Nanotechnology has been extensively studied and exploited for cancer treatment as nanoparticles can play a significant role as a drug delivery system. Compared to conventional drugs, ...nanoparticle-based drug delivery has specific advantages, such as improved stability and biocompatibility, enhanced permeability and retention effect, and precise targeting. The application and development of hybrid nanoparticles, which incorporates the combined properties of different nanoparticles, has led this type of drug-carrier system to the next level. In addition, nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems have been shown to play a role in overcoming cancer-related drug resistance. The mechanisms of cancer drug resistance include overexpression of drug efflux transporters, defective apoptotic pathways, and hypoxic environment. Nanoparticles targeting these mechanisms can lead to an improvement in the reversal of multidrug resistance. Furthermore, as more tumor drug resistance mechanisms are revealed, nanoparticles are increasingly being developed to target these mechanisms. Moreover, scientists have recently started to investigate the role of nanoparticles in immunotherapy, which plays a more important role in cancer treatment. In this review, we discuss the roles of nanoparticles and hybrid nanoparticles for drug delivery in chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy and describe the targeting mechanism of nanoparticle-based drug delivery as well as its function on reversing drug resistance.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the leading causes of fatality and disability worldwide. Despite its high prevalence, effective treatment strategies for TBI are limited. Traumatic brain injury ...induces structural and functional alterations of astrocytes, the most abundant cell type in the brain. As a way of coping with the trauma, astrocytes respond in diverse mechanisms that result in reactive astrogliosis. Astrocytes are involved in the physiopathologic mechanisms of TBI in an extensive and sophisticated manner. Notably, astrocytes have dual roles in TBI, and some astrocyte-derived factors have double and opposite properties. Thus, the suppression or promotion of reactive astrogliosis does not have a substantial curative effect. In contrast, selective stimulation of the beneficial astrocyte-derived molecules and simultaneous attenuation of the deleterious factors based on the spatiotemporal-environment can provide a promising astrocyte-targeting therapeutic strategy. In the current review, we describe for the first time the specific dual roles of astrocytes in neuronal plasticity and reconstruction, including neurogenesis, synaptogenesis, angiogenesis, repair of the blood-brain barrier, and glial scar formation after TBI. We have also classified astrocyte-derived factors depending on their neuroprotective and neurotoxic roles to design more appropriate targeted therapies. Video Abstract.
Efferocytosis is a physiologic phagocytic clearance of apoptotic cells, which modulates inflammatory responses and the immune environment and subsequently facilitates immune escape of cancer cells, ...thus promoting tumor development and progression. Efferocytosis is an equilibrium formed by perfect coordination among "find-me", "eat-me" and "don't-eat-me" signals. These signaling pathways not only affect the proliferation, invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis of tumor cells but also regulate adaptive responses and drug resistance to antitumor therapies. Therefore, efferocytosis-related molecules and pathways are potential targets for antitumor therapy. Besides, supplementing conventional chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other immunotherapies with efferocytosis-targeted therapy could enhance the therapeutic efficacy, reduce off-target toxicity, and promote patient outcome. Video abstract.
Breast cancer is a common cancer in women and a leading cause of mortality. With the early diagnosis and development of therapeutic drugs, the prognosis of breast cancer has markedly improved. ...Chemotherapy is one of the predominant strategies for the treatment of breast cancer. Taxanes, including paclitaxel and docetaxel, are widely used in the treatment of breast cancer and remarkably decrease the risk of death and recurrence. However, taxane resistance caused by multiple factors significantly impacts the effect of the drug and leads to poor prognosis. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to play a significant role in critical cellular processes, and a number of studies have illustrated that lncRNAs play vital roles in taxane resistance. In this review, we systematically summarize the mechanisms of taxane resistance in breast cancer and the functions of lncRNAs in taxane resistance in breast cancer. The findings provide insight into the role of lncRNAs in taxane resistance and suggest that lncRNAs may be used to develop therapeutic targets to prevent or reverse taxane resistance in patients with breast cancer.
Many different treatments may affect the serum lipid profiles of breast cancer patients. This study analyzed serum lipid levels at different periods during treatment to observe the changes in lipid ...profiles during and after chemotherapy and to compare the different effects of different chemotherapy regimens on serum lipid profiles. A total of 805 patients were included in this study. We measured the lipid profiles of patients who received surgery without chemotherapy prior to the operation and at 3, 6 and 12 months after operation. In addition, in patients who underwent chemotherapy, the lipid profiles were measured prior to chemotherapy, prior to the last cycle of chemotherapy and 6 months after chemotherapy. Lipid profile measurements included total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), homocysteine (HCY), and uric acid (UA). (Neo)Adjuvant chemotherapy exerted an adverse temporary effect on lipid levels (manifested as increased TG and LDL-C levels, and decreased HDL-C levels, particularly in the adjuvant chemotherapy group) during the chemotherapy periods. However, this influence was not sustained, as the lipid profiles levels were generally restored to baseline levels 6 months after chemotherapy completion. Different age groups showed different changes in lipid levels that were influenced by chemotherapy. The younger group (20-40 years old) showed a greater increase in TC and LDL-C levels during chemotherapy than the 41-65-year-old group. Chemotherapy exerts an adverse temporary effect, and the effects of different regimens on lipid levels are similar. Furthermore, lipid profiles in younger women may be more sensitive to chemotherapy.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is an important cause of human mortality and morbidity, which can induce serious neurological damage. At present, clinical treatments for neurological dysfunction after ...TBI include hyperbaric oxygen, brain stimulation and behavioral therapy, but the therapeutic effect is not satisfactory. Recent studies have found that exogenous stem cells can migrate to damaged brain tissue, then participate in the repair of damaged brain tissue by further differentiation to replace damaged cells, while releasing anti-inflammatory factors and growth factors, thereby significantly improving neurological function. This article will mainly review the effects, deficiencies and related mechanisms of different types of stem cells in TBI.
•Summary the underlying mechanism of ionizing radiation and possible choices of radioprotectant.•Hydrogen works as a scavenger of free radicals, exert anti-inflammation, and anti-apoptosis ...effect.•Hydrogen works as a signal modulator or through regulating gene expression.•Summary the main delivery methods of hydrogen.
In recent years, many studies have shown that hydrogen has therapeutic and preventive effects on various diseases. Its selective antioxidant properties were well noticed. Most of the ionizing radiation-induced damage is caused by hydroxyl radicals (OH) from radiolysis of H2O. Since hydrogen can mitigate such damage through multiple mechanisms, it presents noteworthy potential as a novel radio-protective agent. This review analyses possible mechanisms for hydrogen’s radioprotective properties and effective delivery methods. We also look into details of vitro and vivo studies for hydrogen’s radioprotective effects, and clinical practices. We conclude that hydrogen has good potential in radio-protection, with evidence that warrants greater research efforts in this field.
Nanobiotechnology plays an important role in drug delivery, and various kinds of nanoparticles have demonstrated new properties, which may provide opportunities in clinical treatment. ...Nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery systems have been used in anti-inflammatory therapies. Diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis have been widely impacted by the pathogenesis of inflammation. Efficient delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs can reduce medical dosage and improve therapeutic effect. In this review, we discuss nanoparticles with potential anti-inflammatory activity, and we present a future perspective regarding the application of nanomedicine in inflammatory diseases.
Both chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN) and febrile neutropenia (FN) frequently occur and can lead to dose-limiting toxicity and even fatal chemotherapy side effects. The prophylactic use of ...recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF), including pegylated rhG-CSF (PEG-rhG-CSF), significantly reduces the risks of CIN and FN during chemotherapy in early-stage breast cancer (ESBC) patients. However, whether the prophylactic use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), especially PEG-rhG-CSF, can influence white blood cell (WBC) counts and absolute neutrophil counts (ANCs) after finishing the chemotherapy remains unknown. Therefore, exploring the development and recovery tendency of WBC counts and ANCs during and after chemotherapy is crucial.
We aimed to investigate the variation tendency and recovery of WBC counts and ANCs during and after chemotherapy and evaluate the independent factors influencing leukopenia and neutropenia lasting longer after chemotherapy. We also aimed to provide individualized prophylactically leukocyte elevation therapy for breast cancer patients.
This single-center retrospective cohort study evaluated 515 ESBC patients who received rhG-CSF or PEG-G-CSF for prophylaxis after adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Blood test reports were analyzed during chemotherapy, and on a 12-month follow-up period after finishing the chemotherapy. The WBC counts and ANCs were measured to assess their variation tendency characteristics and to identify independent factors that influenced the occurrence of leukopenia and neutropenia lasting longer than 12 months after chemotherapy.
Prophylaxis with rhG-CSF or PEG-rhG-CSF kept the mean values of WBC counts and ANCs within the normal range during chemotherapy, but a significant difference in WBC levels was detected before the end of the last chemotherapy compared to the prechemotherapy period (baseline) (
< 0.001). During the 12-month follow-up after the end of the last chemotherapy, WBC counts and ANCs gradually recovered, but the group that used only PEG-rhG-CSF (long-acting group,
= 0.012) or rhG-CSF (short-acting group,
= 0.0005) had better leukocyte elevation effects than the mixed treatment group (PEG-rhG-CSF mixed rhG-CSF). Besides, the short-acting group had a better neutrophil elevation effect than the longer-acting (
= 0.019) and mixed (
= 0.002) groups. Leukopenia was still present in 92 (17.9%) patients and neutropenia in 63 (12.2%) 12 months after the end of the last chemotherapy. The duration of leukopenia over 12 months was closely associated with the baseline WBC level (
< 0.001), G-CSF types (
= 0.027), and surgical method (
= 0.041). Moreover, the duration of neutropenia over 12 months was closely related to the baseline ANC (
< 0.001), G-CSF types (
= 0.043), and molecular typing (
= 0.025).
The prophylactic application of G-CSF effectively stabilized the WBC counts and ANCs during chemotherapy in ESBC patients. Nevertheless, the recovery of WBC counts and ANCs after chemotherapy varied between different G-CSF treatment groups. The risk of leukopenia and neutropenia persisting for more than 12 months after chemotherapy was associated with G-CSF types, the baseline level of WBC count/ANCs, surgical method, and molecular typing.
Somatostatin receptor (SSTR) 2, widely expressed in meningioma, is a G-protein-coupled receptor and can be activated by somatostatin or its synthetic analogs. SSTR2 is therefore extensively studied ...as a marker and target for the diagnosis and treatment of meningioma. Accumulating studies have revealed the crucial clinical significance of SSTR2 in meningioma. Summarizing the progress of these studies is urgently needed as it may not only provide novel and better management for patients with meningioma but also indicate the direction of future research. Pertinent literature is reviewed to summarize the recent collective knowledge and understanding of SSTR2’s clinical significance in meningioma in this review. SSTR2 offers novel ideas and approaches in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognostic prediction for meningioma, but more and further studies are required.
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