Mucobilia: current aspects in the management of a rare cause of malignant biliary obstruction

Recurrent Acute Pancreatitis Caused by Mucin-Producing Liver Metastases

We present an atypical case of a 69-year-old woman with recurrent episodes of acute pancreatitis and a background history of mucinous colorectal adenocarcinoma. It is emphasized that in the framework of biliary malignant obstruction, modern non-invasive techniques like Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) with hepatospecific contrast agent and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) may help establish the specific cause of the obstruction before any biliary decompression procedure is carried out. This strategy has the potential to prevent from more important tumour spread and provide a greater chance for curative surgery when applicable.

Probing mucin interaction behavior of magnetic nanoparticles

In this study, we developed iron oxide based magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) by precipitation of iron salts in the presence of ammonia and created four different formulations: without functionality (plain MNPs, no coating), with β-cyclodextrin (MNPs+β-CD) or pluronic 127 polymer (MNPs+F-127), and both β-cyclodextrin and pluronic 127 polymer (MNPs+β-CD-F-127) functionality for its efficient use in mucosal delivery. We studied the interaction and/or binding behavior of these MNPs formulations with porcine stomach mucin using steady-state fluorescence spectroscopy, and then quantified the bound mucin from absorption studies. Toxicity of these MNPs against cervical cancer cells and red blood cells was evaluated. Ex-vivo studies were performed using freshly collected gastrointestinal, ovarian, pancreas and colon organ tissues of pig to evaluate binding and uptake phenomenon of MNPs. Transport studies of these MNPs in mucin was evaluated using Boyden's chamber assay. All these studies together suggest that the MNPs+β-CD-F-127 formulation was strongly interacted with mucin and interestingly transported through mucin compared to other MNPs formulations. Hence, MNPs+β-CD-F-127 formulation could be a good candidate for the mucoadhesive biopharmaceuticals and drug delivery system.