Boron phenyl alanine targeted ionic liquid decorated chitosan nanoparticles for mitoxantrone delivery to glioma cell line

Integrative analysis of multi-omics data reveals a pseudouridine-related lncRNA signature for prediction of glioma prognosis and chemoradiotherapy sensitivity

BACKGROUND

Glioblastoma is the most common type of glioma with a high incidence and poor prognosis, and effective medical treatment remains challenging. Pseudouridine (Ψ) is the first post-transcriptional modification discovered and one of the most abundant modifications to RNA. However, the prognostic value of Ψ-related lncRNAs (ΨrLs) for glioma patients has never been systematically evaluated. This study aims to construct a risk model based on ΨrLs signature and to validate the predictive efficiency of the model.

METHOD

Transcriptomic data, genomic data, and relevant clinical data of glioma patients were extracted from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA). ΨrLs with significant correlation with Ψ-related genes were identified, and univariate Cox regression, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression, and multivariate Cox regression were used to further select biomarkers and construct a ΨrLs signature risk model. Then, the expression of lncRNAs of ΨrLs signature in multiple glioma cell lines was detected by qPCR. Further, ROC analysis, stratification analysis, correlation analysis, survival analysis, nomogram, enrichment analysis, immune infiltration analysis, chemoradiotherapy sensitivity analysis, somatic mutation, and recurrent copy number variation (CNV) analysis were used to validate the predictive efficiency of ΨrLs signature in TCGA and CGGA datasets.

RESULTS

A four-lncRNA ΨrLs signature (DNAJC27-AS1, GDNF-AS1, ZBTB20-AS4, and DNMBP-AS1) risk model was constructed. By ROC analysis, stratified analysis, correlation analysis, survival analysis, and nomogram, the signature showed satisfactory predictive efficiency. Functional enrichment analysis revealed the differences in immune-related biological processes between high- and low-risk groups. Immune infiltration analysis showed that the high-risk group had lower tumor purity and higher stromal, immune and ESTIMATE scores. Mitoxantrone was identified as effective drug for low-risk group of glioma patients. Key genes in glioma development, including IDH1, EGFR, PTEN, etc., were differentially mutated between risk groups. The main recurrent CNVs in low-risk groups were 19q13.42 deletion and 7q34 amplification; 10q23.31 deletion and 12q14.1 in the high-risk group.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study identified a four-lncRNA ΨrLs signature that effectively predicts the prognosis of glioma patients and may serve as a diagnostic tool. Risk scores of glioma patients generated by the signature is associated with immune-related biological processes and chemoradiotherapy sensitivity. These findings may inform the development of more targeted and effective therapies for glioma patients.

Chitosan-Imidazolium Core-Shell Nanoparticles of Gd-Mn-Mo Polyoxometalate as Novel Potential MRI Nano-Agent for Breast Cancer Detection

Polyoxometalates (POMs) are mineral nanoclusters with many advantages in various diagnostic fields, in particular cancer detection. This study aimed to synthesize and evaluate the performance of gadolinium-manganese-molybdenum polyoxometalate (Gd-Mn-Mo; POM) nanoparticles coated with chitosan-imidazolium (POM@CSIm NPs) for detecting 4T1 breast cancer cells by magnetic resonance imaging in vitro and in vivo. The POM@Cs-Im NPs were fabricated and characterized by FTIR, ICP-OES, CHNS, UV-visible, XRD, VSM, DLS, Zeta potential, and SEM. Cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, and MR imaging in vivo and in vitro of L929 and 4T1 cells were also assessed. The efficacy of nanoclusters was demonstrated using MR images of BALB/C mice bearing a 4T1 tumor in vivo. The evaluation of the in vitro cytotoxicity of the designed NPs showed their high biocompatibility. In fluorescence imaging and flow cytometry, NPs had a higher uptake rate by 4T1 than L929 (p < 0.05). Furthermore, NPs significantly increased the signal strength of MR images, and its relaxivity (r1) was calculated as 4.71 mM^-1 s^-1. MR imaging also confirmed the attachment of nanoclusters to cancer cells and their selective accumulation in the tumor region. Overall, the results showed that fabricated POM@CSIm NPs have considerable potential as an MR imaging nano-agent for early 4T1 cancer detection.

Molecule(s) of Interest: I. Ionic Liquids-Gateway to Newer Nanotechnology Applications: Advanced Nanobiotechnical Uses', Current Status, Emerging Trends, Challenges, and Prospects

Ionic liquids are a potent class of organic compounds exhibiting unique physico-chemical properties and structural compositions that are different from the classical dipolar organic liquids. These molecules have found diverse applications in different chemical, biochemical, biophysical fields, and a number of industrial usages. The ionic liquids-based products and procedural applications are being developed for a number of newer industrial purposes, and academic uses in nanotechnology related procedures, processes, and products, especially in nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine. The current article overviews their uses in different fields, including applications, functions, and as parts of products and processes at primary and advanced levels. The application and product examples, and prospects in various fields of nanotechnology, domains of nanosystem syntheses, nano-scale product development, the process of membrane filtering, biofilm formation, and bio-separations are prominently discussed. The applications in carbon nanotubes; quantum dots; and drug, gene, and other payload delivery vehicle developments in the nanobiotechnology field are also covered. The broader scopes of applications of ionic liquids, future developmental possibilities in chemistry and different bio-aspects, promises in the newer genres of nanobiotechnology products, certain bioprocesses controls, and toxicity, together with emerging trends, challenges, and prospects are also elaborated.

Micro-Nanocarriers Based Drug Delivery Technology for Blood-Brain Barrier Crossing and Brain Tumor Targeting Therapy

The greatest obstacle to using drugs to treat brain tumors is the blood-brain barrier (BBB), making it difficult for conventional drug molecules to enter the brain. Therefore, how to safely and effectively penetrate the BBB to achieve targeted drug delivery to brain tumors has been a challenging research problem. With the intensive research in micro- and nanotechnology in recent years, nano drug-targeted delivery technologies have shown great potential to overcome this challenge, such as inorganic nanocarriers, organic polymer-carriers, liposomes, and biobased carriers, which can be designed in different sizes, shapes, and surface functional groups to enhance their ability to penetrate the BBB and targeted drug delivery for brain tumors. In this review, the composition and overcoming patterns of the BBB are detailed, and then the hot research topics of drug delivery carriers for brain tumors in recent years are summarized, and their mechanisms of action on the BBB and the factors affecting drug delivery are described in detail, and the effectiveness of targeted therapy for brain tumors is evaluated. Finally, the challenges and dilemmas in developing brain tumor drug delivery systems are discussed, which will be promising in the future for targeted drug delivery to brain tumors based on micro-nanocarriers technology.

Recent Advances in Chitosan and its Derivatives in Cancer Treatment

Cancer has become a main public health issue globally. The conventional treatment measures for cancer include surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Among the various available treatment measures, chemotherapy is still one of the most important treatments for most cancer patients. However, chemotherapy for most cancers still faces many problems associated with a lot of adverse effects, which limit its therapeutic potency, low survival quality and discount cancer prognosis. In order to decrease these side effects and improve treatment effectiveness and patient’s compliance, more targeted treatments are needed. Sustainable and controlled deliveries of drugs with controllable toxicities are expected to address these hurdles. Chitosan is the second most abundant natural polysaccharide, which has excellent biocompatibility and notable antitumor activity. Its biodegradability, biocompatibility, biodistribution, nontoxicity and immunogenicity free have made chitosan become a widely used polymer in the pharmacology, especially in oncotherapy. Here, we make a brief review of the main achievements in chitosan and its derivatives in pharmacology with a special focus on their agents delivery applications, immunomodulation, signal pathway modulation and antitumor activity to highlight their role in cancer treatment. Despite a large number of successful studies, the commercialization of chitosan copolymers is still a big challenge. The further development of polymerization technology may satisfy the unmet medical needs.