Translocator Protein 18 kDa (TSPO): A Promising Molecular Target for Image-Guided Surgery of Solid Cancers.

The translocator protein 18-kDa (TSPO) is a mitochondrial membrane protein that is previously identified as the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR). Furthermore, it plays a significant role in a diverse range of biochemical processes, including steroidogenesis, mitochondrial cholesterol transport, cell survival and death, cell proliferation, and carcinogenesis. Several investigations also reported its roles in various types of cancers, including colorectal, brain, breast, prostate, and lung cancers, as well as melanoma. According to a previous study, the expression of TSPO was upregulated in cancer cells, which corresponds to an aggressive phenotype and/or poor prognosis. Consequently, the potential for crafting diagnostic and prognostic tools with a focus on TSPO holds great potential. In this context, several radioligands designed to target this protein have been identified, and some of the candidates have advanced to clinical trials. In recent years, the use of hybrid probes with radioactive and fluorescence molecules for image-guided surgery has exhibited promising results in animal and human studies. This indicates that the approach can serve as a valuable surgical navigator during cancer surgery. The current hybrid probes are built from various molecular platforms, including small molecules, nanoparticles, and antibodies. Although several TSPO-targeted imaging probes have been developed, their development for image-guided surgery of cancers is still limited. Therefore, this review aims to highlight recent findings on the involvement of TSPO in carcinogenesis, as well as provide a new perspective on the potential application of TSPO-targeted hybrid probes for image-guided surgery.

Molecular Mechanism of Natural Food Antioxidants to Regulate ROS in Treating Cancer: A Review.

Cancer is the second-highest mortality rate disease worldwide, and it has been estimated that cancer will increase by up to 20 million cases yearly by 2030. There are various options of treatment for cancer, including surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. All of these options have damaging adverse effects that can reduce the patient's quality of life. Cancer itself arises from a series of mutations in normal cells that generate the ability to divide uncontrollably. This cell mutation can happen as a result of DNA damage induced by the high concentration of ROS in normal cells. High levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can cause oxidative stress, which can initiate cancer cell proliferation. On the other hand, the cytotoxic effect from elevated ROS levels can be utilized as anticancer therapy. Some bioactive compounds from natural foods such as fruit, vegetables, herbs, honey, and many more have been identified as a promising source of natural antioxidants that can prevent oxidative stress by regulating the level of ROS in the body. In this review, we have highlighted and discussed the benefits of various natural antioxidant compounds from natural foods that can regulate reactive oxygen species through various pathways.

Lutetium-177-Labeled Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen-617 for Molecular Imaging and Targeted Radioligand Therapy of Prostate Cancer.

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) represents a promising target for PSMA-overexpressing diseases, especially prostate cancer-a common type of cancer among men worldwide. In response to the challenges in tackling prostate cancers, several promising PSMA inhibitors from a variety of molecular scaffolds (e.g., phosphorous-, thiol-, and urea-based molecules) have been developed. In addition, PSMA inhibitors bearing macrocyclic chelators have attracted interest due to their favorable pharmacokinetic properties. Recently, conjugating a small PSMA molecule inhibitor-bearing 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) chelator, as exemplified by [177Lu]Lu-PSMA-617 could serve as a molecular imaging probe and targeted radioligand therapy (TRT) of metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Hence, studies related to mCRPC have drawn global attention. In this review, the recent development of PSMA ligand-617-labeled with 177Lu for the management of mCRPC is presented. Its molecular mechanism of action, safety, efficacy, and future direction are also described.

Indonesian marine and its medicinal contribution.

The archipelagic country of Indonesia is populated by the densest marine biodiversity in the world which has created strong global interest and is valued by both Indigenous and European settlements for different purposes. Nearly 1000 chemicals have been extracted and identified. In this review, a systematic data curation was employed to collate bioprospecting related manuscripts providing a comprehensive directory based on publications from 1988 to 2022. Findings with significant pharmacological activities are further discussed through a scoping data collection. This review discusses macroorganisms (Sponges, Ascidian, Gorgonians, Algae, Mangrove) and microorganism (Bacteria and Fungi) and highlights significant discoveries, including a potent microtubule stabilizer laulimalide from Hyattella sp., a prospective doxorubicin complement papuamine alkaloid from Neopetrosia cf exigua, potent antiplasmodial manzamine A from Acanthostrongylophora ingens, the highly potent anti trypanosomal manadoperoxide B from Plakortis cfr. Simplex, mRNA translation disrupter hippuristanol from Briareum sp, and the anti-HIV-1 (+)-8-hydroxymanzamine A isolated from Acanthostrongylophora sp. Further, some potent antibacterial extracts were also found from a limited biomass of bacteria cultures. Although there are currently no examples of commercial drugs from the Indonesian marine environment, this review shows the molecular diversity present and with the known understudied biodiversity, reveals great promise for future studies and outcomes.

New hybrid radio-fluorescent probes [131I]-BPF-01 and [131I]-BPF-02 for visualisation of cancer cells: Synthesis and preliminary in vitro and ex vivo evaluations.

We synthesised and biologically evaluated two new hybrid probes [131I]BPF-01 and [131I]BPF-02 which were built from three structural entities: benzothiazole-phenyl, fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC), and iodine-131. These probes were designed for potential applications in assisting surgical procedures of solid cancers. The cytotoxicity study demonstrated that fluorescent probes BPF-01 (31.23 µg/mL) and BPF-02 (250 µg/mL) were relatively not toxic to normal immortalized human keratinocytes (HaCaT) cells, as indicated by the percentage of cell survival above 50 %. Furthermore, both probes displayed low to moderate anticancer activity against the breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231) and prostate cancer cells (LNCaP and DU-145). The probe BPF-01 apparently showed an accumulation in the tumour tissues, as suggested by ex vivo fluorescence examinations. In addition, the cellular uptake study suggests that hybrid probe [131I]-BPF-01 was potentially accumulated in the MCF-7 cell line with the highest uptake of 16.11 ± 1.52 % after 2 h of incubation, approximately 50-fold higher than the accumulation of iodine-131 (control). The magnetic bead assay suggests that [131I]-BPF-02 and [131I]-BPF-02 showed a promising capability to interact with translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO). Moreover, the computational data showed that the binding scores for ligands 7-8, BPF-01 and BPF-02, and [131I]-BPF-01 and [131I]-BPF-02 in the TSPO were considerably high. Accordingly, fluorescent probes BPF-01 and BPF-02, and hybrid probes [131I]BPF-01 and [131I]BPF-02 can be further developed for targeting cancer cells during intraoperative tumour surgery.

Anti-cancer bioprospecting on medicinal plants from Indonesia: A review.

The Indonesian archipelago is home to the second largest biodiversity in the world and is inhabited by more than 300 ethnic groups with a total population of more than 270 million. The indigenous population still rely on traditional medicine practices, especially the use of plant-based remedies. Although modern science-based exploration on Indonesian medicinal plants started with the European settlement in the archipelago in the 16th century, it was not until the 1970's that the phytochemistry of Indonesian medicinal plants was recognized for its potency. The need for new cancer cures to increase the quality of human life has led to the bioprospecting of medicinal plants including those of Indonesian origin. Despite published reports on the anticancer potency of Indonesian medicinal plants, to date there has been no comprehensive review on this topic. In this manuscript, we review the phytochemical and pharmacological studies on medicinal plants from Indonesia related to cancer therapy. Established databases (GARUDA, SciFinder, and PubMed) were used to collate data from 1990 to 2022, resulting in the description of 134 medicinal plants and their phytochemical and pharmacological properties including examples containing potent agents against breast, leukaemia, cervix, lung, and colon cancer cell lines based on in vitro bioassays and in vivo evaluation. These findings provide valuable insights into the bioprospecting of Indonesian medicinal plant providing directions for future studies, including the development of new therapeutics, both as botanicals or by using conventional dosage.

Synthesis and structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies of 1,2,3-triazole, amide, and ester-based benzothiazole derivatives as potential molecular probes for tau protein.

The pyridinyl-butadienyl-benzothiazole (PBB3 15) scaffold was used to develop tau ligands with improved in vitro and in vivo properties for imaging applications to provide insights into the etiology and characteristics of Alzheimer's disease. The photoisomerisable trans-butadiene bridge of PBB3 was replaced with 1,2,3-triazole, amide, and ester moieties and in vitro fluorescence staining studies revealed that triazole derivatives showed good visualisation of Aß plaques, but failed to detect the neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in human brain sections. However, NFTs could be observed using the amide 110 and ester 129. Furthermore, the ligands showed low to high affinities (Ki = >1.5 mM-0.46 nM) at the shared binding site(s) with PBB3.

Method development, validation, and impurity measurement of ß-estradiol from radiolabeled [131I]ß-estradiol using radio-high-performance liquid chromatography for radioligand of saturation binding assay.

ß-estradiol is an estrogen steroid hormone and acts as an estrogen receptor agonist. Radiolabeled ß-estradiol is widely used as a radioligand for binding assays. In this present study, the synthesis of [131I]ß-estradiol has been successfully carried out. Accordingly, the measurement of the radiochemical purity (RCP) value and the presence of chemical impurities are needed. To validate the method for identifying the RCP and chemical impurities from [131I]ß-estradiol using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The synthesis of [131I]ß-estradiol was accomplished by a radioiodination reaction, and the RCP was determined by radio-HPLC. The method for ß-estradiol measurement was validated by reversed-phase HPLC radio-analytical employing ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) and radioactive detector. The method for radio-HPLC analysis was validated and established using a C-18 column and MeCN: H2O (55:45 v/v) as the mobile phase. The following conditions were applied: a flow rate of 1.2 mL/min, isocratic, and a UV-Vis detector at 280 nm. The RCP of [131I]ß-estradiol measured by thin-layer chromatography and radio-HPLC was 99.27% ± 1.25% and 95.75% ± 2.41%, respectively. The validation parameters were appropriate and met the requirements for acceptance. HPLC analysis was able to identify the presence of unlabeled estradiol (24.51%-27.29%) in the mixture of [131I]ß-estradiol. As a result, purification using preparative HPLC or other methods will be required in future studies.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of New Fluorescent Probe BPN-01: A Model Molecule for Fluorescence Image-guided Surgery.

Fluorescence image-guided surgery (FIGS) can serve as a tool to achieve successful resection of tumour tissues during surgery, serving as a surgical navigator for surgeons. FIGS relies on the use of fluorescent molecules that can specifically interact with cancer cells. In this work, we developed a new model of fluorescent probe based on benzothiazole-phenylamide moiety featuring the visible fluorophore nitrobenzoxadiazole (NBD), namely BPN-01. This compound was designed and synthesised for potential applications in the tissue biopsy examination and ex-vivo imaging during FIGS of solid cancers. The probe BPN-01 exhibited favourable spectroscopic properties, particularly in nonpolar and alkaline solvents. Moreover, in vitro fluorescence imaging revealed that the probe appeared to recognise and be internalised in the prostate (DU-145) and melanoma (B16-F10) cancer cells, but not in the normal cells (myoblast C2C12). The cytotoxicity studies revealed that probe BPN-01 was not toxic to the B16 cells, suggesting excellent biocompatibility. Furthermore, the computational analysis showed that the calculated binding affinity of the probe to both translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) was considerably high. Hence, probe BPN-01 displays promising properties and may be valuable for visualising cancer cells in vitro. Furthermore, ligand 5 can potentially be labelled with NIR fluorophore and radionuclide, and serves as a dual imaging agent for in vivo applications.

Recent progress on the development of fluorescent probes targeting the translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO).

The translocator protein 18 kDa (TSPO) was first identified in 1997, and has now become one of the appealing subcellular targets in medicinal chemistry and its related fields. TSPO involves in a variety of diseases, covering neurodegenerative diseases, psychiatric disorders, cancers, and so on. To date, various high-affinity TSPO ligands labelled with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/positron emission tomography (PET) radionuclides have been reported, with some third-generation radioligands advanced to clinical trials. On the other hand, only a few number of TSPO ligands have been labelled with fluorophores for disease diagnosis. It is noteworthy that the majority of the TSPO fluorescent probes synthesised to date are based on visible fluorophores, suggesting that their applications are limited to in vitro studies, such as in vitro imaging of cancer cells, post-mortem analysis, and tissue biopsies examinations. In this context, the potential application of TSPO ligands can be broadened for in vivo investigations of human diseases by labelling with near-infrared (NIR)-fluorophores or substituting visible fluorophores with NIR-fluorophores on the currently developed fluorescent probes. In this review article, recent progress on fluorescent probes targeting the TSPO are summarised, with an emphasis on development trend in recent years and application prospects in the future.

Natural product-based radiopharmaceuticals: Focus on curcumin and its analogs, flavonoids, and marine peptides.

Natural products provide a bountiful supply of pharmacologically relevant precursors for the development of various drug-related molecules, including radiopharmaceuticals. However, current knowledge regarding the importance of natural products in developing new radiopharmaceuticals remains limited. To date, several radionuclides, including gallium-68, technetium-99m, fluorine-18, iodine-131, and iodine-125, have been extensively studied for the synthesis of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. The availability of various radiolabeling methods allows the incorporation of these radionuclides into bioactive molecules in a practical and efficient manner. Of the radiolabeling methods, direct radioiodination, radiometal complexation, and halogenation are generally suitable for natural products owing to their simplicity and robustness. This review highlights the pharmacological benefits of curcumin and its analogs, flavonoids, and marine peptides in treating human pathologies and provides a perspective on the potential use of these bioactive compounds as molecular templates for the design and development of new radiopharmaceuticals. Additionally, this review provides insights into the current strategies for labeling natural products with various radionuclides using either direct or indirect methods.

Preclinical Evaluation of Chicken Egg Yolk Antibody (IgY) Anti-RBD Spike SARS-CoV-2-A Candidate for Passive Immunization against COVID-19.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a substantial threat to the international health sector and the global economy. As of 26 December 2021, the number of mortalities resulting from COVID-19 exceeded 5.3 million worldwide. The absence of an effective non-vaccine treatment has prompted the quest for prophylactic agents that can be used to combat COVID-19. This study presents the feasibility of chicken egg yolk antibody (IgY) anti-receptor-binding domain (RBD) spike SARS-CoV-2 as a strong candidate to neutralize the virus for application in passive immunization. For the purpose of preclinical studies, we radiolabeled IgY anti-RBD spike SARS-CoV-2 with radionuclide iodine-131. This allowed us to evaluate several biological characteristics of IgY in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo. The preclinical data suggest that IgY anti-RBD spike SARS-CoV-2 could specifically bind to the SARS-CoV-2 antigens; however, little uptake was observed in normal cells (MRC-5) (<2%). Furthermore, the ex vivo biodistribution study revealed that IgY predominantly accumulated in the trachea of normal mice compared to other organs. We also found that IgY possessed a good safety profile when used as an intranasal agent. Taken together, we propose that IgY anti-RBD spike SARS-CoV-2 has the potential for application in passive immunization against COVID-19.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Novel Fluorescent Probes Targeting the 18-kDa Translocator Protein.

A series of fluorescent probes from the 6-chloro-2-phenylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-3-yl acetamides ligands featuring the 7-nitro-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl (NBD) moiety has been synthesized and biologically evaluated for their fluorescence properties and for their binding affinity to the 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO). Spectroscopic studies including UV/Vis absorption and fluorescence measurements showed that the synthesized fluorescent probes exhibit favorable spectroscopic properties, especially in nonpolar environments. In vitro fluorescence staining in brain sections from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-injected mice revealed partial colocalization of the probes with the TSPO. The TSPO binding affinity of the probes was measured on crude mitochondrial fractions separated from rat brain homogenates in a [11 C]PK11195 radioligand binding assay. All the new fluorescent probes demonstrated moderate to high binding affinity to the TSPO, with affinity (Ki ) values ranging from 0.58 nM to 3.28 µM. Taking these data together, we propose that the new fluorescent probes could be used to visualize the TSPO.

Anti-cancer Evaluation of Depsides Isolated from Indonesian Folious Lichens: Physcia millegrana, Parmelia dilatata and Parmelia aurulenta.

Cancer is a serious health burden on global societies. The discovery and development of new anti-cancer therapies remains a challenging objective. Although it has been shown that lichen secondary metabolites may be potent sources for new anti-cancer agents, the Indonesian- grown folious lichens, Physcia millegrana,Parmelia dilatata and Parmeila aurulenta, have not yet been explored. In this study exhaustive preparative high-performance liquid chromatography was employed to isolate the lichen constituents with spectroscopic and spectrometric protocols identifying nine depsides 9-17, including the new methyl 4-formyl-2,3-dihydroxy-6-methylbenzoate 13. The cytotoxicity of the depsides towards cancer cells was assessed using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The results indicated lowest toxicity of the depsides towards human A549 lung cancer cells. Importantly, the di-depsides (11, 12 and 17) showed greatest toxicity, indicating that these structures are biologically more active than the mono-depsides against the HepG2 liver cancer, A549 lung cancer and HL-60 leukemia cell lines.