Poly-γ-glutamic acid nanoparticles as adjuvant and antigen carrier system for cancer vaccination.

Vaccination is an innovative strategy for cancer treatment by leveraging various components of the patients' immunity to boost an anti-tumor immune response. Rationally designed nanoparticles are well suited to maximize cancer vaccination by the inclusion of immune stimulatory adjuvants. Also, nanoparticles might control the pharmacokinetics and destination of the immune potentiating compounds. Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) based nanoparticles (NPs), which have a natural origin, can be easily taken up by dendritic cells (DCs), which leads to the secretion of cytokines which ameliorates the stimulation capacity of T cells. The intrinsic adjuvant properties and antigen carrier properties of γ-PGA NPs have been the focus of recent investigations as they can modulate the tumor microenvironment, can contribute to systemic anti-tumor immunity and subsequently inhibit tumor growth. This review provides a comprehensive overview on the potential of γ-PGA NPs as antigen carriers and/or adjuvants for anti-cancer vaccination.

Curcumin-based nanotechnology approaches and therapeutics in restoration of autoimmune diseases.

Autoimmune diseases usually arise as a result of an aberrant immune system attack on normal tissues of the body, which leads to a cascade of inflammatory reactions. The immune system employs different types of protective and anti-inflammatory cells for the regulation of this process. Curcumin is a known natural anti-inflammatory agent that inhibits pathological autoimmune processes by regulating inflammatory cytokines and their associated signaling pathways in immune cells. Due to the unstable nature of curcumin and its susceptibility to either degradation, or metabolism into other chemical entities (i.e., metabolites), encapsulation of this agent into various nanocarriers would appear to be an appropriate strategy for attaining greater beneficial effects from curcumin as it pertains to immunomodulation. Many studies have focused on the design and development of curcumin nanodelivery systems (micelles, dendrimers, and diverse nanocarriers) and are summarized in this review in order to obtain greater insight into novel drug delivery systems for curcumin and their suitability for the management of autoimmune diseases.

Protective effects of saffron and its active components against oxidative stress and apoptosis in endothelial cells.

In this study, we investigated the role of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways in mediation of the protective effects of saffron extract, saffron essential oil, safranal and crocin on bovine aortic endothelial cells against oxidative injury. The viability of cells in response to H2O2-induced toxicity (0.4, 2 and 10 mM) was measured using resazurin assay in the presence or absence of saffron extract (2-40 µg/ml), saffron oil (2-40 µg/ml), safranal (2-40 µM) and crocin (2-40 µM). Dichlorodihydrofluorescin diacetate was used as an indicator for the amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells at the same concentrations of samples as the former test. In addition, propidium iodide staining of the fragmented DNA was performed to measure the level of apoptotic cells by the application of 2-10 µM of crocin and safranal. Finally, the proteins involved in apoptosis were detected using western blotting at the concentration of 0, 2, 10 µM for crocin and safranal. The results indicated that all tested moieties improved viability and reduced ROS production in H2O2-treated cells (p < 0.001 compared to H2O2). In addition, a significant decrease in apoptosis (3-35%) was observed in the cells that were treated with crocin and safranal. The observed protective effects of crocin and safranal were associated with the activation of SAPK/JNK and inhibition of ERK ½ that are related to MAPK pathways. The antioxidant and anti-apoptotic activities of saffron and its ingredients in endothelial cells are mediated via MAPK signaling pathways and might be of therapeutic potential for endothelial dysfunctionalities.