Harnessing the Potential of CRISPR/Cas in Atherosclerosis: Disease Modeling and Therapeutic Applications.

Atherosclerosis represents one of the major causes of death globally. The high mortality rates and limitations of current therapeutic modalities have urged researchers to explore potential alternative therapies. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) system is commonly deployed for investigating the genetic aspects of Atherosclerosis. Besides, advances in CRISPR/Cas system has led to extensive options for researchers to study the pathogenesis of this disease. The recent discovery of Cas9 variants, such as dCas9, Cas9n, and xCas9 have been established for various applications, including single base editing, regulation of gene expression, live-cell imaging, epigenetic modification, and genome landscaping. Meanwhile, other Cas proteins, such as Cas12 and Cas13, are gaining popularity for their applications in nucleic acid detection and single-base DNA/RNA modifications. To date, many studies have utilized the CRISPR/Cas9 system to generate disease models of atherosclerosis and identify potential molecular targets that are associated with atherosclerosis. These studies provided proof-of-concept evidence which have established the feasibility of implementing the CRISPR/Cas system in correcting disease-causing alleles. The CRISPR/Cas system holds great potential to be developed as a targeted treatment for patients who are suffering from atherosclerosis. This review highlights the advances in CRISPR/Cas systems and their applications in establishing pathogenetic and therapeutic role of specific genes in atherosclerosis.

Hydroxychloroquine: Key therapeutic advances and emerging nanotechnological landscape for cancer mitigation.

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is a unique class of medications that has been widely utilized for the treatment of cancer. HCQ plays a dichotomous role by inhibiting autophagy induced by the tumor microenvironment (TME). Preclinical studies support the use of HCQ for anti-cancer therapy, especially in combination with conventional anti-cancer treatments since they sensitize tumor cells to drugs, potentiating the therapeutic activity. However, clinical evidence has suggested poor outcomes for HCQ due to various obstacles, including non-specific distribution, low aqueous solubility and low bioavailability at target sites, transport across tissue barriers, and retinal toxicity. These issues are addressable via the integration of HCQ with nanotechnology to produce HCQ-conjugated nanomedicines. This review aims to discuss the pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic and antitumor properties of HCQ. Furthermore, the antitumor performance of the nanoformulated HCQ is also reviewed thoroughly, aiming to serve as a guide for the HCQ-based enhanced treatment of cancers. The nanoencapsulation or nanoconjugation of HCQ with nanoassemblies appears to be a promising method for reducing the toxicity and improving the antitumor efficacy of HCQ.

Biological Activities of Snowdrop (Galanthus spp., Family Amaryllidaceae).

Snowdrop is an iconic early spring flowering plant of the genus Galanthus (Amaryllidaceae). Galanthus species (Galanthus spp.) are economically important plants as ornaments. Galanthus spp has gained significance scientific and commercial interest due to the discovery of Galanthamine as symptomatic treatment drug for Alzhiermer disease. This review aims to discuss the bioactivities of Galanthus spp including anticholinesterase, antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer potential of the extracts and chemical constituents of Galanthus spp. This review highlights that Galanthus spp. as the exciting sources for drug discovery and nutraceutical development.

Hummingbird-Leaves-Reared Black Soldier Fly Prepupae: Assessment of Nutritional and Heavy Metal Compositions.

Black soldier fly (BSF) larva is an attractive animal feed replacer due to its noticeable nutritional content. However, the conventional rearing method often resulted in BSF with undesirably high heavy metal residues that are harmful to animals. In this work, putrefied Sesbania grandiflora (S. Grandiflora) leaves were employed as feed to rear BSF larvae. The resultant BSF prepupae were found to contain 43.5% protein and 16.7% fat, reflecting a comparable protein content and a 2-fold reduction in crude fat than those reared using conventional kitchen waste. Moreover, high quantities of arginine (25.4 g/kg dry matter basis (DM)), carnitine (32.9 g/kg DM), and short-chain fatty acids, including lauric (40.00%), palmitic (19.20%), and oleic (12.10%) acids, have also been noticed in the BSF prepupae. Furthermore, the BSF larvae have been recorded with 0.185 mg/kg chromium, 0.380 mg/kg selenium, and mercury below the detection limit, which is far lower than those reared using conventional kitchen and agricultural wastes (≈1.7 mg/kg chromium, 1.2 mg/kg selenium, and 0.2 mg/kg mercury). Overall, the study shows that the nutritional quality of BSF prepupae is extensively improved when using S. Grandiflora as their feed. The resultant BSF prepupae may serve as an alternative feed for animal rearing.