Multifunctional Nanoplatform Based on Sunitinib for Synergistic Phototherapy and Molecular Targeted Therapy of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a tumor that poses a serious threat to human health, with an extremely low five-year survival rate due to its difficulty in early diagnosis and insensitivity to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. To improve the therapeutic efficiency of HCC, we developed a novel multifunctional nanoplatform (SCF NPs) with an amphiphilic polymer (Ce6-PEG2000-FA) and a multitarget tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib. SCF NPs showed superior therapeutical efficiency for HCC due to the synergetic effect of molecular targeted therapy and phototherapy. The Ce6-PEG2000-FA not only serves as a nanocarrier with excellent biocompatibility but also can act as a therapeutic reagent for photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT). Furthermore, the folic acid group of Ce6-PEG2000-FA enhanced the active targeting performance of SCF NPs. As a multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor, sunitinib in SCF NPs can play a role in molecular targeted therapies, including tumor growth inhibition and anti-angiogenesis. In vivo experiments, SCF NPs showed multimode imaging capabilities, which can be used for tumorous diagnosis and intraoperative navigation. Meanwhile, SCF NPs showed outstanding synergetic tumor inhibition ability. Tumors of SCF NPs group with laser radiation were eradicated without any recrudescence after 14 days of treatment. Such theranostic nanoparticles offer a novel therapeutic tactic for HCC.

Clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 in Gansu province, China.

BACKGROUND: The novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has outbreak in the world. Little is known about the clinical characteristics of patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection in the high-altitude region of China. We reported the clinical characteristics of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Gansu province, China. METHODS: In this retrospective study, patients with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were consecutively enrolled from January 21, 2020 to February 11, 2020. The information on the epidemiological, clinical characteristics, laboratory tests, radiological features on admission, treatment and outcome were obtained with the final follow-up of March 13, 2020. On the basis of the median length of hospital stay, patients were further analyzed in two groups (long- vs. short-hospital stay). RESULTS: Of the 86 patients of COVID-19 in 11 cities of Gansu Province, the median hospital stay was 14.0 days (interquartile rang, 11.0-19.0 days). In the overall cohort, the median age was 41.0 years (interquartile rang, 31.0-54.3 years), and 48 (55.8%) patients were female. Forty (46.5%) had a history of exposure to epidemic regions, but none exposed to the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan. Common symptoms included fever (41, 47.7%), and cough (37, 43.0%). On admission, 30 (34.9%) and 58 (67.4%) patients had leukopenia and lymphopenia. According to chest CT scans, 53 (66.3%) of 80 patients showed bilateral pneumonia, and 19 (23.8%) of 80 patients showed unilateral pneumonia. Of the 15 asymptomatic cases, 10 (66.6%) cases were found CT findings of pneumonia. Besides, there were 65 (75.6%) patients with mild and moderate type of COVID-19. All 86 patients received antiviral and traditional Chinese medicine therapy, 53 (61.6%) received antibacterial therapy, and 3 (3.5%) patients received invasive ventilator mechanical ventilation. The proportion of patients received antibiotic treatment in long-hospital stay group was significantly higher than that in the short-hospital stay group (P=0.045). As of March 13, 2020, 84 (97.7%) patients were discharged, and two (2.3%) cases died. CONCLUSIONS: In the Gansu province cohort of 86 patients of COVID-19, most patients were with mild or moderate type, and most asymptomatic cases showed CT imaging findings of SARS-CoV-2 related pneumonia.

[Molecular characterization of a HMG-CoA reductase gene from a rare and endangered medicinal plant, Dendrobium officinale].

The 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGR) catalyzes the conversion of HMG-CoA to mevalonate in mavalonic acid pathway, which is the first committed step for isoprenoid biosynthesis in plants. However, it still remains unclear whether HGMR gene plays a role in the isoprenoid biosynthesis in Dendrobium officinale, an endangered epiphytic orchid species. In the present study, a HMGR encoding gene, designed as DoHMGR1 (GenBank accession JX272632), was identified from D. officinale using the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) methods, for the first time. The full length cDNA of DoHMGR1 was 2 071 bp in length and encoded a 562-aa protein with a molecular weight of 59.73 kD and an isoelectric point (pI) of 6.18. The deduced DoHMGR1 protein, like other HMGR proteins, constituted four conserved domains (63-561, 147-551, 268-383 and 124-541) and two transmembrane motifs (42-64 and 85-107). Multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that DoHMGR1 had high identity (67%-89%) to a number of HMGR genes from various plants and was closely related to Vanda hybrid cultivar, rice and maize monocots. Real time quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis revealed that DoHMGR1 was expressed in the three included organs. The transcripts were the most abundant in the roots with 2.13 fold over that in the leaves, followed by that in the stems with 1.98 fold. Molecular characterization of DoHMGR1 will be useful for further functional elucidation of the gene involving in isoprenoid biosynthesis pathway in D. officinale.