Radiotherapy might improve survival, even in the oldest men

Catalytic Nanozyme for Radiation Protection

Radiotherapy has been widely used in clinical cancer treatment. However, the ionizing radiation required to kill the tumor will inevitably cause damage to the surrounding normal tissues. To minimize the radiation damage and side effects, small molecular radioprotective agents have been used as clinical adjuvants for radiation protection of healthy tissues. However, the shortcomings of small molecules such as short circulation time and rapid kidney clearance from the body greatly hinder their biomedical applications. In recent years, nanozymes have attracted much attention because of their potential to treat a variety of diseases. Nanozymes exhibit catalytic properties and antioxidant capabilities to provide a potential solution for the development of high-efficiency radioprotective agents in radiotherapy and nuclear radiation accidents. Therefore, in this review, we systematically summarize the catalytic nanozymes used for radiation protection of healthy tissues and discuss the challenges and future prospects of nanomaterials in the field of radiation protection.

Current concepts of non-coding RNA regulation of immune checkpoints in cancer

The discovery of immune checkpoint molecules as important regulators of immune responses in healthy individuals as well as immune escape of malignant tumours has led to profound changes in understanding, research and treatment of human cancer. Especially the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer therapy has set anti-cancer therapy on a novel level. With increasing experience of approved CTLA-4 and PD1/PD-L1 inhibitors and the evolution of novel immune checkpoint molecules from pre-clinical models to clinical trials, mechanisms of the regulation of these immune system guiding factors, are of paramount importance to overcome mechanisms of resistance. Non-protein coding RNAs (i.e. non-coding RNAs) such as short microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs are involved in regulating of various cellular processes and have attracted attention of cancer researchers and immunologists over the last years. In the present review, interactions between non coding RNAs and immune checkpoint molecules, within the framework of human cancer, will be discussed and current and developing concepts between the immunological and non-coding RNA world, will be elucidated.