Targeted Delivery of Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Bioinspired Exosome-Mimetic Nanovesicles with Platelet Membrane Fusion for Atherosclerotic Treatment.

Purpose: Accumulating evidence indicates that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)-derived exosomes hold significant potential for the treatment of atherosclerosis. However, large-scale production and organ-specific targeting of exosomes are still challenges for further clinical applications. This study aims to explore the targeted efficiency and therapeutic potential of biomimetic platelet membrane-coated exosome-mimetic nanovesicles (P-ENVs) in atherosclerosis. Methods: To produce exosome-mimetic nanovesicles (ENVs), MSCs were successively extruded through polycarbonate porous membranes. P-ENVs were engineered by fusing MSC-derived ENVs with platelet membranes and characterized using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), and Western blot. The stability and safety of P-ENVs were also assessed. The targeted efficacy of P-ENVs was evaluated using an in vivo imaging system (IVIS) spectrum imaging system and immunofluorescence. Histological analyses, Oil Red O (ORO) staining, and Western blot were used to investigate the anti-atherosclerotic effectiveness of P-ENVs. Results: Both ENVs and P-ENVs exhibited similar characteristics to exosomes. Subsequent miRNA sequencing of P-ENVs revealed their potential to mitigate atherosclerosis by influencing biological processes related to cholesterol metabolism. In an ApoE-/- mice model, the intravenous administration of P-ENVs exhibited enhanced targeting of atherosclerotic plaques, resulting in a significant reduction in lipid deposition and necrotic core area. Our in vitro experiments showed that P-ENVs promoted cholesterol efflux and reduced total cholesterol content in foam cells. Further analysis revealed that P-ENVs attenuated intracellular cholesterol accumulation by upregulating the expression of the critical cholesterol transporters ABCA1 and ABCG1. Conclusion: This study highlighted the potential of P-ENVs as a novel nano-drug delivery platform for enhancing drug delivery efficiency while concurrently mitigating adverse reactions in atherosclerotic therapy.

Platelet-inspired targeting delivery for coronary heart disease.

Platelets play a pivotal role in many physiological and pathological processes, with their special targeting/adhering properties towards infarcted myocardium, injured or dysfunctional endothelium, and growing thrombus. Leveraging the site-targeting/adhering property, a variety of platelet-inspired targeting delivery（PITD）designs have been developed, the majority of which are reached by hitchhiking live platelets, cloaking nanoparticles with platelet membranes and mimicking platelet functions. With PITD, drugs or regenerative cells can directly reach targeted sites with minimized systematical distribution thus being of great clinical benefits. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is a major health burden worldwide. Plenty of PITD designs have shown promising outcomes for the treatment of CHD in preclinical models, especially in thrombolysis and post-percutaneous coronary intervention (post-PCI) anti-restenosis. Besides, PITD applications in cardiac protection and atherosclerotic plaque imaging are also under investigation. What's more, the potential benefits of PITD in the field of cell-based therapy are also attracting growing attention since it may resolve the problem of low arriving and retention efficiency, which are also particularly discussed in this review. In brief, our focus is putting on PITD strategies designed for the treatment of CHD, which hopefully can facilitate further optimization of this direction.

Potential relationship of dyslipidemia with dietary patterns in oral lichen planus patients-A case-control study.

Background/purpose: Dyslipidemia and a high fat diet may increase the predisposition for accumulating body fat in patients with oral lichen planus (OLP). This study aimed to investigate the risk factors obesity, dietary patterns, and lipid metabolism. Materials and methods: A population-based case-control study was conducted between September 2020 and October 2021, recruiting 275 pairs of OLP cases and controls. Information on lipid profiles, diet frequency and waist circumference were gathered. Principal component and factor analysis were used to analyze the semi-quantitative dietary frequency survey data of patients to extract specific dietary patterns. Results: Univariate analysis showed that total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein were significantly higher in the OLP group than the control and other oral mucosal disease groups (P < 0.05, P < 0.001, and P < 0.001, respectively). Compared with the baseline group, obese and overweight patients were more common in the OLP group. Dyslipidemia was more common in the OLP group (68%) compared to the healthy mucosa group (32%; P < 0.001, OR = 4.52, 95% CI = 2.49-8.18). Four dietary patterns were described among the subjects. The traditional prone animal food pattern (OR: 24.81, 95% CI: 6.05-101.71, P < 0.001) and animal food pattern (OR: 28.77, 95% CI: 8.10-102.15, P = 0.001) were associated with an increased risk of OLP. Conclusion: The results indicated that a high-fat diet, dyslipidemia and obesity were strongly linked to disease progression in OLP. A diet high in processed food and fat could increase the risk of OLP.

[Investigation of the clinical effect of 65 µm glycine powder air-polishing(GPAP) after ultrasonic scaling during subgingival polishing].

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical effect of 65 µm glycine powder air-polishing (GPAP) by comparing with sodium hydrogen carbonate after ultrasonic scaling during subgingival polishing. METHODS: Thirty-three patients who were systematically healthy were involved in this study. After ultrasonic scaling,they were randomly assigned to the experimental group or the control group. Patients in the control group were treated with rubber cup + sodium hydrogen carbonate, while patients in the experimental group were treated only with 65 µm GPAP therapy. The clinical parameters including probing depth(PD), bleeding index(BI), plaque index(PI), staining index(SI) were recorded at baseline, 1week, 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after treatment. The results were analyzed by paired sample Wilcoxon signed-rank test with SPSS 23.0 software package. RESULTS: Both methods had good clinical effects. PD, BI, PI and SI of the two groups at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after treatment were significantly better than those at baseline (P<0.01). SI of the experimental groups was significantly lower than that of the control group at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months after treatment(P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that 65 µm GPAP may be as effective as sodium hydrogen carbonate after ultrasonic scaling in removal of dental plaque and stain. 65 µm GPAP had the advantage of reducing restaining.

[Application of positron emission tomography in diagnosis and staging for lung cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the usefulness of positron emission tomography with fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG-PET) in lung cancer. METHODS: From September 1999 to April 2003, patients with lung cancer or indeterminate lung lesions on chest CT scan were enrolled, and underwent FDG-PET scanning. RESULTS: Of 104 patients, 64 (60%) had malignancy and 40 (40%) had a benign process. The standard uptake ratio (SUV) in patients with lung cancer was significantly higher than that in patients with benign disease, 4.5 (1.2 - 11.7) and 1.0 (0 - 7.7) respectively. The SUV was not related with histologic type, differentiation, staging and the size of lesion. The diagnostic sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of PET imaging for lung cancer were 88%, 85% and 87% respectively, and the diagnostic specificity and accuracy for lung cancer with PET were significant higher than those with CT scan. The specificity and accuracy of lung lesions with a diameter >or= 1.5 cm with SUV method was better than that of lesions with a diameter < 1.5 cm. In 6 false positive patients, 4 were tuberculosis, 1 fungal infection and 1 organic pneumonia. Both PET and CT scan were poorly sensitive and specific for detecting local lymph node metastasis. CONCLUSIONS: PET had advantages in evaluation of lung lesions, and integrated PET and CT were recommended for detecting local lymph node metastasis.