Mechanisms and therapeutic strategies of extracellular vesicles in cardiovascular diseases.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) significantly impacts global society since it is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, and extracellular vesicle (EV)-based therapies have been extensively investigated. EV delivery is involved in mediating the progression of CVDs and has great potential to be biomarker and therapeutic molecular carrier. Besides, EVs from stem cells and cardiac cells can effectively protect the heart from various pathologic conditions, and then serve as an alternative treatment for CVDs. Moreover, the research of using EVs as delivery carriers of therapeutic molecules, membrane engineering modification of EVs, or combining EVs with biomaterials further improves the application potential of EVs in clinical treatment. However, currently there are only a few articles summarizing the application of EVs in CVDs. This review provides an overview of the role of EVs in the pathogenesis and diagnosis of CVDs. It also focuses on how EVs promote the repair of myocardial injury and therapeutic methods of CVDs. In conclusion, it is of great significance to review the research on the application of EVs in the treatment of CVDs, which lays a foundation for further exploration of the role of EVs, and clarifies the prospect of EVs in the treatment of myocardial injury.

Common Allergens and Immune Responses Associated with Allergic Rhinitis in China.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic allergic disease of the upper respiratory system that affects approximately 10-40% of the global population. Due to the large number of plant pollen allergens with obvious seasonal variations, AR is common in China. AR is primarily caused by the abnormal regulation of the immune system. Its pathophysiological mechanism involves a series of immune cells and immune mediators, including cytokines. The present review summarizes the common allergens in China and the complex pathophysiological mechanism of AR. Additionally, host allergen contact, signal transduction, immune cell activation, cytokine release, and a series of inflammatory reactions are described according to their sequence of occurrence.

Lipid-based nanoparticles as drug delivery systems for cancer immunotherapy.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have shown remarkable success in cancer treatment. However, in cancer patients without sufficient antitumor immunity, numerous data indicate that blocking the negative signals elicited by immune checkpoints is ineffective. Drugs that stimulate immune activation-related pathways are emerging as another route for improving immunotherapy. In addition, the development of nanotechnology presents a promising platform for tissue and cell type-specific delivery and improved uptake of immunomodulatory agents, ultimately leading to enhanced cancer immunotherapy and reduced side effects. In this review, we summarize and discuss the latest developments in nanoparticles (NPs) for cancer immuno-oncology therapy with a focus on lipid-based NPs (lipid-NPs), including the characteristics and advantages of various types. Using the agonists targeting stimulation of the interferon genes (STING) transmembrane protein as an exemplar, we review the potential of various lipid-NPs to augment STING agonist therapy. Furthermore, we present recent findings and underlying mechanisms on how STING pathway activation fosters antitumor immunity and regulates the tumor microenvironment and provide a summary of the distinct STING agonists in preclinical studies and clinical trials. Ultimately, we conduct a critical assessment of the obstacles and future directions in the utilization of lipid-NPs to enhance cancer immunotherapy.

Engineered stem cell exosomes for oral and maxillofacial wound healing.

Wound healing of the oral and maxillofacial area affects the quality of life and mental health of the patient; therefore, effective therapies are required to promote wound healing. However, traditional treatment methods have limited efficacy. Exosomes secreted by stem cells used for oral and maxillofacial wound healing have shown outstanding results. Stem cell-derived exosomes possess the regenerative and repair ability of stem cells. Moreover, they are nontumorigenic and have good biosafety. However, the application of natural stem cell exosomes is limited owing to their low yield, impurity, lack of targeting, and low drug delivery rate. Many modification methods have been developed to engineered stem cell exosomes with beneficial properties, such as modifying parent cells and directly processing stem cell exosomes. These methods include coincubation, genetic engineering, electroporation, ultrasound, and artificial synthesis of engineered stem cell exosomes. These engineered stem cell exosomes can cargo nucleic acids, proteins, and small molecules. This gives them anti-inflammatory and cell proliferation regulatory abilities and enables the targeted promotion of efficient soft tissue repair after trauma. Engineered stem cell exosomes can decrease inflammation, promote fibroblast proliferation, and angiogenesis, and decrease scar formation to promote oral and maxillofacial wound healing, including diabetic and burn wounds. Thus, engineered stem cell exosomes are an effective treatment that has the potential for oral and maxillofacial wound healing.

The role of major immune cells in myocardial infarction.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is a cardiovascular disease (CVD) with high morbidity and mortality worldwide, often leading to adverse cardiac remodeling and heart failure, which is a serious threat to human life and health. The immune system makes an important contribution to the maintenance of normal cardiac function. In the disease process of MI, necrotic cardiomyocytes release signals that activate nonspecific immunity and trigger the action of specific immunity. Complex immune cells play an important role in all stages of MI progression by removing necrotic cardiomyocytes and tissue and promoting the healing of damaged tissue cells. With the development of biomaterials, cardiac patches have become an emerging method of repairing MI, and the development of engineered cardiac patches through the construction of multiple animal models of MI can help treat MI. This review introduces immune cells involved in the development of MI, summarizes the commonly used animal models of MI and the newly developed cardiac patch, so as to provide scientific reference for the accurate diagnosis and effective treatment of MI.

A New Nanomaterial Based on Extracellular Vesicles Containing Chrysin-Induced Cell Apoptosis Through Let-7a in Tongue Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Although the therapeutic strategy showed significant improvement, the therapeutic effect was poor on metastases in tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) which is the most malignant tumor found in the head and neck. Chrysin, similar to the flavonoids, plays an antitumor role by regulating the expression of ncRNAs in many kinds of cancers. Compared to flavonoids, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) provide a novel insight into inhibiting cancer cell growth via photothermal therapy (PPT) which is irradiated by near-infrared radiation (NIR). However, most flavonoids and AuNPs lack specificity of tumor in vivo. The extracellular vesicles (EVs) which were abundant with ncRNAs are isolated from the cellular supernatant fluid and have the ability to carry drugs or nanoparticles to improve specificity. In the present study, we aimed to synthesize a new nanomaterial based on EVs containing chrysin and analyzed cell apoptosis in TSCC cells. Our results demonstrated that EVs-chrysin were isolated from SCC9 cells that were treated with chrysin. To improve the therapeutic effect, AuNPs were carried by EVs-chrysin (Au-EVs). Compared to BGC823 and HCC-LM3 cells, the uptake of Au-EVs was specific in SCC9 cells. Moreover, Au-EVs combined with NIR enhanced cell apoptosis in TSCC cells. To confirm the role of miRNAs in cell apoptosis, the differentially expressed miRNAs between EVs-Con and EVs-chrysin were screened by RNA-seq. The results revealed that the let-7a-3p family, which acts as the tumor suppressor, was upregulated in EVs-chrysin compared to EVs-Con. Thus, let-7a-3p was screened in the apoptosis pathway that was associated with the p53 protein. Furthermore, compared to the Con group, Au-EVs combined with the NIR group effectively inhibited tumor growth in vivo via increasing the expression of let-7a-3p. Together, as a new nanomaterial, Au-EVs induced cell apoptosis and inhibited tumor growth by regulating let-7a-3p expression in TSCC.