Genome editing of PAR2 through targeted delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 system for alleviating acute lung inflammation via ERK/NLRP3/IL-1β and NO/iNOS signalling

Nano-polymeric platinum activates PAR2 gene editing to suppress tumor metastasis

Metastasis as the hallmark of cancer preferentially contributes to tumor recurrence and therapy resistance, aggrandizing the lethality of patients with cancer. Despite their robust suppressions of tumor progression, chemotherapeutics failed to attenuate cancer cell migration and even triggered pro-metastatic effects. In parallel, protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2), a member of the G protein-coupled receptor subfamily, actively participates in cancer metastasis via multiple signal transduction pathways. CRISPR/Cas9 that is a dominating genome editing tool can evoke PAR2 knockout to inhibit cancer metastasis. However, the absence of valid delivery systems largely limits its efficacy. Herein, we nanosized polymeric platinum (NanoPt) as therapeutical drug carries to deliver CRISPR/Cas9 to elicit genome editing of PAR2, which drastically augmented anti-metastatic effects and alleviated systematic toxicity of platinum-based treatment in vitro and in vivo. More importantly, the NanoPt@Cas9-PAR2 initiated PAR2 deficiency to mechanistically attenuate EMT process and ferroptosis via RAGE/ERK signalling, consequently preventing cancer cell migration. Our findings indicate that NanoPt@Cas9-PAR2 that mitigated PAR2 signalling and cytotoxic effects of platinum could be a safe and powerful all-in-one combinatorial strategy for cancer treatment.

Exploring therapeutic and diagnostic potential of cysteine cathepsin as targets for cancer therapy with nanomedicine

Cysteine cathepsins have been discovered to be substantially expressed in multiple types of cancer. They play a key role in the progression and growth of these cancers, rendering them appealing targets for nanoscale delivery and noninvasive diagnostic imaging. This review explores cathepsins from the papain-like enzyme family (C1) within the cysteine peptidase clan (CA), emphasizing the role of cathepsin-responsive nanoparticles in tumor growth. Furthermore, it also explores how nanotechnology can harness cathepsin activity to enable targeted drug delivery, improve tumor imaging, and reduce systemic toxicity. By examining the molecular mechanisms governing cathepsin function and evaluating different nanocarrier systems, this work aims to enhance our understanding of targeted cancer treatment. Despite significant advances, challenges remain in translating these nanomedicine platforms into clinical use, including improving delivery efficiency, biocompatibility, long-term safety, and addressing issues such as interspecies protease variability and scalable nanomanufacturing. Future advancement, integrating advanced biomaterials, patient-derived organoid models, bispecific immune-protease targeting, CRISPR-based cathepsin editing, and artificial intelligence-driven pharmacokinetic modeling and analysis will be critical to fully realizing the clinical potential of cathepsin targeted nanomedicines. These innovations hold promises for advancing precision oncology by overcoming current limitations and improving patient outcomes.

NLRP3 Inflammasome in Vascular Dementia: Regulatory Mechanisms, Functions, and Therapeutic Implications: A Comprehensive Review

BACKGROUND

Vascular dementia, the second most common type of dementia globally after Alzheimer's disease, is associated with neuroinflammation. Activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome, an important pattern recognition receptor in human innate immunity, plays a key role in the pathogenesis of vascular dementia.

RESULTS

The NLRP3 inflammasome pathway destroys neuronal cells primarily through the production of IL-18 and IL-1β. Moreover, it exacerbates vascular dementia by producing IL-18, IL-1β, and the N-terminal fragment of GSDMD, which also contributes to neuronal cell death. Thus, blocking the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway presents a new therapeutic strategy for treating vascular dementia, thereby delaying or curing the disease more effectively and mitigating adverse effects.

CONCLUSIONS

This review explores the role and mechanisms of the NLRP3 inflammasome in vascular dementia, summarizing current research and therapeutic strategies. Investigating the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome can reveal the pathogenesis of vascular dementia from a new perspective and propose innovative preventive and treatment strategies.

Mechanism of action of the bile acid receptor TGR5 in obesity

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a large family of membrane protein receptors, and Takeda G protein-coupled receptor 5 (TGR5) is a member of this family. As a membrane receptor, TGR5 is widely distributed in different parts of the human body and plays a vital role in regulating metabolism, including the processes of energy consumption, weight loss and blood glucose homeostasis. Recent studies have shown that TGR5 plays an important role in glucose and lipid metabolism disorders such as fatty liver, obesity and diabetes. With the global obesity situation becoming more and more serious, a comprehensive explanation of the mechanism of TGR5 and filling the gaps in knowledge concerning clinical ligand drugs are urgently needed. In this review, we mainly explain the anti-obesity mechanism of TGR5 to promote the further study of this target, and show the electron microscope structure of TGR5 and review recent studies on TGR5 ligands to illustrate the specific binding between TGR5 receptor binding sites and ligands, which can effectively provide new ideas for ligand research and promote drug research.