Novel Human Meningioma Organoids Recapitulate the Aggressiveness of the Initiating Cell Subpopulations Identified by ScRNA-Seq.

High-grade meningioma has an unsatisfactory outcome despite surgery and postoperative radiotherapy; however, the factors driving its malignancy and recurrence remain largely unknown, which limits the development of systemic treatments. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) technology is a powerful tool for studying intratumoral cellular heterogeneity and revealing the roles of various cell types in oncogenesis. In this study, scRNA-Seq is used to identify a unique initiating cell subpopulation (SULT1E1+ ) in high-grade meningiomas. This subpopulation modulates the polarization of M2-type macrophages and promotes meningioma progression and recurrence. A novel patient-derived meningioma organoid (MO) model is established to characterize this unique subpopulation. The resulting MOs fully retain the aggressiveness of SULT1E1+ and exhibit invasiveness in the brain after orthotopic transplantation. By targeting SULT1E1+ in MOs, the synthetic compound SRT1720 is identified as a potential agent for systemic treatment and radiation sensitization. These findings shed light on the mechanism underlying the malignancy of high-grade meningiomas and provide a novel therapeutic target for refractory high-grade meningioma.

The Aurora Kinase Inhibitor TAK901 Inhibits Glioblastoma Growth by Blocking SREBP1-Mediated Lipid Metabolism.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and lethal malignant primary brain tumor. The standard treatment for GBM including surgical resection followed by radiation therapy and adjuvant chemotherapy with temozolomide remains unsatisfactory. In this study, we investigated the effects of the Aurora kinase inhibitor, TAK901, in GBM both in vitro and in vivo, and explored its key downstream targets. The effects of TAK901 were investigated using cell viability, cell apoptosis, live/dead, cell cycle, Transwell, 3D cell invasion, neuro-sphere, and self-renewal assays. Mechanistic studies were conducted using RNA-seq, lipid measurements, reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and Western blotting. The in vivo efficacy of TAK901 was validated using orthotopic xenograft GBM mouse models. In both GBM cells and GSCs, TAK901 remarkably reduced cell viability, self-renewal, migration and invasion and induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Treatment with TAK901 considerably inhibited GBM growth in vivo. RNA-seq and RT-qPCR analyses showed that TAK901 downregulated the expression and activation of SREBP1. Moreover, SREBP1 overexpression alleviated the TAK901-mediated suppression of cell viability and apoptosis in GBM cells. Our results provide evidence that TAK901 inhibits GBM growth by suppressing SREBP1-mediated lipid metabolism.

Review for carrageenan-based pharmaceutical biomaterials: favourable physical features versus adverse biological effects.

Carrageenan (CRG) is a family of natural polysaccharides derived from seaweeds and has widely been used as food additives. In the past decade, owing to its attractive physicochemical properties, CRG has been developed into versatile biomaterials vehicles for drug delivery. Nevertheless, studies also emerged to reveal its adverse effects on the biological system. In this review, we critically appraise the latest literature (two thirds since 2008) on the development of CRG-based pharmaceutical vehicles and the perspective of using CRG for broader biomedical applications. We focus on how current strategies exploit the unique gelling mechanisms, strong water absorption and abundant functional groups of the three major CRG varieties. Notably, CRG-based matrices are demonstrated to increase drug loading and drug solubility, enabling release of orally administrated drugs in zero-order or in a significantly prolonged period. Other amazing features, such as pH-sensitivity and adhesive property, of CRG-based formulations are also introduced. Finally, we discuss the adverse influence of CRG on the human body and then suggest some future directions for the development of CRG-based biomaterials for broader applications in biomedicine.

Targeted depletion of tumour-associated macrophages by an alendronate-glucomannan conjugate for cancer immunotherapy.

Tumour-associated macrophages (TAMs) are a set of macrophages residing in the tumour microenvironment. They play essential roles in mediating tumour angiogenesis, metastasis and immune evasion. Delivery of therapeutic agents to eliminate TAMs can be a promising strategy for cancer immunotherapy but an efficient vehicle to target these cells is still in pressing need. In this study, we developed a bisphosphonate-glucomannan conjugate that could efficiently target and specifically eliminate TAMs in the tumour microenvironment. We employed the polysaccharide from Bletilla striata (BSP), a glucomannan affinitive for macrophages that express abundant mannose receptors, to conjugate alendronate (ALN), a bisphosphonate compound with in vitro macrophage-inhibiting activities. In both in vitro and in vivo tests, the prepared ALN-BSP conjugate could preferentially accumulate in macrophages and induced them into apoptosis. In the subcutaneous S180 tumour-bearing mice model, the treatment using ALN-BSP effectively eliminated TAMs, remarkably inhibited angiogenesis, recovered local immune surveillance, and eventually suppressed tumour progression, without eliciting any unwanted effect such as systematic immune response. Interestingly, ALN alone failed to exhibit any anti-TAM activity in vivo, probably because this compound was susceptible to the mildly acidic tumour microenvironment. Taken together, these results demonstrate the potential of ALN-BSP as a safe and efficient tool targeted at direct depletion of TAMs for cancer immunotherapy.