Nucleolin Overexpression Predicts Patient Prognosis While Providing a Framework for Targeted Therapeutic Intervention in Lung Cancer.

Notwithstanding the advances in the treatment of lung cancer with immune checkpoint inhibitors, the high percentage of non-responders supports the development of novel anticancer treatments. Herein, the expression of the onco-target nucleolin in patient-derived pulmonary carcinomas was characterized, along with the assessment of its potential as a therapeutic target. The clinical prognostic value of nucleolin for human pulmonary carcinomas was evaluated through data mining from the Cancer Genome Atlas project and immunohistochemical detection in human samples. Cell surface expression of nucleolin was evaluated by flow cytometry and subcellular fraction Western blotting in lung cancer cell lines. Nucleolin mRNA overexpression correlated with poor overall survival of lung adenocarcinoma cancer patients and further predicted the disease progression of both lung adenocarcinoma and squamous carcinoma. Furthermore, a third of the cases presented extra-nuclear expression, contrasting with the nucleolar pattern in non-malignant tissues. A two- to twelve-fold improvement in cytotoxicity, subsequent to internalization into the lung cancer cell lines of doxorubicin-loaded liposomes functionalized by the nucleolin-binding F3 peptide, was correlated with the nucleolin cell surface levels and the corresponding extent of cell binding. Overall, the results suggested nucleolin overexpression as a poor prognosis predictor and thus a target for therapeutic intervention in lung cancer.

Targeted liposomal doxorubicin/ceramides combinations: The importance to assess the nature of drug interaction beyond bulk tumor cells.

One of the major assets of anticancer nanomedicine is the ability to co-deliver drug combinations, as it enables targeting of different cellular populations and/or signaling pathways implicated in tumorigenesis and thus tackling tumor heterogeneity. Moreover, drug resistance can be circumvented, for example, upon co-encapsulation and delivery of doxorubicin and sphingolipids, as ceramides. Herein, the impact of short (C6) and long (C18) alkyl chain length ceramides on the nature of drug interaction, within the scope of combination with doxorubicin, was performed in bulk triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells, as well as on the density of putative cancer stem cells and phenotype, including live single-cell tracking. C6- or C18-ceramide enabled a synergistic drug interaction in all conditions and (bulk) cell lines tested. However, differentiation among these two ceramides was reflected on the migratory potential of cancer cells, particularly significant against the highly motile MDA-MB-231 cells. This effect was supported by the downregulation of the PI3K/Akt pathway enabled by C6-ceramide and in contrast with C18-ceramide. The decrease of the migratory potential enabled by the targeted liposomal combinations is of high relevance in the context of TNBC, due to the underlying metastatic potential. Surprisingly, the nature of the drug interaction assessed at the level of bulk cancer cells revealed to be insufficient to predict whether a drug combination enables a decrease in the percentage of the master regulators of tumor relapse as ALDH+/high putative TNBC cancer stem cells, suggesting, for the first time, that it should be extended further down to this level.

Modelling the impact of nucleolin expression level on the activity of F3 peptide-targeted pH-sensitive pegylated liposomes containing doxorubicin.

Strategies targeting nucleolin have enabled a significant improvement in intracellular bioavailability of their encapsulated payloads. In this respect, assessment of the impact of target cell heterogeneity and nucleolin homology across species (structurally and functionally) is of major importance. This work also aimed at mathematically modelling the nucleolin expression levels at the cell membrane, binding and internalization of pH-sensitive pegylated liposomes encapsulating doxorubicin and functionalized with the nucleolin-binding F3 peptide (PEGASEMP), and resulting cytotoxicity against cancer cells from mouse, rat, canine, and human origin. Herein, it was shown that nucleolin expression levels were not a limitation on the continuous internalization of F3 peptide-targeted liposomes, despite the saturable nature of the binding mechanism. Modeling enabled the prediction of nucleolin-mediated total doxorubicin exposure provided by the experimental settings of the assessment of PEGASEMP's impact on cell death. The former increased proportionally with nucleolin-binding sites, a measure relevant for patient stratification. This pattern of variation was observed for the resulting cell death in nonsaturating conditions, depending on the cancer cell sensitivity to doxorubicin. This approach differs from standard determination of cytotoxic concentrations, which normally report values of incubation doses rather than the actual intracellular bioactive drug exposure. Importantly, in the context of development of nucleolin-based targeted drug delivery, the structural nucleolin homology (higher than 84%) and functional similarity across species presented herein, emphasized the potential to use toxicological data and other metrics from lower species to infer the dose for a first-in-human trial.

The Enhanced Efficacy of Intracellular Delivery of Doxorubicin/C6-Ceramide Combination Mediated by the F3 Peptide/Nucleolin System Is Supported by the Downregulation of the PI3K/Akt Pathway.

Targeting multiple cellular populations is of high therapeutic relevance for the tackling of solid tumors heterogeneity. Herein, the ability of pegylated and pH-sensitive liposomes, functionalized with the nucleolin-binding F3 peptide and containing doxorubicin (DXR)/C6-ceramide synergistic combination, to target, in vitro, ovarian cancer, including ovarian cancer stem cells (CSC), was assessed. The underlying molecular mechanism of action of the nucleolin-mediated intracellular delivery of C6-ceramide to cancer cells was also explored. The assessment of overexpression of surface nucleolin expression by flow cytometry was critical to dissipate differences identified by Western blot in membrane/cytoplasm of SKOV-3, OVCAR-3 and TOV-112D ovarian cancer cell lines. The former was in line with the significant extent of uptake into (bulk) ovarian cancer cells, relative to non-targeted and non-specific counterparts. This pattern of uptake was recapitulated with putative CSC-enriched ovarian SKOV-3 and OVCAR-3 sub-population (EpCAMhigh/CD44high). Co-encapsulation of DXR:C6-ceramide into F3 peptide-targeted liposomes improved cytotoxic activity relative to liposomes containing DXR alone, in an extent that depended on the intrinsic resistance to DXR and on the incubation time. The enhanced cytotoxicity of the targeted combination was mechanistically supported by the downregulation of PI3K/Akt pathway by C6-ceramide, only among the nucleolin-overexpressing cancer cells presenting a basal p-Akt/total Akt ratio lower than 1.

Cell surface Nucleolin represents a novel cellular target for neuroblastoma therapy.

BACKGROUND: Neuroblastoma (NB) represents the most frequent and aggressive form of extracranial solid tumor of infants. Nucleolin (NCL) is a protein overexpressed and partially localized on the cell surface of tumor cells of adult cancers. Little is known about NCL and pediatric tumors and nothing is reported about cell surface NCL and NB. METHODS: NB cell lines, Schwannian stroma-poor NB tumors and bone marrow (BM)-infiltrating NB cells were evaluated for the expression of cell surface NCL by Flow Cytometry, Imaging Flow Cytometry and Immunohistochemistry analyses. The cytotoxic activity of doxorubicin (DXR)-loaded nanocarriers decorated with the NCL-recognizing F3 peptide (T-DXR) was evaluated in terms of inhibition of NB cell proliferation and induction of cell death in vitro, whereas metastatic and orthotopic animal models of NB were used to examine their in vivo anti-tumor potential. RESULTS: NB cell lines, NB tumor cells (including patient-derived and Patient-Derived Xenografts-PDX) and 70% of BM-infiltrating NB cells show cell surface NCL expression. NCL staining was evident on both tumor and endothelial tumor cells in NB xenografts. F3 peptide-targeted nanoparticles, co-localizing with cell surface NCL, strongly associates with NB cells showing selective tumor cell internalization. T-DXR result significantly more effective, in terms of inhibition of cell proliferation and reduction of cell viability in vitro, and in terms of delay of tumor growth in all NB animal model tested, when compared to both control mice and those treated with the untargeted formulation. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that NCL could represent an innovative therapeutic cellular target for NB.

Mindful Opportunity to Reflect on Experience: Interdisciplinary Mind-Body Medicine Skills Training for Health-care Professionals.

Interventions that support employee wellness and resilience hold potential to improve patient care, increase staff engagement, and decrease burnout. This repeat-measures study evaluated whether an abbreviated version of mind-body medicine skills training could decrease stress and improve mindfulness among an interdisciplinary cohort of health-care professionals. The study also assessed whether participants incorporated the mind-body medicine skills into their personal and professional lives. Aggregate results from this unpaired cohort showed decreased stress and increased mindfulness. Postcourse surveys demonstrated increased personal and professional use of mind-body medicine skills. There was high favorability among participants. These preliminary results suggest that a modest investment of time and resources to learn mind-body medicine skills may positively affect employee wellness among health-care professionals. In addition, skills learned could translate into improved patient care and increased staff engagement. Further study with larger cohorts and a paired design is needed.

Anticancer activity and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity of novel anti-nucleolin antibodies.

Nucleolin arises as a relevant target for cancer therapy, as it is overexpressed at the surface of cancer and angiogenic endothelial cells thus enabling a dual cellular targeting strategy. Immunotherapeutic strategies, albeit of proven therapeutic relevance, have been scarcely explored against this target. Therefore, this work aimed at engineering an anti-nucleolin VHH-based antibody capable of triggering anticancer immune responses. Herein, anti-nucleolin VHHs have been generated upon grafting F3 peptide-derived nucleolin-binding sequences onto a VHH CDR1 or CDR3. One of these nucleolin-binding CDR3-grafted VHH was subsequently fused to a human IgG1 Fc region, enabling a significant antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). The generated anti-nucleolin VHH revealed increased binding and antiproliferative effects against cancer cells, relative to the parental VHH, while the VHH-Fc counterpart presented increased cytotoxicity relative to the corresponding VHH. This VHH-Fc also triggered an ADCC effect, in the nanomolar range, against a nucleolin-overexpressing cancer cell line. This effect was evidenced by a 2 or 1.7-fold increase of cell death, in the presence of PBMCs, relative to the parental VHH-Fc or the VHH counterpart, respectively. Overall, these formats represent the first anti-nucleolin VHHs and the first anti-nucleolin antibody with ADCC activity that have been successfully developed.

Targeting cancer stem cells and non-stem cancer cells: the potential of lipid-based nanoparticles.

Background Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been described as a relevant contributor to tumorigenicity, metastasis, tumor recurrence and drug resistance, making this cell population a relevant target in solid tumors. METHODS: This has stimulated the development of different therapeutic strategies often targeting surface markers (CD44, epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM), aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) and nucleolin) and/or signaling pathways that are aberrantly activated and contribute to CSCs proliferation and survival. RESULTS: There are a variety of signaling pathways often involved in physiological processes of cell function that aberrantly regulate CSCs, including Notch, Hedgehog, Wnt, PI3K/Akt, JAK/STAT and Ras/ERK signaling pathways. The inhibition of these pathways usually depletes CSC population and increases tumor sensitivity to chemotherapy. However, the recognition of the potential of cells to interconvert in response to environmental stimulus, turned both CSCs and non-stem cancer cells into two relevant therapeutic targets. Therefore, the use of drug combinations is increasingly needed. These drugs with different mechanisms of action often characterized by distinct pharmacokinetics profiles and, as such, will present distinct biodistribution patterns, following systemic administration. To synchronize pharmacokinetics, one can encapsulate synergistic drug combinations into lipid-based nanoparticles, assuring tumor delivery of the selected drug ratio. CONCLUSION: This review will focus on the multiple strategies to target CSCs, as well as on the potential of lipid-based nanoparticles to target both CSCs and non-stem cancer cells.

The cancer stem cell phenotype as a determinant factor of the heterotypic nature of breast tumors.

Gathering evidence supports the existence of a population of cells with stem-like characteristics, named cancer stem cells (CSC), which is involved not only in tumor recurrence but also in tumorigenicity, metastization and drug resistance. Several markers have been used to identify putative CSC sub-populations in different cancers. Notwithstanding, it has been acknowledged that breast CSC may originate from non-stem cancer cells (non-SCC), interconverting through an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition-mediated process, and presenting several deregulated canonical and developmental signaling pathways. These support the heterogeneity that, directly or indirectly, influences fundamental biological features supporting breast tumor development. Accordingly, CSC have increasingly become highly relevant cellular targets. In this review, we will address the stemness concept in cancer, setting the perspective on CSC and their origin, by exploring their relation and regulation within the tumor microenvironment, in the context of emerging therapeutic targets. Within this framework, we will discuss nucleolin, a protein that has been associated with angiogenesis and, more recently, with the stemness phenotype, becoming a common denominator between CSC and non-SCC for multicellular targeting.

Inoculated Cell Density as a Determinant Factor of the Growth Dynamics and Metastatic Efficiency of a Breast Cancer Murine Model.

4T1 metastatic breast cancer model have been widely used to study stage IV human breast cancer. However, the frequent inoculation of a large number of cells, gives rise to fast growing tumors, as well as to a surprisingly low metastatic take rate. The present work aimed at establishing the conditions enabling high metastatic take rate of the triple-negative murine 4T1 syngeneic breast cancer model. An 87% 4T1 tumor incidence was observed when as few as 500 cancer cells were implanted. 4T1 cancer cells colonized primarily the lungs with 100% efficiency, and distant lesions were also commonly identified in the mesentery and pancreas. The drastic reduction of the number of inoculated cells resulted in increased tumor doubling times and decreased specific growth rates, following a Gompertzian tumor expansion. The established conditions for the 4T1 mouse model were further validated in a therapeutic study with peguilated liposomal doxorubicin, in clinical used in the setting of metastatic breast cancer. Inoculated cell density was proven to be a key methodological aspect towards the reproducible development of macrometastases in the 4T1 mouse model and a more reliable pre-clinical assessment of antimetastatic therapies.

Nucleolin overexpression in breast cancer cell sub-populations with different stem-like phenotype enables targeted intracellular delivery of synergistic drug combination.

Breast cancer stem cells (CSC) are thought responsible for tumor growth and relapse, metastization and active evasion to standard chemotherapy. The recognition that CSC may originate from non-stem cancer cells (non-SCC) through plastic epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition turned these into relevant cell targets. Of crucial importance for successful therapeutic intervention is the identification of surface receptors overexpressed in both CSC and non-SCC. Cell surface nucleolin has been described as overexpressed in cancer cells as well as a tumor angiogenic marker. Herein we have addressed the questions on whether nucleolin was a common receptor among breast CSC and non-SCC and whether it could be exploited for targeting purposes. Liposomes functionalized with the nucleolin-binding F3 peptide, targeted simultaneously, nucleolin-overexpressing putative breast CSC and non-SCC, which was paralleled by OCT4 and NANOG mRNA levels in cells from triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) origin. In murine embryonic stem cells, both nucleolin mRNA levels and F3 peptide-targeted liposomes cellular association were dependent on the stemness status. An in vivo tumorigenic assay suggested that surface nucleolin overexpression per se, could be associated with the identification of highly tumorigenic TNBC cells. This proposed link between nucleolin expression and the stem-like phenotype in TNBC, enabled 100% cell death mediated by F3 peptide-targeted synergistic drug combination, suggesting the potential to abrogate the plasticity and adaptability associated with CSC and non-SCC. Ultimately, nucleolin-specific therapeutic tools capable of simultaneous debulk multiple cellular compartments of the tumor microenvironment may pave the way towards a specific treatment for TNBC patient care.

Breathing Exercises for Inpatients with Sickle Cell Disease.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a painful condition wherein breathing often is compromised. This pilot study supports the premise that individuals with SCD are willing to learn breathing exercises. Medical-surgical nurses should encourage breathing exercises for managing pain and preventing complications.

Simultaneous active intracellular delivery of doxorubicin and C6-ceramide shifts the additive/antagonistic drug interaction of non-encapsulated combination.

Drug resistance remains the Achilles tendon undermining the success of chemotherapy. It has been recognized that success requires the identification of compounds that, when combined, lead to synergistic tumor inhibition while simultaneously minimizing systemic toxicity. However, in vivo application of such protocols is dependent on the ability to deliver the appropriate drug ratio at the tumor level. In this respect, nanotechnology-based delivery platforms, like liposomes, offer an elegant solution for the in vivo translation of such strategy. In this work, we propose the active intracellular delivery of combinations of doxorubicin and the pro-apoptotic sphingolipid, C6-ceramide, using our previously described cytosolic triggered release-enabling liposomes, targeting nucleolin with the F3 peptide. Combination of doxorubicin (DXR):C6-ceramide (C6-Cer) at 1:2 molar ratio interacted synergistically against drug resistant/triple negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, as well as drug sensitive MDA-MB-435S melanoma cells. Cell viability studies indicated that F3-targeted liposomes encapsulating DXR:C6-Cer 1:2 molar ratio (p[F3]DC12) performed similarly as targeted liposomal DXR (p[F3]SL), encapsulating twice the amount of DXR, at the IC50, for an incubation time of 24 h. Importantly, F3-targeted liposomes encapsulating DXR:C6-Cer 1:2 molar ratio (p[F3]DC12) enabled a cell death above 90% at 24 h of treatment against both DXR-resistant and sensitive cells, unattainable by the F3-targeted liposomal doxorubicin. Furthermore, a F3-targeted formulation encapsulating a mildly additive/antagonistic DXR:C6-Cer 1:1 molar ratio (p[F3]DC11) enabled an effect above 90% for an incubation period as short as 4 h, suggesting that the delivery route at the cell level may shift the nature of drug interaction. Such activity, including the one for p[F3]DC12, induced a marked cell and nucleus swelling at similar extent, consistent with necrotic cell death. Overall, these results demonstrated that F3-targeted intracellular delivery of different DXR/C6-Cer ratios, with diversed drug interactions, enabled a highly relevant increased efficacy against chemotherapy resistant cells.

The meaning of touch the prostate for man: the nurse in health promotion / O significado do toque da próstata para o homem: enfermeiro na promoção da saúde / El sentido del tacto de la próstata para el hombre: enfermero en la promoción de la salud

Objetivos: Identificar o significado para os homens sobre o exame clínico de toque digital da próstata para detecção precoce de câncer, caracterizar a causa do déficit na procura de exame preventivos e serviços de saúde pelos homens e discutir atuação do enfermeiro na promoção da saúde dos homens. Método: Estudo qualitativo descritivo com pesquisa de campo norteada por formulário semi-estruturado. Resultados: Os significados atribuídos ao toque digital da próstata foram constrangimento, desconforto, estigma e importante. A informação e o acesso estão condicionados aos fatores socioeconômicos dos participantes. Conclusão: Enfermeiros devem assistir na educação em saúde e na saúde integral, uniformizando as informações para diferentes grupos socioeconômicos, minimizando o estigma e o constrangimento, ressaltando a importância do autocuidado para o homem, visando melhorar a busca pelos serviços de saúde, exames de rastreamento e prevenção.

Objectives: To identify the meaning for the men on the clinical examination of digital touch Prostate cancer early detection, to characterize the cause of the deficit in the search for preventive examination and health services by men and discuss the nurse's role in promoting men's health. Method: Qualitative descriptive study with field research guided by semi-structured form. Results: The meanings attributed to the digital touch of the prostate were embarrassment, discomfort, stigma and important. The information and access are tied to socioeconomic factors of the participants. Conclusion: Nurses should assist in health education and comprehensive health care by standardizing the information for different socioeconomic groups, minimizing the stigma and embarrassments, highlighting the importance of self care for man, to improve the search for health services, screening exams and prevention.

Objetivos: Identificar el significado de los hombres en el tacto digital de detección de cáncer de próstata, caracterizar la causa del déficit en la búsqueda de examen y los servicios preventivos de salud por los hombres y discutir el papel de la enfermera en la promoción de la salud masculina. Método: investigación cualitativa descriptiva de campo guiada por formulario séme-estructurado. Resultados: Los significados atribuidos al tacto digital de la próstata son vergüenza, incomodidad, estigma y importante. La información y acceso están condicionados a factores socioeconómicos de los participantes. Conclusión: Enfermeras deben asistir en la educación en salud y la salud integral, mediante la estandarización de la información para los diferentes grupos socioeconómicos, minimizando el estigma y la vergüenza, resaltando la importancia del auto cuidado para el hombre, para mejorar la búsqueda de los servicios de salud, exámenes de rastreo y prevención.

Clínica complexa: a experiência clínica em um residencial terapêutico de caráter temporário / Complex clinic: the clinical experience in a temporary character therapeutic residential home / Clínica compleja: experiencia en un residencial terapéutico temporal

A partir da mudança do paradigma de cuidado em saúde mental, proposto pela Reforma Psiquiátrica, outros modos de atenção começam a instituir-se no cotidiano dos serviços substitutivos. A centralidade do atendimento é colocada nas demandas dos usuários e, em virtude desse modelo, a clínica desenvolvida pelos profissionais de saúde mental sofre alterações para que possa dar conta da diversidade dos processos que se apresentam. Nesse contexto de mudanças, buscamos refletir sobre o cotidiano da clínica que se realiza num residencial terapêutico de caráter temporário. Para além de uma clínica ampliada, acreditamos que é uma clínica complexa, cujos arranjos terapêuticos que se propõe a operar estão em permanente movimento e transformação.

From the paradigm change in mental health care, as proposed by the Psychiatric Reform, other attention modes begin to develop in the everyday life of the substitute service. The treatment centrality is set on the demand of users and in use of this model, the clinic developed by mental health professionals suffers changes in order to take care of the diversity of processes presented. In that context of changes, we seek to consider everyday life of the clinic that happens in a therapeutic residential home in temporary character. To consider beyond an amplified clinic, we believe it’s a complex clinic, which therapeutic arrangements proposed to operate are in permanent activity and transformation.

Desde el cambio de paradigma en la atención de salud mental propuestos por la Reforma Psiquiátrica, los otros modos de atención comienzan a establecerse en la rutina de los servicios sustitutivos. La centralidad de la atención se pone en las demandas de los usuarios y, en virtud de este modelo, la clínica desarrollada por profesionales de la salud mental se altera de modo que pueda hacer frente a la diversidad de procesos que se plantean. En este contexto de cambio, se reflexiona sobre la clínica diaria que tiene lugar en un residencial terapéutico temporal. Aparte de una clínica ampliada, creemos que es una clínica compleja, cuyos arreglos terapéutico que tiene la intención de operar están en constante movimiento y transformación.

Clínica complexa: a experiência clínica em um residencial terapêutico de caráter temporário / Complex clinic: the clinical experience in a temporary character therapeutic residential home / Clínica compleja: experiencia en un residencial terapéutico temporal

A partir da mudança do paradigma de cuidado em saúde mental, proposto pela Reforma Psiquiátrica, outros modos de atenção começam a instituir-se no cotidiano dos serviços substitutivos. A centralidade do atendimento é colocada nas demandas dos usuários e, em virtude desse modelo, a clínica desenvolvida pelos profissionais de saúde mental sofre alterações para que possa dar conta da diversidade dos processos que se apresentam. Nesse contexto de mudanças, buscamos refletir sobre o cotidiano da clínica que se realiza num residencial terapêutico de caráter temporário. Para além de uma clínica ampliada, acreditamos que é uma clínica complexa, cujos arranjos terapêuticos que se propõe a operar estão em permanente movimento e transformação.(AU)

From the paradigm change in mental health care, as proposed by the Psychiatric Reform, other attention modes begin to develop in the everyday life of the substitute service. The treatment centrality is set on the demand of users and in use of this model, the clinic developed by mental health professionals suffers changes in order to take care of the diversity of processes presented. In that context of changes, we seek to consider everyday life of the clinic that happens in a therapeutic residential home in temporary character. To consider beyond an amplified clinic, we believe it’s a complex clinic, which therapeutic arrangements proposed to operate are in permanent activity and transformation.(AU)

Desde el cambio de paradigma en la atención de salud mental propuestos por la Reforma Psiquiátrica, los otros modos de atención comienzan a establecerse en la rutina de los servicios sustitutivos. La centralidad de la atención se pone en las demandas de los usuarios y, en virtud de este modelo, la clínica desarrollada por profesionales de la salud mental se altera de modo que pueda hacer frente a la diversidad de procesos que se plantean. En este contexto de cambio, se reflexiona sobre la clínica diaria que tiene lugar en un residencial terapéutico temporal. Aparte de una clínica ampliada, creemos que es una clínica compleja, cuyos arreglos terapéutico que tiene la intención de operar están en constante movimiento y transformación.(AU)

Toward a siRNA-containing nanoparticle targeted to breast cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment.

The present work aimed at designing a lipid-based nanocarrier for siRNA delivery toward two cell sub-populations within breast tumors, the cancer and the endothelial cells from angiogenic tumor blood vessels. To achieve such goal, the F3 peptide, which is specifically internalized by nucleolin overexpressed on both those sub-populations, was used as a targeting moiety. The developed F3-targeted stable nucleic acid lipid particles presented adequate features for systemic administration. In addition, the attachment of the F3 peptide onto the liposomal surface enabled an internalization by both cancer and endothelial cells from angiogenic blood vessels that was significantly higher than the one observed with non-cancer cells. Sequence-specific downregulation of enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) in eGFP-overexpressing human cancer cell lines, both at the protein and mRNA levels, was further observed upon delivery of anti-eGFP siRNA by F3-targeted liposomes, in contrast with the non-targeted counterpart. This effect was highly dependent on the content of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), as evidenced by the co-localization studies between the siRNA and the lysosomes. Overall, the present work represents an important contribution toward a nanoparticle with multi-targeting capabilities in breast cancer, both at the cellular and molecular level.

Lipid-based nanoparticles for siRNA delivery in cancer therapy: paradigms and challenges.

RNA interference (RNAi) is a specific gene-silencing mechanism that can be mediated by the delivery of chemical synthesized small-interfering RNA (siRNA). RNAi might constitute a novel therapeutic approach for cancer treatment because researchers can easily design siRNA molecules to inhibit, specifically and potently, the expression of any protein involved in tumor initiation and progression. Despite all the potential of siRNA as a novel class of drugs, the limited cellular uptake, low biological stability, and unfavorable pharmacokinetics of siRNAs have limited their application in the clinic. Indeed, blood nucleases easily degrade naked siRNAs, and the kidneys rapidly eliminate these molecules. Furthermore, at the level of target cells, the negative charge and hydrophilicity of siRNAs strongly impair their cellular internalization. Therefore, the translation of siRNA to the clinical setting is highly dependent on the development of an appropriate delivery system, able to ameliorate siRNA pharmacokinetic and biodistribution properties. In this regard, major advances have been achieved with lipid-based nanocarriers sterically stabilized by poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), such as the stabilized nucleic acid lipid particles (SNALP). However, PEG has not solved all the major problems associated with siRNA delivery. In this Account, the major problems associated with PEGylated lipid-based nanoparticles, and the different strategies to overcome them are discussed. Although PEG has revolutionized the field of nanocarriers, cumulative experience has revealed that upon repeated administration, PEGylated liposomes lose their ability to circulate over long periods in the bloodstream, a phenomenon known as accelerated blood clearance. In addition, PEGylation impairs the internalization of the siRNA into the target cell and its subsequent escape from the endocytic pathway, which reduces biological activity. An interesting approach to overcome such limitations relies on the design of novel exchangeable PEG-derivatized lipids. After systemic administration, these lipids can be released from the nanoparticle surface. Moreover, the design and synthesis of novel cationic lipids that are more fusogenic and the use of internalizing targeting ligands have contributed to the emergence of novel lipid-based nanoparticles with remarkable transfection efficiency.

Mind-body interventions for treatment of phantom limb pain in persons with amputation.

Phantom limb pain (PLP) is a significant source of chronic pain in most persons with amputation at some time in their clinical course. Pharmacologic therapies for this condition are often only moderately effective and may produce unwanted adverse effects. There is growing empirical evidence of the therapeutic effectiveness of mind-body therapies for the relief of chronic pain; therefore, an exploration of their role in relieving amputation-related chronic pain is warranted. We undertook a focused literature review on mind-body interventions for patients with amputation who experience PLP. Because of study heterogeneity, only descriptive presentations of the studies are presented. Only studies of hypnosis, imagery, and biofeedback, including visual mirror feedback, were found; studies on meditation, yoga, and tai chi/qigong were missing from the literature. Few studies of specific mind-body therapies were dedicated to management of PLP, with the exception of mirror visual therapy. Overall, studies were largely exploratory and reflect considerable variability in the application of mind-body techniques, making definitive conclusions inadvisable. Nevertheless, the weight of existing findings indicates that a mind-body approach to PLP pain management is promising and that specific methods may offer either temporary or long-term relief, either alone or in combination with conventional therapies. The authors discuss the potential for usefulness of specific mind-body therapies and the relevance of their mechanisms of action to those of PLP, including targeting cortical reorganization, autonomic nervous system deregulation, stress management, coping ability, and quality-of-life. The authors recommend more and better quality research exploring the efficacy and mechanisms of action.

Targeted and intracellular triggered delivery of therapeutics to cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment: impact on the treatment of breast cancer.

Limiting tumor invasion to the surrounding healthy tissues has proven to be clinically relevant for anticancer treatment options. We have demonstrated that, within a solid tumor, it is possible to achieve such a goal with the same nanoparticle by intracellular and triggered targeted drug delivery to more than one cell population. We have identified the nucleolin receptor in endothelial and cancer cells in tissue samples from breast cancer patients, which enabled the design of a F3-peptide-targeted sterically stabilized pH-sensitive liposome. The clinical potential of such strategy was demonstrated by the successful specific cellular association by breast cancer cells harvested from tumors of patients submitted to mastectomy. In vitro, the nanoparticle targeted the nucleolin receptor on a cell and ligand-specific manner and improved cytotoxicity of doxorubicin (used as a model drug) towards breast cancer and endothelial cells by 177- and 162-fold, respectively, relative to the commercially available non-targeted non-pH-sensitive liposomes. Moreover, active accumulation of F3-targeted pH-sensitive liposomes into human orthotopic tumors, implanted in the mammary fat pad of nude mice, was registered for a time point as short as 4 h, reaching 48% of the injected dose/g of tissue. Twenty-four hours post-injection the accumulation of the dual-targeted pH-sensitive nanoparticle in the tumor tissue was 33-fold higher than the non-targeted non-pH-sensitive counterpart. In mice treated with the developed targeted nanoparticle significant decrease of the tumor viable rim area and microvascular density, as well as limited invasion to surrounding healthy tissues were observed (as opposed to other tested controls), which may increase the probability of tumors falling in the category of "negative margins" with reduced risk of relapse.