Revealing cholesterol effects on PEGylated HSPC liposomes using AF4-MALS and simultaneous small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering.

Liposome development is of great interest owing to increasing requirements for efficient drug carriers. The structural features and thermal stability of such liposomes are crucial in drug transport and delivery. Reported here are the results of the structural characterization of PEGylated liposomes via small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering and an asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) system coupled with differential refractive-index detection, multi-angle light scattering (MALS) and dynamic light scattering. This integrated analysis of the exemplar PEGylated liposome formed from hydrogenated soy phosphatid-yl-choline (HSPC) with the addition of cholesterol reveals an average hydro-dynamic radius (R h) of 52 nm with 10% polydispersity, a comparable radius of gyration (R g) and a major liposome particle mass of 118 kDa. The local bilayer structure of the liposome is found to have asymmetric electronic density profiles in the inner and outer leaflets, sandwiched by two PEGylated outer layers ca 5 nm thick. Cholesterol was found to effectively intervene in lipid chain packing, resulting in the thickening of the liposome bilayer, an increase in the area per lipid and an increase in liposome size, especially in the fluid phase of the liposome. These cholesterol effects show signs of saturation at cholesterol concentrations above ca 1:5 cholesterol:lipid molar ratio.

An early moderate recommendation for energy intake based on nutritional status and clinical outcomes in patients with cancer: A retrospective study.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated the nutritional status and clinical outcomes of patients with cancer based on their energy intake after nutritional recommendations. METHODS: This study was a retrospective study. Body weight, nutritional status, dietary intake, and clinical outcomes were collected from medical records. We assessed the data according to energy intake: <50% of the recommended intake was insufficient energy intake (IEI group), 50% to 79% was moderate energy intake (MEI group), and ≥80% was adequate energy intake (AEI group). RESULTS: A total of 111 patients with cancer were enrolled in the present study. After nutritional recommendation, the number of subjects in the IEI and MEI groups were significantly decreased as patients shifted to the after-AEI group (P < 0.01). A significantly high proportion of patients had lower malnutrition universal screening tool and patient-generated subjective global assessment scores in the after-AEI group (P < 0.01). Subjects in the after-MEI and after-AEI groups showed slight gains in body weight (P = 0.07) and positively correlated with the energy (ß = 0.05; P = 0.07) and protein intake (ß = 0.04; P = 0.01). Significantly low proportions of patients with cancer died during hospitalization in the after-MEI and after-AEI groups, but significantly high proportions of patients with cancer in the after-MEI and after-AEI groups reached their ideal body weight (P = 0.03) compared with that in the after-IEI group. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with cancer who comply with a moderate energy intake recommendation (50%-79%) within at least 28 d may limit body weight decrease and improve nutritional status and clinical outcomes.

Coenzyme Q10 and Oxidative Stress: Inflammation Status in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients after Surgery.

(1) Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, and surgical resection is the main treatment for HCC. To date, no published study has examined the status of coenzyme Q10 in patients with HCC after surgery. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the correlations between the level of coenzyme Q10, oxidative stress, and inflammation in patients with HCC after surgery; (2) Methods: 71 primary HCC patients were recruited. Levels of coenzyme Q10, vitamin E, oxidative stress (malondialdehyde), antioxidant enzymes activity (superoxidase dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase), and inflammatory markers (high sensitivity C-reactive protein; tumor necrosis factor-α; and interleukin-6) were measured; (3) Results: Patients with HCC had a significantly lower levels of coenzyme Q10 (p = 0.01) and oxidative stress (p < 0.01), and significantly higher levels of antioxidant enzymes activities and inflammation after surgery (p < 0.05). The level of coenzyme Q10 was significantly positively correlated with antioxidant capacity (vitamin E and glutathione peroxidase activity) and negatively correlated with inflammation markers after surgery; (4) Conclusion: Hepatocarcinogenesis is associated with oxidative stress, and coenzyme Q10 may be considered an antioxidant therapy for patients with HCC, particularly those with higher inflammation after surgery.

Effects of coenzyme Q10 supplementation on antioxidant capacity and inflammation in hepatocellular carcinoma patients after surgery: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: It has been reported that higher levels of oxidative stress and inflammation play a key role in the progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) after surgery. Coenzyme Q10 is an endogenous lipid-soluble antioxidant. To date, no intervention study has investigated coenzyme Q10 supplementation in HCC patients after surgery. The purpose of this study was to investigate oxidative stress, antioxidant enzymes activity, and inflammation levels in HCC patients after surgery following administration of coenzyme Q10 (300 mg/day). METHODS: This study was designed as a single-blinded, randomized, parallel, placebo-controlled study. Patients who were diagnosed with primary HCC (n = 41) and were randomly assign to a placebo (n = 20) or coenzyme Q10 (300 mg/day, n = 21) group after surgery. The intervention lasted for 12 weeks. Plasma coenzyme Q10, vitamin E, oxidative stress antioxidant enzymes activity and inflammatory markers levels were measured. RESULTS: The oxidative stress (p = 0.04) and inflammatory markers (hs-CRP and IL-6, p < 0.01) levels were significantly decreased, and the antioxidant enzymes activity was significantly increased (p < 0.01) after 12 weeks of coenzyme Q10 supplementation. In addition, the coenzyme Q10 level was significantly negatively correlated with the oxidative stress (p = 0.01), and positively correlated with antioxidant enzymes activity (SOD, p = 0.01; CAT, p < 0.05; GPx, p = 0.04) and vitamin E level (p = 0.01) after supplementation. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we demonstrated that a dose of 300 mg/d of coenzyme Q10 supplementation significantly increased the antioxidant capacity and reduced the oxidative stress and inflammation levels in HCC patients after surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials.gov Identifier: NCT01964001.