Myricetin-Loaded Nanomicelles Protect against Cisplatin-Induced Acute Kidney Injury by Inhibiting the DNA Damage-cGAS-STING Signaling Pathway.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is the most common side effect of the anti-cancer drug cisplatin, and currently, no effective preventive measures are available in clinical practice. Oxidative stress and DNA damage mechanisms may be involved in cisplatin-induced AKI. In this study, we prepared Kolliphor HS15-based myricetin-loaded (HS15-Myr) nanomicelles and explored the mechanism of protection against cisplatin-induced AKI. In vitro results showed that the HS15-Myr nanomicelles enhanced the antioxidant activity of myricetin (Myr) and inhibited cisplatin-induced proliferation inhibition of HK-2 cells. Moreover, the HS15-Myr nanomicelles inhibited cisplatin-induced reactive oxygen species accumulation, mitochondrial membrane potential reduction, and DNA damage, which might be related to the inhibition of the cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS)─stimulating interferon gene (STING) signaling pathway. In vivo results in mice showed that the significant reductions in body weight and renal indices and the increased blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine levels induced by cisplatin could be significantly reversed by pretreating with the HS15-Myr nanomicelles. Furthermore, nanomicelle pretreatment significantly altered the activities of antioxidant enzymes (e.g., GSH, MDA, and SOD) induced by cisplatin. In addition, cisplatin-induced inflammatory responses in mouse kidney tissue were found to be inhibited by pretreatment with HS15-Myr nanomicelles, such as IL-1ß and TNF-α expression. The nanomicelles also significantly inhibited cisplatin-induced activation of the DNA damage-cGAS-STING pathway in kidney tissues. Together, our findings suggest that Myr-loaded nanomicelles are potential nephroprotective drugs.

Baicalein-loaded silk fibroin peptide nanofibers protect against cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury: Fabrication, characterization and mechanism.

Silk fibroin (SF) is a natural polymeric biomaterial widely used in the preparation of drug delivery systems. Herein, silk fibroin peptide (SFP) was self-assembled into nanofibers, encapsulated a poorly water-soluble drug baicalein (SFP/BA NFs), and then used to protect against cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). Specifically, the SFP/BA NFs significantly enhanced the aqueous dispersity, storage stability, and in vitro antioxidant activity of BA. SFP/BA NFs increased the drug uptake and localization to mitochondria. In vitro results demonstrated that SFP/BA NFs can relieve the cisplatin-induced HK-2 cell damage, and inhibit the cisplatin-induced accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) disruption. Mechanism studies demonstrated that SFP/BA NFs may exert nephroprotective effects by inhibiting both the cisplatin-induced DNA damage and the cGAS/STING pathway activation. In vivo results showed that cisplatin treatment resulted in decreased body weight, increased serum creatinine (SCr), and increased blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels, while SFP/BA NFs reversed the above symptoms. Furthermore, SFP/BA NFs reversed the cisplatin-induced abnormal changes of antioxidant enzymes (e.g., SOD and GSH), and inhibited the cisplatin-induced DNA damage as well as the activation of cGAS/TING. Above all, our results revealed the potential of SFP/BA NFs to protect against cisplatin-induced AKI.

Development of quercetin-loaded PVCL-PVA-PEG micelles and application in inhibiting tumor angiogenesis through the PI3K/Akt/VEGF pathway.

Quercetin (Que) exhibits excellent biological activity; however, its clinical development is hindered owing to the poor water solubility. In this study, Que. was loaded on polyvinyl caprolactam-polyvinyl acetate-polyethylene glycol graft copolymer (PVCL-PVA-PEG, Soluplus) micelles through a thin-film hydration process, and their tumor angiogenesis inhibition ability was investigated. The particle size of Soluplus-Que micelles was 55.3 ± 1.8 nm, and the micelles stayed stability within 9 months. Soluplus-Que micelles can enhance the cell uptake of Que. and transport the micelles to intracellular lysosomes and mitochondria. The MTT assay results revealed that Soluplus-Que micelles enhanced the cytotoxicity of Que. on HUVEC cells. Furthermore, Soluplus-Que micelles inhibited migration and invasion of HUVEC cells, as well as inhibited the neovascularization of chick embryo allantoic membrane (CAM). The in vivo study revealed that Soluplus-Que micelles significantly inhibit the growth of H22 solid tumors, with low toxic side effects. Soluplus-Que inhibited the expression of CD31 (a marker of angiogenesis) and the PI3K/Akt/VEGF pathway in tumor tissues, indicating its potential to hold back tumor growth via the inhibition of angiogenesis. Our findings indicated that as a delivery system, Soluplus micelles demonstrate potential for the delivery of poorly soluble drugs for tumor treatment.

Rhein incorporated silk fibroin hydrogels with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory efficacy to promote healing of bacteria-infected burn wounds.

Advanced dressings that can simultaneously prevent bacterial colonization/infection and reduce inflammation are highly desired. A simple strategy was developed to incorporate an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial drug rhein into the structure of silk fibroin (SF) matrix to fabricate a hydrogel dressing. The SF/Rhein hydrogels showed fibrous network nanostructure, high water content (~90%), high water adsorption ability (>2 folds of its own weight), acceptable mechanical strength, biocompatibility and antibacterial properties, suitable as dressings for the treatment of bacterial infected wounds. The SF/Rhein hydrogels enhanced the healing rate of burn wounds by reducing inflammation, expediting angiogenesis, and promoting skin appendages formation, being a promising candidate as wound dressings.

EGPI-1, a novel eIF4E/eIF4G interaction inhibitor, inhibits lung cancer cell growth and angiogenesis through Ras/MNK/ERK/eIF4E signaling pathway.

eIF4E plays an important role in regulating tumor growth and angiogenesis, and eIF4E is highly expressed in a variety of lung cancer cell lines. siRNA eIF4E can significantly inhibit the proliferation of lung cancer cells, indicating that inhibition of eIF4E may become a novel anti-tumor target. In the previous study, we synthesized a series of small molecule compounds with the potential to inhibit eIF4E. Among them, the compound EGPI-1 significantly inhibited the proliferation of a variety of lung cancer cells such as A549, NCI-H460, NCI-H1650 and 95D without inhibiting the proliferation of HUVEC cells. Further studies found that EGPI-1 interfered with the eIF4E/eIF4G interaction and inhibited the phosphorylation of eIF4E in NCI-H460 cells. The results of flow cytometry showed that EGPI-1 induced apoptosis and G0/G1 cycle arrest in NCI-H460 cell. Interestingly, we also found that EGPI-1 induced autophagy and DNA damage in NCI-H460 cells. The mechanism results showed that EGPI-1 inhibited the Ras/MNK/ERK/eIF4E signaling pathway. Moreover, EGPI-1 inhibited tube formation of HUVECs, as well as inhibited the neovascularization of CAM, proving the anti-angiogenesis activity of EGPI-1. The NCI-H460 xenograft studies showed that EGPI-1 inhibited tumor growth and angiogenesis in vivo by regulating Ras/MNK/ERK/eIF4E pathway. Our studies proved that eIF4E was a novel target for regulating tumor growth, and the eIF4E/eIF4G interaction inhibitor EGPI-1 was promising to develop into a novel anti-lung cancer drug.

Silk Fibroin Crosslinked Glycyrrhizic Acid and Silver Hydrogels for Accelerated Bacteria-Infected Wound Healing.

Antibacterial hydrogels are intensively studied as wound dressings. Silk fibroin (SF) is chemical crosslinked to glycyrrhizic acid (GA) and silver to fabricate a hydrogel dressing with both antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. The SF/Ag/GA hydrogel exhibits high water content with acceptable mechanical properties, combines the good biocompatibility and biodegradability of SF, the antibacterial activity of silver, and the anti-inflammatory property of GA, capable to promote tissue regeneration during wound healing process, offering great potential as an alternative for wound dressings.

Kaempferol Incorporated Bovine Serum Albumin Fibrous Films for Ocular Drug Delivery.

The possibility of using drug loaded bovine serum albumin (BSA) porous films as therapeutic contact lenses is investigated. Kaempferol (KAE), a hydrophobic antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agent, is incorporated into BSA porous films to form BSA/KAE films. The BSA/KAE films are transparent in the visible wavelength range of the human eye, possessing high water content and good cytocompatibility. A prolonged and sustained drug release is observed, and the in vivo efficacy of BSA/KAE films is better than the individual KAE. BSA/KAE films promoted the corneal re-epithelialization, inhibited neovascularization, and reduced the inflammation of an alkali burn induced corneal injury model. The study demonstrates the promising potential of BSA/KAE films as therapeutic contact lenses for the treatment of corneal injury, builds an available ocular drug delivery platform for ocular diseases.

Improved anticancer activity of betulinic acid on breast cancer through a grafted copolymer-based micelles system.

Betulinic acid (3ß-Hydroxy-20(29)-lupaene-28-oic acid, BA) has excellent anti-cancer activity but poor solubility and low bioavailability. To improve the antitumor activity of BA, a polyvinyl caprolactam-polyvinyl acetate-polyethylene glycol (PVCL-PVA-PEG) graft copolymer (Soluplus) encapsulated BA micelle (Soluplus-BA) was fabricated. The Soluplus-BA micelles presented a mean size of 54.77 ± 1.26 nm and a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.083. The MTT assay results showed that Soluplus-BA micelles increased the inhibitory effect of BA on MDA-MB-231 cells, mainly due to the enhanced accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the destruction of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP). Soluplus-BA micelles induced the DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) as the γH2AX foci increased. Moreover, Soluplus-BA also inhibited the tube formation and migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), and inhibited the neovascularization of the chicken chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). This angiogenesis inhibitory effect may be accomplished by regulating the HIF-1/VEGF-FAK signaling pathway. The in vivo study confirmed the improved anti-tumor effect of Soluplus-BA and its inhibitory effect on angiogenesis, demonstrating the possibility of Soluplus-BA as an effective anti-breast cancer drug delivery system.

Therapeutic contact lenses fabricated by hyaluronic acid and silver incorporated bovine serum albumin porous films for the treatment of alkali-burned corneal wound.

Hyaluronic acid (HA) was covalently linked to the surface of bovine serum albumin/silver (BSA/Ag) porous films to fabricate a possible contact lens. The BSA/Ag/HA films showed favorable properties as contact lenses, including acceptable transparency, high water content, good hemocompatibility, non-cytotoxicity and antibacterial properties. The therapeutic potential of the BSA/Ag/HA films was evaluated on an alkali burn-induced corneal injury model on mice. The corneal healing rate was enhanced, the corneal opacification and neovascularization were lessened, and the inflammation response was reduced. The chemical cross-linking of HA on the films prolonged the retention time of HA on the corneal surface, thus enhanced the drug efficacy and improved the patient compliance, proving the high potential of BSA/Ag/HA films as contact lenses.

Improved bioavailability and anticancer efficacy of Hesperetin on breast cancer via a self-assembled rebaudioside A nanomicelles system.

Hesperetin (HSP) has excellent biological activities with poor water solubility which limits its clinical development. In this study, we successfully prepared a novel, self-assembled micelle based on Rebaudioside A (RA) for oral delivery of HSP with improved bioavailability and therapeutic effects. We found that RA and HSP could be formylated into nanomicelles with particle sizes of 4.541 nm ± 0.048 nm. HSP was readily encapsulated into RA micelles and this improved its water solubility (to 12.74 mg/mL ± 0.28 mg/mL). The MTT results showed that RA-HSP enhanced the cytotoxicity, the clonal formation inhibitory activity, and cell migration inhibitory activity of HSP in human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells. The mechanism results showed that RA-HSP induced cell apoptosis by inducing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), destroying the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and inhibiting the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Moreover, RA-HSP enhanced the anticancer activity, increased the oral bioavailability and tissue distribution of HSP in vivo. Moreover, the mechanism studies in vivo found that HSP inhibited PI3K/Akt signaling pathway with low side effects. These findings indicate that RA micelle formulations have great potential in oral drug delivery systems for the delivery of hydrophobic drugs.