Effect of Dose Ratio on Mitoxantrone and Daunorubicin in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

Nanoengineered, magnetically guided drug delivery for tumors: A developmental study

Fighting against tumors is an ongoing challenge in both medicinal and clinical applications. In recent years, chemotherapy, along with surgery, has significantly improved the situation to prolong life expectancy. Theoretically, and regardless of dosage, we now have drugs that are strong enough to eliminate most tumors. However, due to uncontrollable drug distribution in the body, it is difficult to increase treatment efficiency by simply increasing dosages. For this reason, the need for a drug delivery system that can release “bombs” at the target organ or tissue as precisely as possible has elicited the interest of researchers. In our work, we design and construct a silica-based nanocomposite to meet the above demand. The novel nanocomposite drug carrier can be guided to target tumors or tissue by a magnetic field, since it is constructed with superparamagnetic Fe₃O₄ as the core. The Fe₃O₄ core is clad in a mesoporous silica molecular sieve MCM-41 (represented as MS, in this article), since this MS has enormous ordered hexagonal caves providing sufficient space to hold the drug molecules. To modify the magnetically guided carriers so that they become both magnetically guided and light-responsive, benzophenone hydrazone is coupled into the molecular sieve tunnel. When a certain wavelength of light is imposed on the gating molecules, C=N double bonds vibrate and swing, causing the cavity that holds the drug molecules to change size and open the tunnels. Hence, the nanocomposite has the ability to release loaded drugs with light irradiation. The structure, loading abilities, and the size of the nanocomposite are inspected with a scanning electron microscope, a transmission electron microscope, thermogravimetry analysis, N₂ adsorption/desorption, and dynamic light scattering The biocompatibility and in vitro drug molecule controlled release are tested with an SMMC-7721 cell line.

m1A methylation modification patterns and metabolic characteristics in hepatocellular carcinoma

Background

The dysregulation of RNA methylation has been demonstrated to contribute to tumorigenicity and progression in recent years. However, the alteration of N1-methyladenosine (m1A) methylation and its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remain unclear.

Methods

We systematically investigated the modification patterns of 10 m1A regulators in HCC samples and evaluated the metabolic characteristics of each pattern. A scoring system named the m1Ascore was developed using principal component analysis. The clinical value of the m1Ascore in risk stratification and drug screening was further explored.

Results

Three m1A modification patterns with distinct metabolic characteristics were identified, corresponding to the metabolism-high, metabolism-intermediate and metabolism-excluded phenotypes. Patients were divided into high- or low-m1Ascore groups, and a significant survival difference was observed. External validation confirmed the prognostic value of the m1Ascore. A nomogram incorporating the m1Ascore and other clinicopathological factors was constructed and had good performance for predicting survival. Two agents, mitoxantrone and doxorubicin, were determined to be potential therapeutic drugs for the high-risk group.

Conclusion

This study provided novel insights into m1A modification and metabolic heterogeneity in cancer, promoted risk stratification in the clinic from the perspective of m1A modification, and further guided individual treatment strategies.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12876-022-02160-w.