Cancer cell membrane-coated bacterial ghosts for highly efficient paclitaxel delivery against metastatic lung cancer

Chemotherapy is one of the major approaches for the treatment of metastatic lung cancer, although it is limited by the low tumor delivery efficacy of anticancer drugs. Bacterial therapy is emerging for cancer treatment due to its high immune stimulation effect; however, excessively generated immunogenicity will cause serious inflammatory response syndrome. Here, we prepared cancer cell membrane-coated liposomal paclitaxel-loaded bacterial ghosts (LP@BG@CCM) by layer-by-layer encapsulation for the treatment of metastatic lung cancer. The preparation processes were simple, only involving film formation, electroporation, and pore extrusion. LP@BG@CCM owned much higher 4T1 cancer cell toxicity than LP@BG due to its faster fusion with cancer cells. In the 4T1 breast cancer metastatic lung cancer mouse models, the remarkably higher lung targeting of intravenously injected LP@BG@CCM was observed with the almost normalized lung appearance, the reduced lung weight, the clear lung tissue structure, and the enhanced cancer cell apoptosis compared to its precursors. Moreover, several major immune factors were improved after administration of LP@BG@CCM, including the CD4+/CD8a+ T cells in the spleen and the TNF-α, IFN-γ, and IL-4 in the lung. LP@BG@CCM exhibits the optimal synergistic chemo-immunotherapy, which is a promising medication for the treatment of metastatic lung cancer.

Predatory bacterial hydrogels for topical treatment of infected wounds

Wound infection is becoming a considerable healthcare crisis due to the abuse of antibiotics and the substantial production of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Seawater immersion wounds usually become a mortal trouble because of the infection of Vibrio vulnificus. Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, one kind of natural predatory bacteria, is recognized as a promising biological therapy against intractable bacteria. Here, we prepared a B. bacteriovorus-loaded polyvinyl alcohol/alginate hydrogel for the topical treatment of the seawater immersion wounds infected by V. vulnificus. The B. bacteriovorus-loaded hydrogel (BG) owned highly microporous structures with the mean pore size of 90 μm, improving the rapid release of B. bacteriovorus from BG when contacting the aqueous surroundings. BG showed high biosafety with no L929 cell toxicity or hemolysis. More importantly, BG exhibited excellent in vitro anti-V. vulnificus effect. The highly effective infected wound treatment effect of BG was evaluated on mouse models, revealing significant reduction of local V. vulnificus, accelerated wound contraction, and alleviated inflammation. Besides the high bacterial inhibition of BG, BG remarkably reduced inflammatory response, promoted collagen deposition, neovascularization and re-epithelization, contributing to wound healing. BG is a promising topical biological formulation against infected wounds.

Inhaled curcumin mesoporous polydopamine nanoparticles against radiation pneumonitis

Radiation therapy is an effective method to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors using high-energy X-ray or γ-ray. Radiation pneumonitis (RP) is one of the most serious complications of radiation therapy for thoracic cancers, commonly leading to serious respiratory distress and poor prognosis. Here, we prepared curcumin-loaded mesoporous polydopamine nanoparticles (CMPN) for prevention and treatment of RP by pulmonary delivery. Mesoporous polydopamine nanoparticles (MPDA) were successfully synthesized with an emulsion-induced interface polymerization method and curcumin was loaded in MPDA via π‒π stacking and hydrogen bonding interaction. MPDA owned the uniform spherical morphology with numerous mesopores that disappeared after loading curcumin. More than 80% curcumin released from CMPN in 6 h and mesopores recovered. CMPN remarkably protected BEAS-2B cells from γ-ray radiation injury by inhibiting apoptosis. RP rat models were established after a single dose of 15 Gy 60Co γ-ray radiation was performed on the chest area. Effective therapy of RP was achieved by intratracheal administration of CMPN due to free radical scavenging and anti-oxidation ability, and reduced proinflammatory cytokines, high superoxide dismutase, decreased malondialdehyde, and alleviated lung tissue damages were observed. Inhaled CMPN paves a new avenue for the treatment of RP.

genetic and chemical diversity in three original plants of licorice, Glycyrriza uralensis Fisch., Glycyrrhiza inflata Bat. and Glycyrrhiza glabra L.

Licorice is one of the most frequently used Chinese herbs, mainly containing triterpenoids and flavonoids. Three original plants, Glycyrrhiza glabra L., Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch., and Glycyrrhiza inflata Bat., are defined as licorice in Chinese pharmacopeia. In this study, 40 G. uralensis samples [Group A], 60 G. glabra samples [Group B, C and D] and 40 G. inflata samples [Group E and F], were used as plant materials, the genetic diversity of samples were determined by gene sequencing technology and the chemotypic diversity were detected by HPLC. The chemotypic diversity analysis showed that contents of triterpenoids in G. glabra [isoglycyrrhizin: 2.483 +/- 0.0671 mg·g-1, glycyrrhizin: 34.660 +/- 0.8591 mg·g-1] were obviously higher than that in G. uralensis and G. inflata. However, the contents of flavonoids [liquiritin: 21.996 +/- 0.6396 mg·g-1, isoliquiritin: 4.556 +/- 0.1252 mg.g-1, liquiritigenin: 0.623 +/- 0.0200 mg·g-1, isoliquiritigenin: 0.281 +/- 0.008 mg·g-1] in G. uralensis were higher than that in G. glabra and G. inflata. And contents of triterpenoids and flavonoids were both lowest in G. inflata. The genetic diversity analysis showed that the psbA-trnH intergenic regions on chloroplast DNA sequences were same in the same species, and significantly different between any two species. These findings will lay a solid foundation for the identification and quality control of licorice. Furthermore, recently the activity of isoglycyrrhizin has attracted more and more attentions and researches. The HPLC method established in this paper for the simultaneous assay of isoglycyrrhizin and glycyrrhizin will be helpful for the screening of superior quality licorice with a high content of isoglycyrrhizin

The antiviral and antimicrobial activities of licorice, a widely-used Chinese herb

Licorice is a common herb which has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. More than 20 triterpenoids and nearly 300 flavonoids have been isolated from licorice. Recent studies have shown that these metabolites possess many pharmacological activities, such as antiviral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antitumor and other activities. This paper provides a summary of the antiviral and antimicrobial activities of licorice. The active components and the possible mechanisms for these activities are summarized in detail. This review will be helpful for the further studies of licorice for its potential therapeutic effects as an antiviral or an antimicrobial agent.