Precision-engineered PEGylated liposome for dual payload delivery: enhancing efficacy of Doxorubicin hydrochloride and miR-145 mimics in breast cancer cells.

Micro-145 down-regulation is frequently found in breast cancers, indicating its potential as a therapeutic target. The introduction of exogenous miR-145 directly to the tumor sites has been a hurdle due to limited delivery, low bioavailability, and hence lower therapeutic efficacy. Thus, this study aims to synthesize and characterize PEGylated liposome co-loaded with Dox-HCl and miR-145 mimics to investigate its in-vitro anti-proliferative activity against MDA-MB-231 cells. The formulations were developed using a composite central design to optimize nanoparticle size and encapsulation efficiency (EE%) of Dox-HCl and miR-145 mimics. The optimized formulation exhibited the highest desirability function (D = 0.814) and displayed excellent stability over 60 days at 4 °C, maintaining a stable nanoparticle size and zeta potential, with relative EE% of Dox-HCl and miR-145 mimics on the final incubation day 94.97 ± 0.53% and 51.96 ± 2.67%, respectively. The system displayed a higher rate of drug release within 4 h of incubation at an acidic condition. Additionally, the optimized formulation demonstrated a higher toxicity (IC50 = 0.58 µM) against MDA-MB-231 cells than the free Dox- HCl and miR-145 regimen (IC50 = 1.00 µM). Our findings suggest that PEGylated liposome is tunable for effective concurrent delivery of anticancer drugs and therapeutic miRNAs into tumor cells, necessitating further investigation.

Novel Detoxifier of Spironolactone Against Triptolide-induced Hepatotoxicity through Inhibition of RPB1 Degradation.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Triptolide is a major bioactive and toxic ingredient isolated from the traditional Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii (T. wilfordii) Hook F. It exhibits potent antitumor, immunosuppressive, and anti-inflammatory biological activities; however, its clinical application is hindered by severe systemic toxicity. Two preparations of T. wilfordii, including T. wilfordii glycoside tablets and T. wilfordii tablets, containing triptolide, are commonly used in clinical practice. However, their adverse side effects, particularly hepatotoxicity, limit their safe use. Therefore, it is crucial to discover potent and specific detoxification medicines for triptolide. AIM OF THE STUDY: This study aimed to investigate the detoxification effects and potential mechanism of action of spironolactone on triptolide-induced hepatotoxicity to provide a potential detoxifying strategy for triptolide, thereby promoting the safe applications of T. wilfordii preparations in clinical settings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cell viability was assessed using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and crystal violet staining. Nuclear fragmentation was visualized using 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining, and protein expression was analyzed by Western blotting. The inhibitory effect of spironolactone on triptolide-induced hepatotoxicity was evaluated by examining the effects of spironolactone on serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels, as well as liver pathology in a mouse model of triptolide-induced acute hepatotoxicity. Furthermore, a survival assay was performed to investigate the effects of spironolactone on the survival rate of mice exposed to a lethal dose of triptolide. The effect of spironolactone on triptolide-induced global transcriptional repression was assessed through 5-ethynyl uridine staining. RESULTS: Triptolide treatment decreased the cell viability, increased the nuclear fragmentation and the cleaved caspase-3 levels in both hepatoma cells and hepatocytes. It also increased the alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels, induced the hepatocyte swelling and necrosis, and led to seven deaths out of 11 mice. The above effects could be mitigated by pretreatment with spironolactone. Additionally, molecular mechanism exploration unveiled that spironolactone inhibited triptolide-induced DNA-directed RNA polymerase II subunit RPB1 degradation, consequently increased the fluorescence intensity of 5-ethynyl uridine staining for nascent RNA. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that spironolactone exhibits a potent detoxification role against triptolide hepatotoxicity, through inhibition of RPB1 degradation induced by triptolide and, in turn, retardation of global transcriptional inhibition in affected cells. These findings suggest a potential detoxification strategy for triptolide that may contribute to the safe use of T. wilfordii preparations.

Emerging Applications and Regulatory Strategies for Advanced Medicines Manufacturing - Towards the Development of a Platform Approach.

The last decade has seen Advanced Medicines Manufacturing (AMM) progress from isolated product developments to the creation of industry-academic centres of excellence, regulatory innovation progressing leading to new standards, and product commercialisation across multiple product formats. This paper examines these developments focusing on successful applications and strategies presented at the 2023 Symposium of the International Consortium for Advanced Medicines Manufacturing (ICAMM). Despite these exemplar applications, there remain significant challenges to the sector-wide adoption of AMM technologies. Drawing on Symposium delegate expert responses to open-ended questions, our coding-based thematic analysis suggest three primary enablers drive successful adoption of AMM technologies at scale, namely: the ability to leverage pre-competitive collaborations to challenge-based problem solving; information and knowledge sharing through centres of excellence; and the development of AMM specific regulatory standards. Further analysis of expert responses identified the emergence of a 'Platform creation' approach to AMM innovation; characterised by: i) New collaboration modes; ii) Exploration of common product-process platforms for new dosage forms and therapy areas; iii) Development of modular equipment assets that enable scale-out, and offer more decentralized or distributed manufacturing models; iv) Standards based on product-process platform archetypes; v) Implementation strategies where platform-thinking and AMM technologies can significantly reduce timelines between discovery, approval and GMP readiness. We provide a definition of the Platform creation concept for AMM and discuss the requirements for its systematic development.

A network of regulatory innovations to improve FDA quality assessments of human drug applications.

A network of regulatory innovations brings a holistic approach to improving the submission, assessment, and lifecycle management of pharmaceutical quality information in the U.S. This dedicated effort in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) aims to enhance the quality assessment of submissions for new drugs, generic drugs, and biological products including biosimilars. These regulatory innovations include developing or contributing: (i) the Knowledge-Aided Assessment and Structured Application (KASA), (ii) a new common technical document for quality (ICH M4Q(R2)), (iii) structured data on Pharmaceutical Quality/Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (PQ/CMC), (iv) Integrated Quality Assessment (IQA), (v) the Quality Surveillance Dashboard (QSD), and (vi) the Established Conditions tool from the ICH Q12 guideline. The innovations collectively drive CDER toward a more coordinated, effective, and efficient quality assessment. Improvements are made possible by structured regulatory submissions, a systems approach to quality risk management, and data-driven decisions based on science, risk, and effective knowledge management. The intended result is better availability of quality medicines for U.S. patients.

Short Fragmented Peptides from Pardachirus Marmoratus Exhibit Stronger Anticancer Activities in In Silico Residue Replacement and Analyses.

BACKGROUND: Cancer is a worldwide issue. It has been observed that conventional therapies face many problems, such as side effects and drug resistance. Recent research reportedly used marine-derived products to treat various diseases and explored their potential in treating cancers. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to discover short-length anticancer peptides derived from pardaxin 6 through an in silico approach. METHODS: Fragmented peptides ranging from 5 to 15 amino acids were derived from the pardaxin 6 parental peptide. These peptides were further replaced with one residue and, along with the original fragmented peptides, were predicted for their SVM scores and physicochemical properties. The top 5 derivative peptides were further examined for their toxicity, hemolytic probability, peptide structures, docking models, and energy scores using various web servers. The trend of in silico analysis outputs across 5 to 15 amino acid fragments was further analyzed. RESULTS: Results showed that when the amino acids were increased, SVM scores of the original fragmented peptides were also increased. Designed peptides had increased SVM scores, which was aligned with previous studies where the single residue replacement transformed the non-anticancer peptide into an anticancer agent. Moreover, in vitro studies validated that the designed peptides retained or enhanced anticancer effects against different cancer cell lines. Interestingly, a decreasing trend was observed in those fragmented derivative peptides. CONCLUSION: Single residue replacement in fragmented pardaxin 6 was found to produce stronger anticancer agents through in silico predictions. Through bioinformatics tools, fragmented peptides improved the efficiency of marine-derived drugs with higher efficacy and lower hemolytic effects in treating cancers.

Association of microRNA-21 expression with breast cancer subtypes and its potential as an early biomarker.

Breast cancer has become the most diagnosed cancer worldwide in 2020 with high morbidity and mortality rates. The alarming increase in breast cancer incidence has sprung many researchers to focus on developing novel screening tests to identify early breast cancer which will allow clinicians to provide timely and effective treatments. With much evidence supporting the notion that the deregulation of miRNAs (a class of non-coding RNA) greatly contributes to cancer initiation and progression, the promising role of miRNAs as cancer biomarkers is gaining traction in the research world. Among the upregulated miRNAs identified in breast carcinogenesis, miR-21 was shown to be significantly expressed in breast cancer tissues and bodily fluids of breast cancer patients. Therein, this review paper aims to provide an overview of breast cancer, the role and significance of miR-21 in breast cancer pathogenesis, and its potential as a breast cancer biomarker. The paper also discusses the current types of tumor biomarkers and their limitations, the presence of miR-21 in extracellular vesicles and plasma, screening methods available for miRNA detection along with some challenges faced in developing diagnostic miR-21 testing for breast cancer to provide readers with a comprehensive outlook based on using miR-21 in clinical settings.

Red Blood Cell Fatty Acid Profiles Are Significantly Altered in South Australian Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease Cases Compared to Matched Controls.

Nutritional imbalances have been associated with a higher risk for cognitive impairment. This study determined the red blood cell (RBC) fatty acid profile of newly diagnosed mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients compared to age and gender-matched controls. There was a significant increase in palmitic acid (p < 0.00001) for both MCI and AD groups. Saturated fatty acids were significantly elevated in the MCI group, including stearic acid (p = 0.0001), arachidic acid (p = 0.003), behenic acid (p = 0.0002), tricosanoic acid (p = 0.007) and lignoceric acid (p = 0.001). n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) were significantly reduced in MCI, including linoleic acid (p = 0.001), γ-linolenic acid (p = 0.03), eicosatrienoic acid (p = 0.009) and arachidonic acid (p < 0.00004). The n-3 PUFAs, α-linolenic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, were both significantly reduced in MCI and AD (p = 0.0005 and p = 0.00003). A positive correlation was evident between the Mini-Mental State Examination score and nervonic acid in MCI (r = 0.54, p = 0.01) and a negative correlation with γ-linolenic acid in AD (r = -0.43, p = 0.05). Differences in fatty acid profiles may prove useful as potential biomarkers reflecting increased risk for dementia.

MiRNAs Overexpression and Their Role in Breast Cancer: Implications for Cancer Therapeutics.

MicroRNAs have a plethora of roles in various biological processes in the cells and most human cancers have been shown to be associated with dysregulation of the expression of miRNA genes. MiRNA biogenesis involves two alternative pathways, the canonical pathway which requires the successful cooperation of various proteins forming the miRNA-inducing silencing complex (miRISC), and the non-canonical pathway, such as the mirtrons, simtrons, or agotrons pathway, which bypasses and deviates from specific steps in the canonical pathway. Mature miRNAs are secreted from cells and circulated in the body bound to argonaute 2 (AGO2) and miRISC or transported in vesicles. These miRNAs may regulate their downstream target genes via positive or negative regulation through different molecular mechanisms. This review focuses on the role and mechanisms of miRNAs in different stages of breast cancer progression, including breast cancer stem cell formation, breast cancer initiation, invasion, and metastasis as well as angiogenesis. The design, chemical modifications, and therapeutic applications of synthetic anti-sense miRNA oligonucleotides and RNA mimics are also discussed in detail. The strategies for systemic delivery and local targeted delivery of the antisense miRNAs encompass the use of polymeric and liposomal nanoparticles, inorganic nanoparticles, extracellular vesicles, as well as viral vectors and viruslike particles (VLPs). Although several miRNAs have been identified as good candidates for the design of antisense and other synthetic modified oligonucleotides in targeting breast cancer, further efforts are still needed to study the most optimal delivery method in order to drive the research beyond preclinical studies.

Chemotherapy: how to reduce its adverse effects while maintaining the potency?

Chemotherapy is one of the widely used anticancer treatments that involves the use of powerful cytotoxic drugs to stop tumor growth by targeting rapidly dividing cells through various mechanisms, which will be elucidated in this review. Introduced during the early twentieth century, chemotherapy has since lengthened the longevity of innumerable cancer patients. However, the increase in lifespan is at the expense of quality of life as patients are at risk of developing short-term and long-term side effects following chemotherapy, such as alopecia (hair loss), chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, cardiotoxicity, diarrhea, infertility, and chemo brain. Currently, a number of these chemotherapy-induced adverse effects are managed through supportive care and approved treatments, while the rest of the side effects are unavoidable. Hence, chemotherapeutic drugs associated with inevitable side effects are only administered when their therapeutic role outweighs their chemotoxicity, thus severely limiting the potency of chemotherapy in treating malignancy. Therein, the potential approaches to alleviating side effects of chemotherapy ranging from pharmaceutical drugs to alternative therapies will be discussed in this review in hopes of increasing the tolerance and effectiveness of future chemotherapeutic treatments.

FDA/M-CERSI Co-Processed API Workshop Proceedings.

These proceedings contain presentation summaries and discussion highlights from the University of Maryland Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation (M-CERSI) Workshop on Co-processed API, held on July 13 and 14, 2022. This workshop examined recent advances in the use of co-processed active pharmaceutical ingredients as a technology to improve drug substance physicochemical properties and drug product manufacturing process robustness, and explored proposals for enabling commercialization of these transformative technologies. Regulatory considerations were discussed with a focus on the classification, CMC strategies, and CMC documentation supporting the use of this class of materials from clinical studies through commercialization. The workshop format was split between presentations from industry, academia and the FDA, followed by breakout sessions structured to facilitate discussion. Given co-processed API is a relatively new concept, the authors felt it prudent to compile these proceedings to gain further visibility to topics discussed and perspectives raised during the workshop, particularly during breakout discussions. Disclaimer: This paper reflects discussions that occurred among stakeholder groups, including FDA, on various topics. The topics covered in the paper, including recommendations, therefore, are intended to capture key discussion points. The paper should not be interpreted to reflect alignment on the different topics by the participants, and the recommendations provided should not be used in lieu of FDA published guidance or direct conversations with the Agency about a specific development program. This paper should not be construed to represent FDA's views or policies.

Stability of Abuse-deterrent properties of PEO-based Abuse-deterrent formulation.

Abuse of opioid drug products is a national health crisis in the US. To deter abuse, a number of drug products with abuse-deterrent (AD) properties have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For abuse deterrence, it is critical to maintain the AD properties during the product shelf life. However, no information on the stability of AD properties during product shelf life is publicly available. In this study, stability of AD properties of surrogate AD formulation (ADF) of opioid active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) were studied. Surrogate extended release (ER) AD tablets were prepared by direct compression using Diltiazem HCl (model drug), polyethylene oxide (PEO WSR 301) polymer and magnesium stearate followed by curing at 70 °C for 30 mins. The stability studies were conducted at 25 °C/60 % RH and 40 °C/75 % RH storage conditions for 12 months (M) and 6 months (M), respectively. In vitro characterization and evaluation of AD properties of tablets were performed. As anticipated, the curing process increased the crushing strength of the tablets. However, the tablets could still be manipulated and compromised leading to an enhancement in the amount of drug extracted in solvents (e.g., water, alcohol), regardless of extraction temperature as well as tablet storage condition and time. Furthermore, the granule particle size as well as viscosity in water of manipulated samples were found to be lower for tablets stored at 25 °C/60 % RH or 40 °C/75 % RH for 12 M or 3 M/6M, respectively. The changes in AD properties eased the syringeability of hydrated samples and ultimately led to the withdrawal of higher amounts of drug into the syringe, thereby, impacting the abuse deterrence potential of the formulation by an IV route. These data demonstrated that the stability of AD properties (i.e., granule particle size, viscosity and syringeability-injectability) of PEO-based tablets was dependent on the storage condition. In conclusion, the design of AD formulation and setting of product quality profile should take into consideration the stability of AD properties during the product shelf life.

Association of CYP24A1 with survival and drug resistance in clinical cancer patients: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Acquired chemo-drug resistance constantly led to the failure of chemotherapy for malignant cancers, consequently causing cancer relapse. Hence, identifying the biomarker of drug resistance is vital to improve the treatment efficacy in cancer. The clinical prognostic value of CYP24A1 remains inconclusive, hence we aim to evaluate the association between CYP24A1 and the drug resistance in cancer patients through a meta-analysis approach. METHOD: Relevant studies detecting the expression or SNP of CYP24A1 in cancer patients up till May 2022 were systematically searched in four common scientific databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane library and ISI Web of Science. The pooled hazard ratios (HRs) indicating the ratio of hazard rate of survival time between CYP24A1high population vs CYP24A1low population were calculated. The pooled HRs and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to explore the association between CYP24A1's expression or SNP with survival, metastasis, recurrence, and drug resistance in cancer patients. RESULT: Fifteen studies were included in the meta-analysis after an initial screening according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. There was a total of 3784 patients pooled from all the included studies. Results indicated that higher expression or SNP of CYP24A1 was significantly correlated with shorter survival time with pooled HRs (95% CI) of 1.21 (1.12, 1.31), metastasis with pooled ORs (95% CI) of 1.81 (1.11, 2.96), recurrence with pooled ORs (95% CI) of 2.14 (1.45, 3.18) and drug resistance with pooled HRs (95% CI) of 1.42 (1.17, 1.68). In the subgroup analysis, cancer type, treatment, ethnicity, and detection approach for CYP24A1 did not affect the significance of the association between CYP24A1 expression and poor prognosis. CONCLUSION: Findings from our meta-analysis demonstrated that CYP24A1's expression or SNP was correlated with cancer progression and drug resistance. Therefore, CYP24A1 could be a potential molecular marker for cancer resistance.

Accurate reconstruction of viral genomes in human cells from short reads using iterative refinement.

BACKGROUND: After an infection, human cells may contain viral genomes in the form of episomes or integrated DNA. Comparing the genomic sequences of different strains of a virus in human cells can often provide useful insights into its behaviour, activity and pathology, and may help develop methods for disease prevention and treatment. To support such comparative analyses, the viral genomes need to be accurately reconstructed from a large number of samples. Previous efforts either rely on customized experimental protocols or require high similarity between the sequenced genomes and a reference, both of which limit the general applicability of these approaches. In this study, we propose a pipeline, named ASPIRE, for reconstructing viral genomes accurately from short reads data of human samples, which are increasingly available from genome projects and personal genomics. ASPIRE contains a basic part that involves de novo assembly, tiling and gap filling, and additional components for iterative refinement, sequence corrections and wrapping. RESULTS: Evaluated by the alignment quality of sequencing reads to the reconstructed genomes, these additional components improve the assembly quality in general, and in some particular samples quite substantially, especially when the sequenced genome is significantly different from the reference. We use ASPIRE to reconstruct the genomes of Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) from the whole-genome sequencing data of 61 nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) samples and provide these sequences as a resource for EBV research. CONCLUSIONS: ASPIRE improves the quality of the reconstructed EBV genomes in published studies and outperforms TRACESPipe in some samples considered.

Therapeutic Targeting of Overexpressed MiRNAs in Cancer Progression.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are non-coding RNAs involved in the modulation of various biological processes, and their dysregulation is greatly associated with cancer progression as miRNAs can act as either tumour suppressors or oncogenes, depending on their intended target, mechanism of actions, and expression levels. This review paper aims to shed light on the role of overexpressed miRNAs in cancer progression. Cancer cells are known to upregulate specific miRNAs to inhibit the expression of genes regulating the cell cycle, such as PTEN, FOXO1, SOX7, caspases, KLF4, TRIM8, and ZBTB4. Inhibition of these genes promotes cancer development and survival by inducing cell growth, migration, and invasion while evading apoptosis, which leads to poor cancer survival rates. Therefore, the potential of antisense miRNAs in treating cancer is also explored in this review. Antisense miRNAs are chemically modified oligonucleotides that can reverse the action of overexpressed miRNAs. Currently, the therapeutic potential of antisense miRNAs is being validated in both in vitro and in vivo models. Studies have shown that antisense miRNAs could slow down the progression of cancer while enhancing the action of conventional anticancer drugs. These findings provide hope for future oncologic care as this novel intervention is in the process of clinical translation.

The Potential of Plant-Derived Extracts and Compounds to Augment Anticancer Effects of Chemotherapeutic Drugs.

Plant extracts comprise a complex mixture of natural compounds with diverse biological activities including anticancer activities. This has made the use of plant extracts a trending strategy in cancer treatment. In addition, plants' active constituents such as polyphenols could confer protective effects on normal cells against damage by free radicals as well as lessen the toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs. Recently, many emerging studies revealed the combinatory uses of plant extracts and individual therapeutic compounds that could be a promising panacea in hampering multiple signaling pathways involved in cancer development and progression. Besides enhancing the therapeutic efficacy, this has also been proven to reduce the dosage of chemotherapeutic drugs used, and hence overcome multiple drug resistance and minimize treatment side effects. Notably, combined use of plant extracts with chemotherapeutics drugs was shown to enhance anticancer effects through modulating various signaling pathways, such as P13K/AKT, NF-κB, JNK, ERK, WNT/ß-catenin, and many more. Hence, this review aims to comprehensively summarize both In Vitro and In Vivo mechanisms of actions of well-studied plant extracts, such as Ganoderma Lucidum, Korean red ginseng, Garcinia sp., curcumin, and luteolin extracts in augmenting anticancer properties of the conventional chemotherapeutic drugs from an extensive literature search of recent publications.

Dosimetric advantages of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) with deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) technique in Halcyon Linac for left breast cancer treatment.

To evaluate the dosimetric advantages of incorporating the deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) technique into left breast cancer volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) treatment under Halcyon Linac and to investigate the correlation between mean heart dose (MHD) and distance from the heart to target volumes in left breast cancer VMAT treatment. Fifteen Post-lumpectomy, left-sided breast patients treated between January 2017 and October 2020 were selected. Two plans were generated for each patient using Eclipse treatment planning system (TPS) with the prescription of 50.4 Gy to planning target volume (PTV) breast and 58.8 Gy to PTV boost in 28 fractions. For each patient, DIBH and free breathing (FB) VMAT treatment plans under Halcyon Linac were generated. Dosimetric parameters, monitor unit and beam-on time of both DIBH and FB groups were compared. Three-dimensional distances from heart surface to each target volume were measured on computed tomography images using the TPS contouring tool and their correlation with MHD was evaluated by Pearson's correlation coefficient (r). Comparable target coverage was shown in both groups. Mean dose to heart, left anterior descending artery, and left ventricle in Halcyon-DIBH-VMAT group were significantly reduced by 0.49 Gy, 1.19 Gy, and 0.57 Gy, respectively, compared to Halcyon-FB-VMAT (p < 0.001). A significant lung dose reduction was also achieved in Halcyon-DIBH-VMAT group. There was also a strong negative correlation between MHD and distance from heart surface to PTV boost in both FB and DIBH group (r = -0.741, p < 0.001), but not observed for distance from heart surface to PTV breast. Incorporating DIBH into left breast cancer VMAT treatment under Halcyon Linac demonstrated significant cardiac and lung dose reduction. It was also demonstrated that MHD had a strong negative correlation with distance from heart surface to PTV boost but relatively independent of distance from heart surface to PTV breast. Recognizing the distance from the heart surface to PTV boost as the main factor in affecting MHD could potentially facilitate clinical treatment planning workflow and decision.

Epiregulin increases stemness-associated genes expression and promotes chemoresistance of non-small cell lung cancer via ERK signaling.

BACKGROUND: Chemoresistance often causes the failure of treatment and death of patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. However, there is still no resistance genes signature and available enriched signaling derived from a comprehensive RNA-Seq data analysis of lung cancer patients that could act as a therapeutic target to re-sensitize the acquired resistant cancer cells to chemo-drugs. Hence, in this study, we aimed to identify the resistance signature for clinical lung cancer patients and explore the regulatory mechanism. METHOD: Analysis of RNA-Seq data from clinical lung cancer patients was conducted in R studio to identify the resistance signature. The resistance signature was validated by survival time of lung cancer patients and qPCR in chemo-resistant cells. Cytokine application, small-interfering RNA and pharmacological inhibition approaches were applied to characterize the function and molecular mechanism of EREG and downstream signaling in chemoresistance regulation via stemness. RESULTS: The RTK and vitamin D signaling were enriched among resistance genes, where 6 genes were validated as resistance signature and associated with poor survival in patients. EREG/ERK signaling was activated by chemo-drugs in NSCLC cells. EREG protein promoted the NSCLC resistance to chemo-drugs by increasing stemness genes expression. Additionally, inhibition of EREG/ErbB had downregulated ERK signaling, resulting in decreased expression of stemness-associated genes and subsequently re-sensitized the resistant NSCLC cells and spheres to chemo-drugs. CONCLUSIONS: These findings revealed 6 resistance genes signature and proved that EREG/ErbB regulated the stemness to maintain chemoresistance of NSCLC via ERK signaling. Therefore, targeting EREG/ErbB might significantly and effectively resolve the chemoresistance issue.

An audit of pharmaceutical continuous manufacturing regulatory submissions and outcomes in the US.

Continuous manufacturing (CM) sends materials directly and continuously to the next step of a process, eliminating hold times and reducing processing times. The potential benefits of CM include improved product quality, reduced waste, lower costs, and increased manufacturing flexibility and agility. Some pharmaceutical manufacturers have been hesitant to adopt CM owing to perceived regulatory risks such as increased time to regulatory approval and market entry, more difficulty submitting postapproval changes, and higher inspectional scrutiny. An FDA self-audit of regulatory submissions in the U.S. examined the outcomes, at approval and during the product lifecycle, of continuous manufacturing applications as compared to traditional batch applications. There were no substantial regulatory barriers identified for CM applications related to manufacturing process changes or pre-approval inspections. CM applicants had relatively shorter times to approval and market as compared to similar batch applications, based on the mean or median times to approval (8 or 3 months faster) and marketing (12 or 4 months faster) from submission, translating to an estimated $171-537 M in early revenue benefit.

An advanced automation platform coupled with mass spectrometry for investigating in vitro human skin permeation of UV filters and excipients in sunscreen products.

RATIONALE: Systemic absorption of UV-filtering chemicals following topical application of sunscreens may present a safety concern. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had recommended an in vitro skin permeation test (IVPT) to evaluate the potential of this safety risk for the evaluation of sunscreens prior to clinical studies. Therefore, a sensitive and robust bioanalytical method(s) were required for IVPT studies of different topical sunscreen products. METHODS: An analytical procedure to quantitate sunscreen UV-filtering components and excipients in IVPT samples including avobenzone, octocrylene, oxybenzone, ecamsule, methylparaben and propylparaben was developed employing a RapidFire 360 robotic sample delivery system coupled with a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. The analytical procedure was developed and validated according to the requirements of the FDA Bioanalytical Method Validation Guidance for Industry (2018). RESULTS: The analytical method provided a turnaround time of 12 seconds per sample and was determined to be accurate, precise, specific, and linear over the corresponding analytical ranges. The validated method was successfully applied for two IVPT studies for evaluating the skin permeation potential of UV-filtering chemicals and assisting with the selection of the sunscreen products for the clinical study conducted by the FDA. CONCLUSIONS: This work highlights the first analytical procedure that has applied a non-chromatographic-MS/MS automation platform to an in vitro biopharmaceutics study. The analytical platform simultaneously quantitated four UV filters and two excipients in complex media to evaluate their permeation in IVPT studies. The sample throughput and analytical performance of advanced automation platforms indicate their analytical procedure has the potential to significantly advance the efficiency of IVPT studies to evaluate permeation of a wide variety of UV chemical filters and excipients for topical OTC sunscreen products.