Responsive ZIF-90 nanocomposite material: targeted delivery of 10-hydroxycamptothecine to enhance the therapeutic effect of colon cancer (HCT116) cells.

There is significant value in developing multifunctional drug delivery systems with high therapeutic efficiency for diagnosing and treating tumors. In this study, we synthesized the ATP-triggered and pH-sensitive material ZIF-90 using the liquid-phase diffusion method. This was done to load 10-hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT), and the FA-PEG-NH2 conjugate was synthesized through an amidation reaction. We further modified the HCPT@ZIF-90 nanocomposite by employing the Schiff base reaction to create the HCPT@ZIF-90-PEG-FA nanomaterial. Drug loading test results revealed a high HCPT drug loading of up to 22.3% by weight. In the drug release experiment, the cumulative drug release of HCPT@ZIF-90 nanomaterials in pH 5.4 and ATP solutions was the highest after 72 hours. The active targeted delivery of FA and the dual-responsive release of HCPT by ZIF-90 significantly enhanced the therapeutic effect of HCPT@ZIF-90-PEG-FA on human colon cancer cells (HCT116). In the cytotoxicity test, when 100 µg mL-1 of HCPT@ZIF-90-PEG-FA was incubated with cells, the cell survival rate was 16.61 ± 1.19%, significantly lower than that of the other experimental groups. This result indicates that HCPT@ZIF-90-PEG-FA exhibits excellent anti-tumor activity. Cell cycle experiments have shown that HCPT@ZIF-90-PEG-FA may inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells by blocking DNA synthesis and halting cell cycle progression. Cell uptake experiments showed that HCPT@ZIF-90-PEG-FA was mainly present in the cytoplasm of HCT1116 cells, indicating successful cellular entry of the drug to exert its therapeutic effect. In vivo experiments also demonstrated that HCPT@ZIF-90-PEG-FA nanomaterials can effectively eradicate HCT116 tumors. The utilization of the nano-drug carrier ZIF-90, along with the modification with PEG-FA, notably improved the therapeutic efficacy of HCPT. These results suggest that the system, with its active targeted delivery of FA and dual-responsive release of HCPT, could present a novel strategy for treating human colorectal cancer.

Crucial computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings of fallopian tubal tuberculosis for diagnosis: a retrospective study of 26 cases.

Background: Fallopian tubal tuberculosis (FTTB), which typically presents with non-specific clinical symptoms and mimics ovarian malignancies clinically and radiologically, often affects young reproductive females and can lead to infertility if not promptly managed. Early diagnosis by imaging modalities is crucial for initiating timely anti-tuberculosis (anti-TB) treatment. Currently, comprehensive radiological descriptions of this relatively rare disease are limited. We aimed to comprehensively investigate the computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics of FTTB in patients from the Kashi area, which has the highest incidence of TB in China, to extend radiologists' understanding of this disease. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study of 26 patients diagnosed with FTTB at the First People's Hospital of Kashi Area. All the patients underwent abdominal and pelvic contrast-enhanced CT examinations and/or pelvic contrast-enhanced MRI from January 2017 to June 2022. The imaging findings were evaluated in consensus by two experienced radiologists specialized in abdominal and pelvic imaging. The evaluated sites included the fallopian tubes, ovaries, peritoneum, mesentery, retroperitoneal nodes, and parailiac nodes. The patient characteristics are reported using descriptive statistics. The patient imaging results are presented as percentages. The normally distributed continuous variables are reported as the mean ± standard deviation (SD), and otherwise as the median with the interquartile range (IQR). Results: The median age of the patients was 27 years (IQR: 25-34 years). Bilateral involvement of the fallopian tubes was observed in all patients. The tubal wall appeared coarse with tiny intraductal nodules in 96% (25 of 26) of the patients. The mean CT value of the tubal contents was 34 Hounsfield units (HUs; SD: 3.3 HUs). Ascites was present in 92% (24 of 26) of the patients, with 20 patients showing encapsulated effusion. Among these patients, 20 exhibited the highest CT values of ascites (>20 HUs). Linear enhancement of the parietal peritoneum was observed in 88% (23 of 26) of the patients, of whom 22 had peritoneal nodules measuring a median diameter of 0.4 cm (IQR: 0.3-0.6 cm). Eight patients had retroperitoneal and parailiac nodal enlargement, of whom two showed nodal necrosis, and none displayed nodal calcification. Conclusions: FTTB is consistently accompanied by tuberculous peritonitis. FTTB typically presents with tubal dilation, and coarseness and nodules in the lumen, as well as intraductal caseous material and calcification. Tuberculous peritonitis exhibits high-density ascites, peritoneal adhesion, linear enhancement of the parietal peritoneum, and tiny peritoneal nodules. The co-occurrence of these features strongly suggests a diagnosis of FTTB.

Overexpressed N-fucosylation on the cell surface driven by FUT3, 5, and 6 promotes cell motilities in metastatic pancreatic cancer cell lines.

Pancreatic cancer is a highly malignant tumor of the digestive system. Previous studies have shown that abnormal cell surface glycosylation is associated with cancer metastasis, which suggests that glycosylation changes may open a new window for discovering metastasis-related pathways. In this study, we used a microarray with 55 lectins to screen for altered glycosylation between two metastatic pancreatic cancer lines (Capan-1 and Su.86.86) and two nonmetastatic pancreatic cancer lines (Panc-1 and MIA PaCa-2), and we further analyzed three lectins with high-binding activities (AAL, UEA-I, and PHA-E) in cell motility assays using these pancreatic cancer cells to detect whether blocking certain forms of cell surface glycosylation affects any processes associated with metastasis. As a result, we found that AAL, a fucose-specific lectin, has different binding patterns between metastatic pancreatic cancer and nonmetastatic pancreatic cancer lines and inhibits cell motility in metastatic pancreatic cancer cells. Furthermore, the N-fucosylation-related genes FUT3, 5, and 6 were found to be responsible for the elevated fucosylation in metastatic pancreatic cells through real-time PCR screening. In summary, our findings that the specific bindings of AAL on cell surfaces and highly expressed FUT3, 5, and 6 in metastatic pancreatic cancer cells, although preliminary, are encouraging, and our established combined method is also suitable for discovering metastasis-related mechanisms in other cancers.

EEF1D overexpression promotes osteosarcoma cell proliferation by facilitating Akt-mTOR and Akt-bad signaling.

BACKGROUND: Dysregulation of eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 delta (EEF1D) in cancers has been reported; however, the role and mechanisms of EEF1D in osteosarcoma remain poorly understood. The aim of this study is to investigate the expression and role of EEF1D in osteosarcoma and to elucidate its underlying mechanisms. METHODS: The expression of EEF1D in osteosarcomas and cell lines was evaluated by qRT-PCR, Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. EEF1D knockdown using small interfering RNA (siRNA) was employed to analyze the role of EEF1D in osteosarcoma cell proliferation and cell cycle progression. The host signaling pathways affected by EEF1D knockdown were detected using PathScan® intracellular signaling array kit. RESULTS: The expression of EEF1D was found to be up-regulated in human osteosarcoma tissues and cell lines. Its expression was positively correlated with Enneking stage and the tumor recurrence. EEF1D knockdown inhibited osteosarcoma cell proliferation, colony-forming ability, and cell cycle G2/M transition in vitro. In addition, EEF1D knockdown decreased the levels of phospho-Akt, phospho-mTOR, and phospho-Bad proteins. CONCLUSIONS: EEF1D is upregulated in osteosarcoma and plays a tumor promoting role by facilitating Akt-mTOR and Akt-Bad signaling pathways. Accordingly, EEF1D is a potential target for cancer therapy.

Lanthanum-Doped Chitosan Hydrogels Promote the Apoptosis of Melanoma Cells by Bcl-2/Bax Pathway.

The surgical resection of melanoma may cause skin wounds, and the remaining melanoma cells bring a great risk of tumor recurrence. To overcome the above problem, we for the first time constructed lanthanum-doped chitosan (La-CS) hydrogels with excellent wound healing and antitumor functions. The La element was uniformly dispersed within whole hydrogels, and part of La3+ ions reacted with CS to form La-CS complex. The complexation interaction between La3+ ions and CS significantly improve the La3+ release performances of La-CS hydrogels. The as-released La3+ ions from the composite hydrogels selectively inhibited the proliferation of B-16 melanoma cells, but showed lower toxic side effects to L929 skin fibroblast cells. Moreover, the La3+ ions triggered the apoptosis of B-16 cells through Bcl-2/Bax pathway, as confirmed by the Annexin Vand PI double staining, flow cytometry, and Western blot results. The in vivo tumor models of C57 mice revealed that the La-CS hydrogels had more significant relapse-inhibition effects on B-16 melanoma cells than the pure CS hydrogels. At the same time, the in vivo wound healing was accelerated by the multifunctional hydrogels. The exciting finding provides a critical and promising strategy in the construction of La-doped hydrogels for oncotherapy.

Role of Phosphorylated HDAC4 in Stroke-Induced Angiogenesis.

Acetylation or deacetylation of chromatin proteins and transcription factors is part of a complex signaling system that is involved in the control of neurological disorders. Recent studies have demonstrated that histone deacetylases (HDACs) exert protective effects in attenuating neuronal injury after ischemic insults. Class IIa HDAC4 is highly expressed in the brain, and neuronal activity depends on the nucleocytoplasmic shuttling of HDAC4. However, little is known about HDAC4 and its roles in ischemic stroke. In this study, we report that phosphorylation of HDAC4 was remarkably upregulated after stroke and blockade of HDAC4 phosphorylation with GÖ6976 repressed stroke-induced angiogenesis. Phosphorylation of HDAC4 was also increased in endothelial cells hypoxia model and suppression of HDAC4 phosphorylation inhibited the tube formation and migration of endothelial cells in vitro. Furthermore, in addition to the inhibition of angiogenesis, blockade of HDAC4 phosphorylation suppressed the expression of genes downstream of HIF-VEGF signaling in vitro and in vivo. These data indicate that phosphorylated HDAC4 may serve as an important regulator in stroke-induced angiogenesis. The protective mechanism of phosphorylated HDAC4 is associated with HIF-VEGF signaling, implicating a novel therapeutic target in stroke.

Exosomes secreted by human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells attenuate limb ischemia by promoting angiogenesis in mice.

INTRODUCTION: 'Patient-specific' induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are attractive because they can generate abundant cells without the risk of immune rejection for cell therapy. Studies have shown that iPSC-derived mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs) possess powerful proliferation, differentiation, and therapeutic effects. Recently, most studies indicate that stem cells exert their therapeutic effect mainly through a paracrine mechanism other than transdifferentiation, and exosomes have emerged as an important paracrine factor for stem cells to reprogram injured cells. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether exosomes derived from iMSCs (iMSCs-Exo) possess the ability to attenuate limb ischemia and promote angiogenesis after transplantation into limbs of mice with femoral artery excision. METHODS: Human iPSCs (iPS-S-01, C1P33, and PCKDSF001C1) were used to differentiate into iMSCs in a modified one-step method. iMSCs were characterized by flow cytometry and multipotent differentiation potential analysis. Ultrafiltration combined with a purification method was used to isolate iMSCs-Exo, and transmission electron microscopy and Western blotting were used to identify iMSCs-Exo. After establishment of mouse hind-limb ischemia with excision of femoral artery and iMSCs-Exo injection, blood perfusion was monitored at days 0, 7, 14, and 21; microvessel density in ischemic muscle was also analyzed. In vitro migration, proliferation, and tube formation experiments were used to analyze the ability of pro-angiogenesis in iMSCs-Exo, and quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used to identify expression levels of angiogenesis-related molecules in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) after being cultured with iMSCs-Exo. RESULTS: iPSCs were efficiently induced into iMSC- with MSC-positive and -negative surface antigens and osteogenesis, adipogenesis, and chondrogenesis differentiation potential. iMSCs-Exo with a diameter of 57 ± 11 nm and expressed CD63, CD81, and CD9. Intramuscular injection of iMSCs-Exo markedly enhanced microvessel density and blood perfusion in mouse ischemic limbs, consistent with an attenuation of ischemic injury. In addition, iMSCs-Exo could activate angiogenesis-related molecule expression and promote HUVEC migration, proliferation, and tube formation. CONCLUSION: Implanted iMSCs-Exo was able to protect limbs from ischemic injury via the promotion of angiogenesis, which indicated that iMSCs-Exo may be a novel therapeutic approach in the treatment of ischemic diseases.

Lectin RCA-I specifically binds to metastasis-associated cell surface glycans in triple-negative breast cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients often face a high risk of early relapse characterized by extensive metastasis. Previous works have shown that aberrant cell surface glycosylation is associated with cancer metastasis, suggesting that altered glycosylations might serve as diagnostic signatures of metastatic potential. To address this question, we took TNBC as an example and analyzed six TNBC cell lines, derived from a common progenitor, that differ in metastatic potential. METHODS: We used a microarray with 91 lectins to screen for altered lectin bindings to the six TNBC cell lines. Candidate lectins were then verified by lectin-based flow cytometry and immunofluorescent staining assays using both TNBC/non-TNBC cancer cells. Patient-derived tissue microarrays were then employed to analyze whether the staining of Ricinus communis agglutinin I (RCA-I), correlated with TNBC severity. We also carried out real-time cell motility assays in the presence of RCA-I. Finally, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/tandem spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was employed to identify the membrane glycoproteins recognized by RCA-I. RESULTS: Using the lectin microarray, we found that the bindings of RCA-I to TNBC cells are proportional to their metastatic capacity. Tissue microarray experiments showed that the intensity of RCA-I staining is positively correlated with the TNM grades. The real-time cell motility assays clearly demonstrated RCA-I inhibition of adhesion, migration, and invasion of TNBC cells of high metastatic capacity. Additionally, a membrane glycoprotein, POTE ankyrin domain family member F (POTEF), with different galactosylation extents in high/low metastatic TNBC cells was identified by LC-MS/MS as a binder of RCA-I. CONCLUSIONS: We discovered RCA-I, which bound to TNBC cells to a degree that is proportional to their metastatic capacities, and found that this binding inhibits the cell invasion, migration, and adhesion, and identified a membrane protein, POTEF, which may play a key role in mediating these effects. These results thus indicate that RCA-I-specific cell surface glycoproteins may play a critical role in TNBC metastasis and that the extent of RCA-I cell binding could be used in diagnosis to predict the likelihood of developing metastases in TNBC patients.

Discovering cancer biomarkers from clinical samples by protein microarrays.

Cancer biomarkers are of potential use in early cancer diagnosis, anticancer therapy development, and monitoring the responses to treatments. Protein-based cancer biomarkers are major forms in use, as they are much easier to be monitored in body fluids or tissues. For cancer biomarker discovery, high-throughput techniques such as protein microarrays hold great promises, because they are capable of global unbiased monitoring but with a miniaturized format. In doing so, novel and cancer type specific biomarkers can be systematically discovered at an affordable cost. In this review, we give a relatively complete picture on protein microarrays applied to clinical samples for cancer biomarker discovery, and conclude this review with the future perspectives.

Lectin microarrays: a powerful tool for glycan-based biomarker discovery.

Cell surfaces, especially mammalian cell surfaces, are heavily coated with complex poly- and oligosaccharides, and these glycans have been implicated in many functions, such as cell-to-cell communication, host-pathogen interactions and cell matrix interactions. Not surprisingly then, the aberrations of glycosylation are usually indicative of the onset of specific diseases, such as cancer. Therefore, glycans are expected to serve as important biomarkers for disease diagnosis and/or prognosis. Recent development of the lectin microarray technology has allowed researchers to profile the glycans in complex biological samples in a high throughput fashion. This relatively new tool is highly suitable for both live cell and cell lysate analyses and has the potential for rapid discovery of glycan-based biomarkers. In this review, we will focus on the basic concepts and the latest advances of lectin microarray technology. We will also emphasize the application of lectin microarrays for biomarker discovery, and then discuss the challenges faced by this technology and potential future directions. Based on the tremendous progress already achieved, it seems apparent that lectin microarrays will soon become an indispensible tool for glycosylation biomarker discovery.

Lectin Microarray: A Powerful Tool for Glycan Related Biomarker Discovery.

Glycosylation is one of the most important posttranslational modification processes, which is regulated by a large number of enzymes. Cell surface, especially mammalian cell surface is heavily coated with glycans. Cell surface glycans are highly related to cell-cell communication, host-pathogen interaction, cell matrix interaction and etc. The aberrations of glycosylation, either intercellular or intracellular, usually indicate the onset of certain diseases, such as cancer and cancer metastasis, thus could be used as biomarkers. Lectin microarray, by far, is the most powerful technologies for high-throughput glycan profiling and comparison. It is highly suitable for both live cell and cell lysate analysis and has the potential for high-throughput, low-cost and fast discovery of glycan related biomarkers. In this review, we will focus on the basic concept and the latest advances of lectin microarray technology. We will emphasize the application of lectin microarrays for biomarker discovery. We will also discuss the challenges that lectin microarrays are facing and the possible future directions. We strongly believe that lectin microarrays will soon become an indispensible and invaluable tool for glycosylation related biomarker discovery.