The Role of Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Vascular Disease, Tumorigenesis, and Diabetes.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is known to be associated with a wide range of human pathologies, such as cancer, metabolic, and cardiovascular diseases. One of the possible ways of mitochondrial involvement in the cellular damage is excessive production of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) that cannot be effectively neutralized by existing antioxidant systems. In mitochondria, ROS and RNS can contribute to protein and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage causing failure of enzymatic chains and mutations that can impair mitochondrial function. These processes further lead to abnormal cell signaling, premature cell senescence, initiation of inflammation, and apoptosis. Recent studies have identified numerous mtDNA mutations associated with different human pathologies. Some of them result in imbalanced oxidative phosphorylation, while others affect mitochondrial protein synthesis. In this review, we discuss the role of mtDNA mutations in cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and atherosclerosis. We provide a list of currently described mtDNA mutations associated with each pathology and discuss the possible future perspective of the research.

Neurodegenerative Diseases Associated with Mitochondrial DNA Mutations.

Mitochondrial dysfunction underlies several human chronic pathologies, including cardiovascular disorders, cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. Impaired mitochondrial function associated with oxidative stress can be a result of both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. Neurological disorders associated with mtDNA mutations include mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia, neurogenic weakness, and Leigh syndrome. Moreover, mtDNA mutations were shown to play a role in the development of Parkinson and Alzheimer's diseases. In this review, current knowledge on the distribution and possible roles of mtDNA mutations in the onset and development of various neurodegenerative diseases, with special focus on Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases has been discussed.

High-effective reactive oxygen species inducer based on Mn-tetraphenylporphyrin loaded PLGA nanoparticles in binary catalyst therapy.

The mechanisms of binary catalyst therapy (BCT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) are based on the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). This ROS formation results from specific chemical reactions. In BCT, light exposure does not necessarily initiate ROS formation and BCT application is not limited to regions of tissues that are accessible to illumination like photodynamic therapy (PDT). The principle of BCT is electron transition, resulting in the interaction of a transition metal complex (catalyst) and substrate molecule. MnIII- tetraphenylporphyrin chloride (MnClTPP) in combination with an ascorbic acid (AA) has been proposed as an appropriate candidate for cancer treatment regarding the active agents in BCT. The goal of this study was to determine whether MnClTPP in combination with AA would be a promising agent for BCT. The problem of used MnClTPP's, low solubility in water, was solved by MnClTPP loading into PLGA matrix. H2O2 produced during AA decomposition oxidized MnClTPP to high-reactive oxo-MnV species. MnClTPP in presence AA leads to the production of excessive ROS levels in vitro. ROS are mainly substrates of catalase and superoxide dismutase (H2O2 and O2●-). SOD1 and catalase were identified as the key players of the MnClTPP ROS-induced cell defense system. The cytotoxicity of MnClTPP-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) was greatly increased in the presence of specific catalase inhibitor (3-amino-1,2,4-triazole (3AT)) and superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) inhibitor (diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC)). Cell death resulted from the combined activation of caspase-dependent (caspase 3/9 system) and independent pathways, namely the AIF translocation to nuclei. Preliminary acute toxicity and in vivo anticancer studies have been revealed the safe and potent anticancer effect of PLGA-entrapped MnClTPP in combination with AA. The findings indicate that MnClTPP-loaded PLGA NPs are promising agents for BCT.

Modern approaches for modelling dystonia and Huntington's disease in vitro and in vivo.

Dystonia associated with Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease or other neurodegenerative diseases substantially affects patients' quality of life and is a major health problem worldwide. The above-mentioned diseases are characterized by neurodegeneration accompanied by motor and cognitive impairment and often have complex aetiology. A frequent feature of these conditions is the abnormal accumulation of protein aggregates within specific neuronal populations in the affected brain regions. Familial neurodegenerative diseases are associated with a number of genetic mutations. Identification of these mutations allowed creation of modern model systems for studying neurodegeneration, either in cultured cells or in model animals. Animal models, especially mouse models, have contributed considerably to improving our understanding of the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. These models have allowed study of the pathogenic mechanisms and development of new disease-modifying strategies and therapeutic approaches. However, due to the complex nature of these pathologies and the irreversible damage that they cause to the neural tissue, effective therapies against neurodegeneration remain to be elaborated. In this review, we provide an overview of cellular and animal models developed for studying neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington's disease and dystonia of different origins.

Development of novel PLGA nanoparticles with co-encapsulation of docetaxel and abiraterone acetate for a highly efficient delivery into tumor cells.

Co-encapsulation of abiraterone acetate (AbrA) and docetaxel (Dtx) in polymeric nanoparticles as novel prototypes for prostate cancer treatment combining hormonal and chemotherapy was designed. Nanoparticles (NPs) composed of poly(dl-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) were prepared by single-emulsion solvent evaporation technique and characterized in terms of morphology with atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. HPLC method for simultaneous determination of AbrA and Dtx encapsulation efficacy was developed. Also differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were provided. To study the effectiveness of cellular internalization and distribution of NPs with AbrA and Dtx co-encapsulation (NP-AbrA/Dtx), a fluorescence microscopy was utilized. NPs prepared had size 256.3 ±9.4 nm and zeta potential -18.4 ±1.4 mV. Encapsulation efficacy for AbrA was 68.7% and for Dtx was 74.3%. NPs were able to control the AbrA and Dtx release within 24 h. The mathematical model of drug release was performed. The results obtained from confocal microscopy showed the effective accumulation of the NP-AbrA/Dtx in the cytoplasm of cells. Synthesized NPs possessed satisfactory parameters and a biphasic release profile, proceeding by the Fick diffusion mechanism, which provide prolonged release of the drugs and maintenance of their concentration. It was shown that NPs loaded with AbrA and Dtx exhibited a high cytotoxic activity on the LNCaP cell line, similar to the combination of free drugs of AbrA and Dtx, but in contrast to the combination of substances, had a synergistic mechanism of action. Our findings support the potential use of developed NPs in further in vivo studies. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 107B: 1150-1158, 2019.

The comparative study of influence of lactic and glycolic acids copolymers type on properties of daunorubicin loaded nanoparticles and drug release.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the physico-chemical and biological properties of polymeric nanoparticles obtained from poly(DL-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) with different ratios of monomers loaded with daunorubicin (DNR). METHODS: DNR-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared with use of modified simultaneous double-emulsion solvent evaporation/diffusion technique. NPs were characterized using dynamic light scattering, atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. RESULTS: NPs with DNR were differing in size and zeta potential, depending on the type of polymer. The data obtained show that total content of DNR correlates with the values of the binding constant of DNR with polymers. The release of DNR from NPs proceeds predominantly for polymers with lower binding constants. The in vitro study of NPs on the MCF-7 cells showed similar activity of particles and substances while for the anthracycline-resistant MCF-7Adr cells the cytotoxicity of the nanoparticles was 3 to 7 times higher depending on the type of copolymer. CONCLUSIONS: PLGA DNR-loaded nanoparticles can be used to overcome multidrug resistance (MDR) as well as for reducing the frequency of DNR reception due to the prolonged effect, which allows maintaining the concentration of the drug at the required level. The usefulness of binding constant calculations for obtaining nanoparticles with the maximum drug loading was proven. The rate of drug administration and the frequency of administration can be calculated based on the DNR release profiles and release parameters that depend on polymer type.

Recombinant alpha-fetoprotein receptor-binding domain co-expression with polyglutamate tags facilitates in vivo folding in E. coli.

A wide range of methods are known to increase the prokaryotic intracellular recombinant proteins solubility, for instance, growth at low temperature, supplementation of culture media with "chemical chaperones" (proline, glycine-betaine, and trehalose), co-expression with chaperones or highly soluble fusion partners. As an alternative, we have introduced the polyglutamate tag, which, as it has been shown, increased the protein solubility and facilitated folding. In this study we evaluated the minimal quantity of high density negatively charged EEEEVE amino acid repeats (pGlu) necessary to switch the recombinant receptor-binding domain of human alpha-fetoprotein (rbdAFP) expression almost entirely from the inclusion bodies to the soluble cytoplasmic fraction in E. coli. For this purpose, genetic constructs based on pET vectors coding rbdAFP and containing from 1 to 4 additional EEEEVE repeats at the C-terminus have been prepared. It was found that 3 pGlu repeats is the minimal number, that leads to a complete shift of the expression to the soluble cytoplasmic fraction in E. coli SHuffle Express T7 while 4 repeats were required for that in E. coli BL21(DE3). The rbdAFP contained 4 pGlu repeats was purified making use of ion-exchange chromatography and characterized by circular dichroism and ability to bind and accumulate in AFP receptor positive cancer cells in order to check for the structural and specific activity alterations related to the additional polyanionic sequence introduction.