Structural requirement of G-quadruplex/aptamer-combined DNA macromolecule serving as efficient drug carrier for cancer-targeted drug delivery

Triangle-toothed gear occlude-guided universal nanotechnology constructs 3D symmetric DNA polyhedra with high assembly efficiency for precision cancer therapy

Chemotherapy is commonly used to treat malignant tumors. However, conventional chemotherapeutic drugs often cannot distinguish between tumor and healthy cells, resulting in adverse effects and reduced therapeutic efficacy. Therefore, zigzag-shaped gear-occlude-guided cymbal-closing (ZGC) DNA nanotechnology was developed based on the mirror-symmetry principle to efficiently construct symmetric DNA polyhedra. This nanotechnology employed simple mixing steps for efficient sequence design and assembly. A targeting aptamer was installed at a user-defined position using an octahedron as a model structure. Chemotherapeutic drug-loaded polyhedral objects were subsequently delivered into tumor cells. Furthermore, anticancer drug-loaded DNA octahedra were intravenously injected into a HeLa tumor-bearing mouse model. Assembly efficiency was almost 100 %, with no residual building blocks identified. Moreover, this nanotechnology required a few DNA oligonucleotides, even for complex polyhedrons. Symmetric DNA polyhedrons retained their structural integrity for 24 h in complex biological environments, guaranteeing prolonged circulation without drug leakage in the bloodstream and promoting efficient accumulation in tumor tissues. In addition, DNA octahedra were cleared relatively slowly from tumor tissues. Similarly, tumor growth was significantly inhibited in vivo, and a therapeutic outcome comparable to that of conventional gene-chemo combination therapy was observed. Moreover, no systemic toxicity was detected. These findings indicate the potential application of ZGC DNA nanotechnology in precision medicine.

Nanomaterials in Immunology: Bridging Innovative Approaches in Immune Modulation, Diagnostics, and Therapy

The intersection of immunology and nanotechnology has provided significant advancements in biomedical research and clinical applications over the years. Immunology aims to understand the immune system's defense mechanisms against pathogens. Nanotechnology has demonstrated its potential to manipulate immune responses, as nanomaterials' properties can be modified for the desired application. Research has shown that nanomaterials can be applied in diagnostics, therapy, and vaccine development. In diagnostics, nanomaterials can be used for biosensor development, accurately detecting biomarkers even at very low concentrations. Therapeutically, nanomaterials can act as efficient carriers for delivering drugs, antigens, or genetic material directly to targeted cells or tissues. This targeted delivery improves therapeutic efficacy and reduces the adverse effects on healthy cells and tissues. In vaccine development, nanoparticles can improve vaccine durability and extend immune responses by effectively delivering adjuvants and antigens to immune cells. Despite these advancements, challenges regarding the safety, biocompatibility, and scalability of nanomaterials for clinical applications are still present. This review will cover the fundamental interactions between nanomaterials and the immune system, their potential applications in immunology, and their safety and biocompatibility concerns.

A review of DNA nanoparticles-encapsulated drug/gene/protein for advanced controlled drug release: Current status and future perspective over emerging therapy approaches

In the last ten years, the field of nanomedicine has experienced significant progress in creating novel drug delivery systems (DDSs). An effective strategy involves employing DNA nanoparticles (NPs) as carriers to encapsulate drugs, genes, or proteins, facilitating regulated drug release. This abstract examines the utilization of DNA NPs and their potential applications in strategies for controlled drug release. Researchers have utilized the distinctive characteristics of DNA molecules, including their ability to self-assemble and their compatibility with living organisms, to create NPs specifically for the purpose of delivering drugs. The DNA NPs possess numerous benefits compared to conventional drug carriers, such as exceptional stability, adjustable dimensions and structure, and convenient customization. Researchers have successfully achieved a highly efficient encapsulation of different therapeutic agents by carefully designing their structure and composition. This advancement enables precise and targeted delivery of drugs. The incorporation of drugs, genes, or proteins into DNA NPs provides notable advantages in terms of augmenting therapeutic effectiveness while reducing adverse effects. DNA NPs serve as a protective barrier for the enclosed payloads, preventing their degradation and extending their duration in the body. The protective effect is especially vital for delicate biologics, such as proteins or gene-based therapies that could otherwise be vulnerable to enzymatic degradation or quick elimination. Moreover, the surface of DNA NPs can be altered to facilitate specific targeting towards particular tissues or cells, thereby augmenting the accuracy of delivery. A significant benefit of DNA NPs is their capacity to regulate the kinetics of drug release. Through the manipulation of the DNA NPs structure, scientists can regulate the rate at which the enclosed cargo is released, enabling a prolonged and regulated dispensation of medication. This control is crucial for medications with limited therapeutic ranges or those necessitating uninterrupted administration to attain optimal therapeutic results. In addition, DNA NPs have the ability to react to external factors, including alterations in temperature, pH, or light, which can initiate the release of the payload at precise locations or moments. This feature enhances the precision of drug release control. The potential uses of DNA NPs in the controlled release of medicines are extensive. The NPs have the ability to transport various therapeutic substances, for example, drugs, peptides, NAs (NAs), and proteins. They exhibit potential for the therapeutic management of diverse ailments, including cancer, genetic disorders, and infectious diseases. In addition, DNA NPs can be employed for targeted drug delivery, traversing biological barriers, and surpassing the constraints of conventional drug administration methods.

DNA-Based Nanostructured Platforms as Drug Delivery Systems

DNA nanotechnology has recently provided a novel approach for developing safe, biocompatible, biodegradable, non-immunogenic, and non-toxic drug delivery systems. DNA nanostructures have numerous advantages for deployment as drug delivery platforms, owing to programmable assembly, ease of production, reproducibility, and precise control over size, shape, and function. DNA nanostructures can dramatically improve the delivery of poorly soluble drugs, decreasing cytotoxicity to normal tissues and improving therapeutic effectiveness. Using different conjugation methods, DNA nanostructures can be precisely integrated with a wide range of functional moieties, including proteins, peptides, aptamers, polymers, lipids, inorganic nanoparticles, and targeting groups, to enhance the nanostructure stability, extend circulation, and specify drug delivery. Smart DNA nanostructures with targeting ligands or a stimuli-responsive moiety specify therapeutic delivery to target, minimize drug loss attributable to prior drug release or off-target distribution, improve target accumulation, promote cellular internalization, bypass efflux pumps, and avoid adverse effects. Target-specific delivery by smart DNA nanostructures, in turn, maximizes drug concentration, reaching the target locations at a faster rate and preventing therapeutic failure while also lowering the dose needed for therapeutic effect. This Review provides an overview of DNA nanostructures for drug encapsulation and selective delivery to the desired sites. DNA nanostructures are a novel platform for drug delivery with improved performance that may be used to treat a variety of diseases.

A comparison study of pathological features and drug efficacy between Drosophila models of C9orf72 ALS/FTD

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a devastating neurodegenerative disease with a complex genetic basis, presenting both in familial and sporadic forms. The hexanucleotide (G4C2) repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene, which triggers distinct pathogenic mechanisms, has been identified as a major contributor to familial and sporadic Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis cases. Animal models have proven pivotal in understanding these mechanisms; however, discrepancies between models due to variable transgene sequence, expression levels, and toxicity profiles complicate the translation of findings. Herein, we provide a systematic comparison of 7 publicly available Drosophila transgenes modeling the G4C2 expansion under uniform conditions, evaluating variations in their toxicity profiles. Further, we tested 3 previously characterized disease-modifying drugs in selected lines to uncover discrepancies among the tested strains. Our study not only deepens our understanding of the C9orf72 G4C2 mutations but also presents a framework for comparing constructs with minute structural differences. This work may be used to inform experimental designs to better model disease mechanisms and help guide the development of targeted interventions for neurodegenerative diseases, thus bridging the gap between model-based research and therapeutic application.

The fluorescence regulation of a tri-functional oligonucleotide probe HEX-OND in detecting Pb(II), cysteine, and K(I) based on two G-quadruplex forms

A novel tri-functional probe HEX-OND was developed for detecting Pb(II), cysteine (Cys), and K(I) by fluorescence quenching, recovery, and amplification strategies respectively, based on Pb(II)-induced chair-type G-quadruplex (CGQ) and K(I)-induced parallel G-quadruplex (PGQ). The thermodynamic mechanism was illustrated as that HEX-OND transformed into CGQ by associating equimolar Pb(II) (K₁ = 1.10 ± 0.25 × 10⁶ L/mol), forcing (G)₂ spontaneously approaching and static-quenching HEX (5'-hexachlorofluorescein phosphoramidite) in the photo-induced electron transfer (PET) way by the van der Waals force and hydrogen bond (K₂ = 5.14 ± 1.65 × 10⁷ L/mol); the additional Cys recovered fluorescence in the molecular ratio of 2:1 via Pb(II)-precipitation induced CGQ destruction (K₃ = 3.03 ± 0.77 × 10⁹ L/mol); the equimolar K(I) induced HEX-OND transforming into PGQ (K₄ = 3.53 ± 0.30 × 10⁴ L/mol) and specifically associating with the equimolar N-methyl mesoporphyrin IX (NMM) by hydrophobic force (K₅ = 3.48 ± 1.08 × 10⁵ L/mol), leading to the fluorescence enhancement. Moreover, the practicability results showed that the detection limits reached a nanomolar level for Pb(II) and Cys and micromolar for K(I), with mere disturbances for 6, 10, and 5 kinds of other substances, respectively; no significant deviations of the real sample detection results were found between the well-understood methods with ours in detecting Pb(II) and Cys, and K(I) could be recognized and quantified even in the presence of Na(I) with 5000 and 600 fold respectively. The results demonstrated the triple-function, sensitivity, selectivity, and tremendous application feasibility of the current probe in sensing Pb(II), Cys, and K(I).