A novel zein-selenium complex nanoparticle with controllable size: Quantitative design, physical properties and cytotoxicity in vitro.

In this study, after proposing a method for the preparation of selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs) with stable properties using zein, the physico-chemical properties of zein-Se NPs were tested. The complex structure of zein-Se NPs was deduced by SEM, and the binding mechanism was determined by FT-IR and XPS. The particle size of zein-Se NPs could be regulated from 11.4 ± 0.1 nm to 138.7 ± 0.9 nm under different preparation parameters, the reason for the change in particle size had been speculated. The pH responsiveness and 30-day storage stability of the zein-Se NPs were discussed. The zein-Se NPs still had strong DPPH radical scavenging activity after heat treatment. The zein-Se NPs were cell-friendly and was able to effectively protect cells from H2O2-induced cell-death. This study performed an extensive determination of the underlying physico-chemical properties of zein-Se NPs, we anticipate this approach will open up new possibilities in using natural material to stabilize Se NPs.

Decreased expression of nuclear factor 90 correlates with worse outcomes in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Nuclear factor 90 (NF90), one of the double-stranded RNA binding proteins (DSRBP), is involved in many cellular biological processes, includes cell proliferation, differentiation, angiogenesis, cell cycle and immunity. However, its role in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), and the significance of expression in clinics, remains unknown. The aim of this study was to uncover the relationship between the NF90 expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and clinical outcomes in NPC patients. METHODS: We retrospectively detected the NF90 expression in 216 NPC specimens by IHC. The cutoff value of NF90 was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the prognostic value of NF90 in NPC was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier and cox multifactor statistical model. RESULTS: Elevated expression of NF90 was found in 60.2% (130/216). Positive correlation was found between NF90 expression and clinical stage (P=0.018), T stage (P=0.004), and therapy (P=0.020). Over-expression of NF90 predicted favorable progression-free survival (PFS) (P=0.017) and overall survival (OS) (P<0.001) in NPC. Further analysis suggested that the level of NF90 expression was an independent risk factor in NPC prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: These results demonstrate, for the first time, that decreased expression of NF90 is an independent biomarker of worse prognosis for NPC patients, and is a great potential tool for screening the high-risk population for advanced NPC patients.

Optimal cumulative cisplatin dose during concurrent chemoradiotherapy among children and adolescents with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma: A real-world data study.

PURPOSE: To identify an optimal cumulative cisplatin dose along with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CC-CCD) for children and adolescents with locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (CALANPC) using real-world data. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using an NPC-specific database at our center, 157 patients younger than 19 years old with non-disseminated CALANPC and receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) plus cisplatin-based concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) were enrolled. Confounding factors were controlled by conducting propensity score matching analysis. Primary endpoints include disease-free survival (DFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). RESULTS: The optimal threshold for CC-CCD with respect to DFS was 160 mg/m2 based on recursive partitioning analyses (RPA). Therefore, a uniform threshold of 160 mg/m2 (≥160 vs. <160 mg/m2) was selected to classify patients between high and low CC-CCD groups for survival analysis. Patients receiving low CC-CCD showed a significant decrease in 5-year DFS (76.6% vs 91.3%; P = 0.006) and DMFS (81.3% vs 93.5%; P = 0.009) compared to those receiving high CC-CCD. Multivariate analyses indicated that high CC-CCD as an favorable prognostic influence for DFS (P = 0.007) and DMFS (P = 0.008). Further matched analysis identified 65 pairs in both high and low CC-CCD groups. In the matched cohort, high CC-CCD was still identified as a favorable factor for prognosis in DFS (HR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.08-0.70; P = 0.010) and DMFS (HR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.06-0.82; P = 0.023). CONCLUSION: CC-CCD exerts significant treatment effects and 160 mg/m2 CC-CCD may be adequate to provide antitumor effects for CALANPC receiving NAC plus CCRT.