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Adoptive cell therapy with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T cells (CAR-Ts) has emerged as an innovative immunotherapy for hematological cancer treatment. However, the limited effect on solid tumors, complex processes, and excessive manufacturing costs remain as limitations of CAR-T therapy. Nanotechnology provides an alternative to the conventional CAR-T therapy. Owing to their unique physicochemical properties, nanoparticles can not only serve as a delivery platform for drugs but also target specific cells. Nanoparticle-based CAR therapy can be applied not only to T cells but also to CAR-natural killer and CAR-macrophage, compensating for some of their limitations. This review focuses on the introduction of nanoparticle-based advanced CAR immune cell therapy and future perspectives on immune cell reprogramming.
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Background@#/Aim: Abdominal ultrasonography (USG) is recommended as a surveillance test for high-risk groups for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to analyze the current status of the national cancer surveillance program for HCC in South Korea and investigate the effects of patient-, physician-, and machine-related factors on HCC detection sensitivity. @*Methods@#This multicenter retrospective cohort study collected surveillance USG data from the high-risk group for HCC (liver cirrhosis or chronic hepatitis B or C >40 years of age) at eight South Korean tertiary hospitals in 2017. @*Results@#In 2017, 45 experienced hepatologists or radiologists performed 8,512 USG examinations. The physicians had a mean 15.0±8.3 years of experience; more hepatologists (61.4%) than radiologists (38.6%) participated. Each USG scan took a mean 12.2±3.4 minutes. The HCC detection rate by surveillance USG was 0.3% (n=23). Over 27 months of follow-up, an additional 135 patients (0.7%) developed new HCC. The patients were classified into three groups based on timing of HCC diagnosis since the 1st surveillance USG, and no significant intergroup difference in HCC characteristics was noted. HCC detection was significantly associated with patient-related factors, such as old age and advanced fibrosis, but not with physician- or machine-related factors. @*Conclusions@#This is the first study of the current status of USG as a surveillance method for HCC at tertiary hospitals in South Korea. It is necessary to develop quality indicators and quality assessment procedures for USG to improve the detection rate of HCC.
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BACKGROUND@#Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres have been actively used in various pharmaceutical formulations because they can sustain active pharmaceutical ingredient release and are easy to administer into the body using a syringe. However, the acidic byproducts produced by the decomposition of PLGA cause inflammatory reactions in surrounding tissues, limiting biocompatibility. Magnesium hydroxide (MH), an alkaline ceramic, has attracted attention as a potential additive because it has an acid-neutralizing effect. @*METHODS@#To improve the encapsulation efficiency of hydrophilic MH, the MH particles were capped with hydrophobic ricinoleic acid (RA-MH). PLGA microspheres encapsulated with RA-MH particles were manufactured by the O/W method. To assess the in vitro cytotoxicity of the degradation products of PLGA, MH/PLGA, and RA-MH/PLGA microspheres, CCK-8 and Live/Dead assays were performed with NIH-3T3 cells treated with different concentrations of their degradation products. in vitro anti-inflammatory effect of RA-MH/PLGA microspheres was evaluated with quantitative measurement of pro-inflammatory cytokines. @*RESULTS@#The synthesized RA-MH was encapsulated in PLGA microspheres and displayed more than four times higher loading content than pristine MH. The PLGA microspheres encapsulated with RA-MH had an acid-neutralizing effect better than that of the control group. In an in vitro cell experiment, the degradation products obtained from RA-MH/PLGA microspheres exhibited higher biocompatibility than the degradation products obtained from PLGA microspheres. Additionally, the RA-MH/PLGA microsphere group showed an excellent anti-inflammatory effect. @*CONCLUSION@#Our results proved that RA-MH-encapsulated PLGA microspheres showed excellent biocompatibility with an anti-inflammatory effect. This technology can be applied to drug delivery and tissue engineering to treat various incurable diseases in the future.
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BACKGROUND@#Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres have been actively used in various pharmaceutical formulations because they can sustain active pharmaceutical ingredient release and are easy to administer into the body using a syringe. However, the acidic byproducts produced by the decomposition of PLGA cause inflammatory reactions in surrounding tissues, limiting biocompatibility. Magnesium hydroxide (MH), an alkaline ceramic, has attracted attention as a potential additive because it has an acid-neutralizing effect. @*METHODS@#To improve the encapsulation efficiency of hydrophilic MH, the MH particles were capped with hydrophobic ricinoleic acid (RA-MH). PLGA microspheres encapsulated with RA-MH particles were manufactured by the O/W method. To assess the in vitro cytotoxicity of the degradation products of PLGA, MH/PLGA, and RA-MH/PLGA microspheres, CCK-8 and Live/Dead assays were performed with NIH-3T3 cells treated with different concentrations of their degradation products. in vitro anti-inflammatory effect of RA-MH/PLGA microspheres was evaluated with quantitative measurement of pro-inflammatory cytokines. @*RESULTS@#The synthesized RA-MH was encapsulated in PLGA microspheres and displayed more than four times higher loading content than pristine MH. The PLGA microspheres encapsulated with RA-MH had an acid-neutralizing effect better than that of the control group. In an in vitro cell experiment, the degradation products obtained from RA-MH/PLGA microspheres exhibited higher biocompatibility than the degradation products obtained from PLGA microspheres. Additionally, the RA-MH/PLGA microsphere group showed an excellent anti-inflammatory effect. @*CONCLUSION@#Our results proved that RA-MH-encapsulated PLGA microspheres showed excellent biocompatibility with an anti-inflammatory effect. This technology can be applied to drug delivery and tissue engineering to treat various incurable diseases in the future.
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PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of oral health education on oral health knowledge, oral health behavior, and oral hygiene status of children from North Korea. METHODS: Participants were 32 North Korean children defectors (15 in the education group, 17 in the control group). The oral health education program, including theoretical training and toothbrush training, was done once a week for 4 weeks. Effects of the education program were assessed for oral health knowledge, oral health behavior, and oral hygiene status at pretest, 0, and 4 weeks after the intervention. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANCOVA with the SAS program. RESULTS: Children in the education group showed increased oral health knowledge and behavior over time compared to the control group and an improvement in oral hygiene status including significantly decreased S-PHP and Snyder test for oral micro-organism. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that oral health education is effective in improving oral health knowledge, oral health behavior and oral hygiene status. These improvements could lead to a better quality of life for North Korean children defectors.