates of carrier construction, targeted delivery of oncology drugs, immunomodulation, tumor imaging, tissue engineering, and calcium supplementation. Emphasis in this paper has been placed on the origin, structural features, and multiple applications of ACC. Meanwhile, ACC faces many challenges in clinical translation, and long-term basic research is required to overcome these challenges. We hope that this study will contribute to future innovative research on ACC.

Preparation of ferritin-Prussian blue nanocomposite and its application in tumor photothermal therapy / 国际生物医学工程杂志

Objective:To establish a method for preparing ferritin-Prussian blue nanocomposites (ferritin-PB NPs) and evaluate their photothermal conversion performance and photothermally responsive tumor cell killing effect.Methods:Prussian blue nanomaterials were prepared by the precipitation method and then loaded into the ferritin cavity to construct ferritin-PB NPs. The composition of ferritin-PB NPs was tested by infrared spectroscopy and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. The size and morphology of ferritin-PB NPs were measured by dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. The photothermal heating effect and photothermal stability effect of the ferritin-PB NPs material were tested by a thermal imager. The uptake effect of ferritin-PB NPs in HeLa and HepG2 tumor cells was observed by laser confocal microscopy. The photothermal killing effect of ferritin-PB NPs on HeLa tumor cells was tested by the MTT assay.Results:The morphology of the ferritin-PB NPs is a composite structure of ferritin coated with PB NPs, which can rapidly convert light energy into heat energy in response to 730 nm laser irradiation, resulting in a significant increase in the temperature of the test solution. The ferritin-PB NPs were rapidly taken up by HeLa and HepG2 tumor cells and significantly inhibited the proliferation of HeLa cells under 730 nm light irradiation.Conclusions:The ferritin-PB NPs were obtained by a simple preparation method, which has good biocompatibility and photothermal cytotoxicity and is expected to be used for in vivo tumor therapy in the extended research.

Ethical Considerations on Clinical Transformation of MSC-Exo in Tumor Therapy / 中国医学伦理学

In recent years, basic scientific research and clinical studies on mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosome (MSC-Exo) have developed rapidly. MSC-Exo has shown good anti-tumor effects in preclinical and clinical studies. However, due to its diverse sources and functions, MSC-Exo therapy still faces many ethical issues in clinical conversion and application, including the unclear tumor types and mechanisms of action applicable to MSC-Exo, the risk/benefit issues in the process of clinical research, the lack of safety/effectiveness evaluation standards, lax access standards, and the incomplete regulatory systems. The technical guidelines and regulatory policies related to the clinical transformation and application of stem cell therapy are constantly improving. Therefore, to effectively avoid ethical risks, regulate the research and treatment related to the clinical transformation and application of MSC-Exo therapy, and improve the safety and efficacy of MSC-Exo therapy in tumor therapy, it is proposed to deepen clinical research on the relationship between MSC-Exo and tumor regulation, strengthen the risk/benefit analysis, supervise and improve the professional quality of researcher, deeply root in the principle of subjects not to be harmed, construct and perfect the relevant regulatory system, and improve the reviewing ability of the ethics committee, so as to promote the rapid clinical transformation of MSC-Exo and bring good news to cancer patients.

Research progress on multi-target regulation strategies of tumor microenvironment based on nano-drug delivery system / 药学学报

Tumor microenvironment (TME) is composed of endothelial cells, pericytes, immune cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), cancer stem cells (CSCs), extracellular matrix (ECM) and other components of the complex biological environment. TME interacts with the tumor cells through a large amount of signaling pathways, participates in the process of tumor progression, invasion, and metastasis. Hence, TME has become a potential therapeutic target for cancer treatment, exhibiting excellent therapeutic potential and research value in the field of cancer treatment. Currently, the novel nanotechnology has been widely applied in anticancer therapy, and nanotechnology-mediated drug delivery system is being explored to apply in TME modulation to inhibit tumor progression. Nanotechnology-mediated drug delivery has many advantages over traditional therapeutic modalities, including longer circulation times, improved bioavailability, and reduced toxicity. This review summarized the research of targeted nano-drug delivery based on TME regulation, including regulation strategies based on CSCs, CAFs, immune cells, ECM, tumor vascularization, exosomes, and microbiota. In addition, we summarized the advantages, opportunities, and challenges of TME regulation strategy compared with traditional treatment strategy, which provides a reference for the application of nano-drug delivery system based on TME regulation strategy in tumor precision therapy.

Research advance on ubiquitin-specific protease 14 as novel carcinogenesis biomarker / 环境与职业医学

Hazardous environmental factors as well as occupational factors can lead to elevated incidence of diseases including tumors, and specific molecular biomarkers are needed to guide the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. In recent years, ubiquitin-specific protease 14 (USP14) has gradually attracted the attention of researchers. USP14 is widely expressed in various organs of human body and regulates the stability and degradation of important proteins in various signaling pathways. Studies have shown that its abnormal expression is highly correlated with tumors, neurodegenerative diseases, autophagy, immune response, and viral infections, and is involved in the regulation of various classic signaling pathways. It has been shown to play a key role in the development of various human diseases and can be used as a diagnostic and prognostic molecular biomarker and therapeutic target in the development of tumors. This paper reviewed the current status of research on the structure and regulation of USP14 and its function in physiological and pathological processes, with the aim of providing a reference for research on diseases or injuries caused by environmental and occupational factors.

Carbonic anhydrase IX-based tumor imaging and therapy: a review / 生物工程学报

Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) is a transmembrane protein that is specifically overexpressed on the surface of hypoxic tumor cells. With the function of regulating the acidity of tumor cells both inside and outside, CAIX is closely related to tumor proliferation, invasion and metastasis. Therefore, CAIX is a promising target for tumor imaging and therapy. Herein, we summarized recent advances in CAIX-based tumor imaging, therapy and theranostics, and prospected future applications of using CAIX as an anti-tumor target.

Natural Medicinal Components Mediating Pyroptosis by GSDMs in Anti-tumor Therapy： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Pyroptosis， an atypical new cell death mode other than apoptosis and necrosis， has been discovered in recent years. Pyroptosis depends on the cleavage of gasdermins （GSDMs） by Caspases. The activated GSDMs act on the plasma membrane to form a perforation， which results in cell lysis and triggers inflammation and immune response. Pyroptosis can be induced by four distinct signaling pathways， including canonical and non-canonical inflammasome pathways， apoptosis-associated Caspases-mediated pathway， and granzyme pathway. In these signaling pathways， GSDMs are the executors of pyroptosis. Pyroptosis is associated with the death of tumor cells and the inflammatory damage of normal tissues. Recent studies have demonstrated that moderate pyroptosis can lead to tumor cell death to exert an anti-tumor effect， and meanwhile stimulate the tumor immune microenvironment， while it can promote tumor development. Despite the good performance， drug-based anti-tumor therapies such as tumor immunotherapy， chemotherapy， and targeted therapy have some shortcomings such as drug resistance， recurrence， and damage to normal tissues. The latest research shows that a variety of natural compounds have anti-tumor effects in the auxiliary treatment of tumors by mediating the pyroptosis pathways in a multi-target and multi-pathway manner， which provide new ideas for the study of anti-tumor therapy. We reviewed the molecular mechanism of pyroptosis and the regulatory role of pyroptosis in tumors and tumor immune microenvironment， and summarized the recent research progress in the natural medicinal components regulating pyroptosis in anti-tumor therapy， with a view to providing ideas for the research on the anti-tumor therapy based on pyroptosis.

Research Progress on Role of Probiotic Akkermansia Muciniphila in Oncogenesis, Development and Treatment of Tumor / 肿瘤防治研究

Although tumor treatment models have been continuously improved in clinical practice, cancer remains a serious threat to human health. The effect of probiotics on tumor therapy has received extensive attention. As a common colonizer of the intestinal mucosa, Akkermansia muciniphila(AKK) has a well-defined role in metabolic diseases, but its complex role in tumor development and therapeutic efficacy has not been fully elucidated. The unique properties and physiological roles of AKK play an important role in different solid tumors and it may be a potential biomarker. This article provides a review of previous studies and proposes clinical strategies to influence the abundance of AKK to provide a theoretical reference for the development of next-generation probiotics and the reshaping of the tumor treatment landscape.

Alternative splicing events in tumors and targeted therapy / 药学学报

Alternative splicing is the key to human gene expression regulation and plays a decisive role in enlarging the diversity of functional proteins. Alternative splicing is an important biomarker in tumor progression, which is closely related to the development of tumors. Tumor cells tend to produce alternative spliceosome that are conducive to their progression. Therefore, targeting regulation of tumor-specific alternative spliceosomes is a potential strategy for tumor therapy. Herein, we provide a brief review of the complex relationship between alternative splicing and tumors. Alternative splicing works by removing non-coding sequences of pre-mRNA and assembling protein-coding fragments in different combinations, ultimately producing proteins with different or even opposite functions. Alternative splicing events can promote the transformation of tumor cells through apoptosis, invasion, metastasis, angiogenesis, and metabolism; they can also influence the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy by affecting genes that play a key role in the immune pathway. We proposed that direct or indirect targeting of alternative splicing factors and oligonucleotide-based therapies are the main strategies to reverse tumor alternative splicing events. These findings will help us to better understand tumor-related alternative splicing and to develop new strategies for tumor treatment.

Progress and prospect in the clinical translation of cancer nanomedicine / 药学学报

Nanotechnology has shown broad application prospects in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Currently, nearly 80 cancer nanomedicines are under clinical investigation, and many have been approved with enhanced anti-tumor efficacy and decreased side effects. However, the presence of various barriers in related basic research, process control and clinical trials lead to extremely low translation rate. From the perspective of clinical commercialization, we summarized the progress, clinical status, challenges and opportunities of cancer nanomedicine, and presented a cutting-edge prospect on the rational design of nanomedicine and clinical trial strategies.

Reflections on hot issues of pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms / 中华消化外科杂志

Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (pNENs) is one of the gastrointestinal malignancies of significantly heterogeneous, pathologically classified into well differentiated pancreatic neuro-endocrine tumors (pNETs) and poorly differentiated pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinomas. The prognosis and treatment response of pNETs are primely determined by tumor-intrinsic biolo-gical behavior. Accordingly, surgeons need to operate debulking surgery for low-risk patients, as well as implement adjuvant therapies for those at high-risk of relapse and metastasis after curative resection. Notably, as to two distinct subtypes of patients who suffer primary tumor with diameter less than 2 cm and functional pNETs, oncological benefits and functionally symptomatic control should be considered when formulating surgical strategies. In recent years, advances in next-generation sequencing and organoid technologies have provided practical tools for revealing the gene mutations and tumor microenvironment of pNETs. The four signalling pathways, including mTOR signalling, histone modification, altered telomere length and DNA damage repair pathways, are related to the occurrence and development of pNETs and can be used for the personalization precision therapy of pNETs and guiding the development of new drugs. Empirical therapy and clinical trial studies of pNETs are a continuum of contradictions. Therefore, clinicians need to summarize the rules in treatment and develop disciplines in the summary. Based on relevant literatures, the authors explore the hot issues related to pNENs in recent years, in order to provide reference for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.

Research progress of the FLOT regimen in neoadjuvant treatment for gastric cancer / 中华消化外科杂志

With the deepening research of comprehensive treatment for gastric cancer, the FLOT regimen has begun to be used for the treatment of gastric cancer patients. FLOT neoadjuvant regimen can significantly improve the R 0 resection rate and prolong the overall survival time of locally advanced gastric cancer patients. FLOT regimen combined with immune-checkpoint inhibi-tors, targeted therapy and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy have great potential in neo-adjuvant therapy for gastric cancer. The authors systematically analyse the development history and latest clinical research progress of FLOT neoadjuvant regimen for gastric cancer based on their clinical practice experience.

Roles of Platelets in Tumor Metastasis / 中国生物化学与分子生物学报

Platelets are small anucleated fragments derived from megakaryocytes participating in coagulation and hemostasis. In recent years, more and more experimental and clinical evidences show that platelets also promote tumor metastasis. When tumor cells detach from the primary tumor and access the blood, platelets are the first host cells they encounter. As an important member of tumor metastasis microenvironment, platelets and tumor cells interact and affect each other. On the one hand, tumor cells can regulate the function of platelets by inducing platelets activation and aggregation; on the other hand, platelets can promote tumor metastasis by directly contacting and releasing bioactive mediators. Numerous studies have shown that platelets can promote tumor metastasis through the following approaches: 1. Reducing the shear force-induced damage; 2. Helping tumor cells escape immune surveillance; 3. Promoting tumor cells migration and stationary adhesion in blood vessels; 4. Promoting epithelial-mesenchymal transition of tumor cells; 5. Promoting tumor cell extravasation; 6. Forming a metastatic niche suitable for the survival of tumor cells. Therefore, targeting the interaction between platelets and tumor cells has become a potential tumor treatment strategy. Based on the latest research progress at home and abroad, this paper reviews the roles of platelets in different stages of tumor metastasis and the application of antiplatelet drugs in tumor therapy.

The Mechanisms of the Production of Different Isoforms of Nuclear Factor E2-related Factor 1 and Their Role in Diseases / 中国生物化学与分子生物学报

During the normal process of biological growth and development, NF-E2-related factor 1 (Nrf1/ Nfe2l1) plays a unique role in maintaining intracellular homeostasis and organ integrity. The deficiency of Nrf1 will lead to severe oxidative stress, genomic instability, and result in liver cancer, neurodegenerative disorder and other diseases. In recent years, it has been found that Nrf1 could yield different activated isoforms or even opposite activity isoforms in a variety of ways to perform distinct functions, and the distribution of these isoforms may play a vital role in the process of tumor development. Therefore, to gain a better understanding of the function of Nrf1 isoforms in cells and tissues, we first briefly introduced its discovery process, and demonstrated the multiple mechanisms of distinct isoform production including selective shear processing, internal selective translation initiation, and post-translation shear processing. More importantly, three different post-translational processing models, transmembrane dynamic processing, site-specific processing, ubiquitin-dependent processing, were expounded in detail. Furthermore, the biological function of different isoforms of Nrf1 and its role in diseases were also summarized in the last section. Collectively, we focus on the production mechanism of different isoforms of Nrf1 and their roles in diseases so as to lay a foundation for finding new strategies for tumor treatment.

Immune Checkpoint Molecules in Cancer Cells: Not in Their Places but on Their Duty / 中国生物化学与分子生物学报

Immune checkpoints represent a group of inhibitory receptor molecules that are expresses in the surface of immune cells and play a pivotal role in maintaining immune homeostasis. In recent years, several key immune checkpoint molecules such as CTLA-4 and PD-1, has been found to exist in some kinds of tumor cells. These ectopic expressed checkpoint molecules are named as “cancer cell-intrinsic immune checkpoint molecules”. Although our understanding on cancer cell-intrinsic immune checkpoint molecules is quite limited, emerging evidence suggests that the expression and the biological functions of such molecules in different types of cancer cells are heterozygous and diverse. In particular, the discovery of “adaptive immune-independent” regulation on cancer cell behaviors would potentially benefit to design a customized cancer immune therapy, as well as to develop new therapeutic strategies for cancer. In this review, we will briefly describe the timeline of the studies, deeply discuss the complicated biological functions and the regulatory mechanisms (CTLA-4 and PD-1 as representative examples). And finally we put forward a research perspective on cancer cell-intrinsic immune checkpoint molecules. This review aims to present and promote the studies of cancer cell-intrinsic immune checkpoint molecules to the broad scientific community.

Chemotherapeutic nanomaterials in tumor boundary delineation: Prospects for effective tumor treatment

Accurately delineating tumor boundaries is key to predicting survival rates of cancer patients and assessing response of tumor microenvironment to various therapeutic techniques such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This review discusses various strategies that have been deployed to accurately delineate tumor boundaries with particular emphasis on the potential of chemotherapeutic nanomaterials in tumor boundary delineation. It also compiles the types of tumors that have been successfully delineated by currently available strategies. Finally, the challenges that still abound in accurate tumor boundary delineation are presented alongside possible perspective strategies to either ameliorate or solve the problems. It is expected that the information communicated herein will form the first compendious baseline information on tumor boundary delineation with chemotherapeutic nanomaterials and provide useful insights into future possible paths to advancing current available tumor boundary delineation approaches to achieve efficacious tumor therapy.

MUC16: The Novel Target for Tumor Therapy / 中国肺癌杂志

Mucin16 (MUC16), also known as carbohydrate antigen 125 (CA125), is a glycoprotein antigen that can be recognized by the monoclonal antibody OC125 detected from epithelial ovarian carcinoma antigen by Bast et al in 1981. CA125 is not present in normal ovarian tissue but is usually elevated in the serum of epithelial ovarian carcinoma patients. CA125 is the most commonly used serologic biomarker for the diagnosis and recurrence monitoring of epithelial ovarian carcinoma. MUC16 is highly expressed in varieties of tumors. MUC16 can interact with galectin-1/3, mesothelin, sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-type lectins-9 (Siglec-9), and other ligands. MUC16 plays an important role in tumor genesis, proliferation, migration, invasion, and tumor immunity through various signaling pathways. Besides, therapies targeting MUC16 have some significant achievements. Related preclinical studies and clinical trials are in progress. MUC16 may be a potential novel target for tumor therapy. This article will review the mechanism of MUC16 in tumor genesis and progression, and focus on the research actuality of MUC16 in tumor therapy. This article also provides references for subsequent tumor therapy studies targeting MUC16.
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Progresses on active targeting liposome drug delivery systems for tumor therapy / 生物医学工程学杂志

Liposome is an ideal drug carrier with many advantages such as excellent biocompatibility, non-immunogenicity, and easy functionalization, and has been used for the clinical treatment of many diseases including tumors. For the treatment of tumors, liposome has some passive targeting capability, but the passive targeting effect alone is very limited in improving the drug enrichment in tumor tissues, and active targeting is an effective strategy to improve the drug enrichment. Therefore, active targeting liposome drug-carriers have been extensively studied for decades. In this paper, we review the research progresses on active targeting liposome drug-carriers based on the specific binding of the carriers to the surface of tumor cells, and summarize the opportunities, challenges and future prospects in this field.

Application of Au nanoplates in tumor therapy and diagnosis / 中国药科大学学报

@#Au nanoplates (Au NPLs), a kind of novel two-dimensional metal materials with nanometer scale thickness, have attracted much attention due to their excellent properties; and have been widely used in the fields of tumor diagnosis and treatment in recent years.This article introduces the characteristics and preparation methods of Au nanoplates and summarizes their application in tumor diagnosis and treatment in recent years, in order to provide reference and ideas for the research and application of Au nanoplates in tumor.

Anti-tumor Drug Delivery and Tumor Therapy Based on Metal-organic Frameworks / 肿瘤防治研究

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are mixed porous materials which are composed of metal clusters or ions and organic pillars. Given their channel tunability, high porosity, large specific surface area, and good biocompatibility, MOFs can be combined with various biological macromolecules. In recent years, they have been widely studied in the field of biomedicine, especially in the loading of anti-tumor drugs, showing great application prospects. Multifunctional anti-tumor MOF combined with different therapeutic methods provides a new idea and method for tumor treatment. On the basis of the structure of MOF, this paper introduces the advantages of using MOF to load anti-tumor drugs and reviews the application of MOF in tumor therapy.