Anti-tumor nanoscale drug delivery systems based on photodynamic therapy / 药学学报

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a therapeutic strategy by which photosensitizers are excited by specific light irradiation to produce singlet oxygen for killing the surrounding cells. The advantages of PDT include weak invasion, slight side effect, and low resistance. The advantages of nanoscale drug delivery systems (DDS) include tumor-targeting, sustained release, and environmental-sensitivity. The combination of PDT and nanoscale DDS would likely lead to tumor targeting of photosensitizers and enhance their antitumor effectiveness. This review discusses the mechanism of PDT, photosensitizer-loaded nanoscale formulations, the combination of PDT and other antitumor therapies, and summarizes the applications and prospects of anti-tumor nanoscale DDS based on PDT. This review is a useful reference for its clinical application.

Effect of Swallowing Rehabilitation on Swallowing Function and Quality of Life for Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Meta-analysis / 中国康复理论与实践

Objects To evaluating the effect of swallowing rehabilitation on the quality of life and swallowing function in head and neck cancer patients. Methods:The literatures were retrieved from databases of CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP, CBM, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Ovid, EBSCO and Web of Science. They were scanned and assessed, and analyzed with RevMan 5.3 in the terms of swallowing function, oral feeding function and quality of life. Results:A total of 24 trials that represented 1514 participants were evaluated. For the swallowing function, by videofluoroscopic swallowing study, RR = 1.67, 95%CI 1.37 to 2.04; by Kubota Water Swallowing Test, RR = 1.82, 95%CI 1.56 to 2.11; by Standardized Swallowing Assessment, MD = -6.43, 95%CI -8.41 to -4.45; by Oropharyngeal Swallowing Efficiency, MD = -0.41, 95%CI -7.41 to 6.59. For oral feeding function, by Functional Oral Intake Scale, MD = 1.58, 95%CI 0.67 to 2.49. For quality of life, by Anderson Dysphagia Inventory, within three months, MD = 0.07, 95%CI -1.30 to 1.44; three to six months, MD = -1.74, 95%CI -3.40 to -0.07; six to nine months, MD = -1.36, 95%CI -3.15 to 0.42; by European Organization for Research on Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionaire, within three months: a research displayed that the score was less in the training group than in the control group (P = 0.03), another research displayed that the score was more in the training group than in the control group (P < 0.05); three to six months, MD = 10, 95%CI 1.83 to 18.17; six to nine months, MD = 2.20, 95%CI -5.57 to 9.98; nine to twelve months, MD = -1.76, 95%CI -10.73 to 7.21. Conclusion:Swallowing rehabilitation can improve the swallowing function and the oral feeding function for the head and neck cancer patients, however, it is needed more evidence to support the improvement on the quality of life.

Research situation of pH low insertion peptides / 药学学报

Extracellular acidity has been associated with many pathological states, such as cancer, ischemic stroke, neurotrauma and infection, which makes it an effective target for therapy and diagnosis of such diseases. As a polypeptide vector, pH low insertion peptides (pHLIPs) are endowed with high sensitivity to extracellular acidic environment, which can insert the membrane and deliver payload to pathological cells in a pH dependent manner. Here, theranostic applications of pHLIP in disease, are reviewed in two aspects:pHLIP-mediated single-molecule transporter and nano-sized carrier.

[Association of Elevated Platelet Microparticles with Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis].

OBJECTIVES: To explore the expression of platelets microparticles (PMPs) in peripheral blood (PB) and synovial fluid (SF) of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and its correlation with clinical inflammatory parameters. METHODS: The levels of PMPs in PB were detected by flow cytometry in 26 active RA patients and 15 healthy control (HC). SF was collected from 16 patients. The percentages of CD62P+PMPs, CD154+PMPs and clinical parameters (including CRP, ESR, RF and ACPA) were also measured, then the correlations of PMPs with these parameters were analyzed. RESULTS: PMPs levels in PB of RA patients were higher than those in PB from HC and those in SF of RA patients (P< 0.01). CD62P+PMPs levels in PB of RA patients were higher than those in PB of HC and those in SF of RA patients (P< 0.05). CD154+PMPs levels in PB of RA patients were higher than those in PB of HC (P< 0.01) and those in SF of RA patients (P< 0.05). The levels of PB PMPs were positively correlated with disease activity score DAS28 ( r=0.462, P=0.018), but not with ESR, CRP, RF or ACPA. The levels of SF PMPs were not correlated with any of them (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: PMPs may be involved in immune regulation and systemic inflammation of RA. The elevated levels of PMPs could be a potential biomarker for RA.

Targeting Th17 Cells with Small Molecules and Small Interference RNA.

T helper 17 (Th17) cells play a central role in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases via the production of proinflammatory cytokines interleukin- (IL-) 17, IL-17F, and IL-22. Anti-IL-17 monoclonal antibodies show potent efficacy in psoriasis but poor effect in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and Crohn's disease. Alternative agents targeting Th17 cells may be a better way to inhibit the development and function of Th17 cells than antibodies of blocking a single effector cytokine. Retinoic acid-related orphan receptor gamma t (RORγt) which acts as the master transcription factor of Th17 differentiation has been an attractive pharmacologic target for the treatment of Th17-mediated autoimmune disease. Recent progress in technology of chemical screen and engineering nucleic acid enable two new classes of therapeutics targeting RORγt. Chemical screen technology identified several small molecule specific inhibitors of RORγt from a small molecule library. Systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) technology enabled target specific aptamers to be isolated from a random sequence oligonucleotide library. In this review, we highlight the development and therapeutic potential of small molecules inhibiting Th17 cells by targeting RORγt and aptamer mediated CD4(+) T cell specific delivery of small interference RNA against RORγt gene expression to inhibit pathogenic effector functions of Th17 lineage.