Regulation of drug transporters by microRNA and implications in disease treatment

Analysis of the response mechanisms of Pinellia ternata to terahertz wave stresses using transcriptome and metabolic data

Pinellia ternata (Thunb.) Breit. (Araceae), a significant medicinal plant, has been used to treat various diseases for centuries. Terahertz radiation (THZ) is located between microwaves and infrared rays on the electromagnetic spectrum. THZ possesses low single-photon energy and a spectral fingerprint, but its effects on plant growth have not yet been investigated. The study's primary objective was to examine the transcriptome and metabolome databases of the SY line to provide a new perspective for identifying genes associated with resistance and growth promotion and comprehending the underlying molecular mechanism. Variations in the biological characteristics of P. ternata grown under control and experimental conditions were analyzed to determine the effect of THZ. Compared with the control group, phenotypic variables such as leaf length, petiole length, number of leaves, leaf petiole diameter, and proliferation coefficient exhibited significant differences. P. ternata response to THZ was analyzed regarding the effects of various coercions on root exudation. The experimental group contained considerably more sugar alcohol than the control group. The transcriptome analysis revealed 1,695 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including 509 upregulated and 1,186 downregulated genes. In the KEGG-enriched plant hormone signaling pathway, there were 19 differentially expressed genes, 13 of which were downregulated and six of which were upregulated. In the metabolomic analysis, approximately 416 metabolites were uncovered. There were 112 DEMs that were downregulated, whereas 148 were upregulated. The P. ternata leaves displayed significant differences in phytohormone metabolites, specifically in brassinolide (BR) and abscisic acid (ABA). The rise in BR triggers alterations in internal plant hormones, resulting in faster growth and development of P. ternata. Our findings demonstrated a link between THZ and several metabolic pathway processes, which will enhance our understanding of P. ternata mechanisms.

Understanding of Ovarian Cancer Cell-Derived Exosome Tropism for Future Therapeutic Applications

Exosomes, a subtype of extracellular vesicles, ranging from 50 to 200 nm in diameter, and mediate cell-to-cell communication in normal biological and pathological processes. Exosomes derived from tumors have multiple functions in cancer progression, resistance, and metastasis through cancer exosome-derived tropism. However, there is no quantitative information on cancer exosome-derived tropism. Such data would be highly beneficial to guide cancer therapy by inhibiting exosome release and/or uptake. Using two fluorescent protein (mKate2) transfected ovarian cancer cell lines (OVCA4 and OVCA8), cancer exosome tropism was quantified by measuring the released exosome from ovarian cancer cells and determining the uptake of exosomes into parental ovarian cancer cells, 3D spheroids, and tumors in tumor-bearing mice. The OVCA4 cells release 50 to 200 exosomes per cell, and the OVCA8 cells do 300 to 560 per cell. The uptake of exosomes by parental ovarian cancer cells is many-fold higher than by non-parental cells. In tumor-bearing mice, most exosomes are homing to the parent cancer rather than other tissues. We successfully quantified exosome release and uptake by the parent cancer cells, further proving the tropism of cancer cell-derived exosomes. The results implied that cancer exosome tropism could provide useful information for future cancer therapeutic applications.

Single pot organic solvent-free thermocycling technology for siRNA-ionizable LNPs: a proof-of-concept approach for alternative to microfluidics

Ionizable LNPs are the latest trend in nucleic acid delivery. Microfluidics technology has recently gained interest owing to its rapid mixing, production of nucleic acid-ionizable LNPs, and stability of nucleic acid inside the body. Industrial scale-up, nucleic acid-lipid long-term storage instability, and high production costs prompted scientists to seek alternate solutions to replace microfluidic technology. We proposed a single-pot, organic solvent-free thermocycling technology to efficiently and economically overcome most of the limitations of microfluidic technology. New thermocycling technology needs optimization of process parameters such as sonication duration, cooling–heating cycle, number of thermal cycles, and lipid:aqueous phase ratio to formulate precisely sized particles, effective nucleic acid encapsulation, and better shelf-life stability. Our research led to the formulation of siRNA-ionizable LNPs with particle sizes of 104.2 ± 34.7 nm and PDI 0.111 ± 0.109, with 83.3 ± 4.1% siRNA encapsulation. Thermocycling siRNA-ionizable LNPs had comparable morphological structures with commercialized microfluidics ionizable LNPs imaged by TEM and cryo-TEM. When compared to microfluidics ionizable LNPs, thermocycling siRNA-ionizable LNPs had a longer shelf life at 4°C. Our thermocycling technology showed an effective alternative to microfluidics technology in the production of nucleic acid–ionizable LNPs to meet global demand.

Thermocycling technology is a low-energy, low-temperature, self-assembling cooling–heating process in which lipid droplets spontaneously break apart into much smaller droplets to form siRNA-ionizable LNPs.

The new technology is an alternative to multistep, costly, and complex microfluidics technology for the formulation and bulk up of siRNA-ionizable LNPs economically.

Thermocycling siRNA-ionizable LNPs formulation focused on optimizing process parameters such as thermal cycle rate, number of thermal cycles, and lipid:aqueous phase ratio.

The thermocycling technology is able to overcome the limitations of the storage stability limitations of commercialized ionizable LNPs.

Cancer drug resistance related microRNAs: recent advances in detection methods

MiRNAs are related to cancer drug resistance through various mechanisms. The advanced detection methods for the miRNAs are reviewed.