MSCs-engineered biomimetic PMAA nanomedicines for multiple bioimaging-guided and photothermal-enhanced radiotherapy of NSCLC

Advanced protein-embedded bimetallic nanocomposite optimized for in vivo fluorescence and magnetic resonance bimodal imaging

HYPOTHESIS

The development of bimodal imaging probes represents a hot topic of current research. Herein, we deal with developing an innovative bimodal contrast agent enabling fluorescence imaging (FI)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and, simultaneously, consisting of biocompatible nanostructures. Optimized synthesis of advanced protein-embedded bimetallic (APEBM) nanocomposite containing luminescent gold nanoclusters (AuNC) and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION), suitable for in vivo dual-modal FI/MR imaging is reported.

EXPERIMENTS

The APEBM nanocomposite was prepared by a specific sequential one-pot green synthetic approach that is optimized to increase metals (Au, Fe) content and, consequently, the imaging ability of the resulting nanostructures. The protein matrix, represented by serum albumin, was intentionally chosen, and used since it creates an efficient protein corona for both types of optically/magnetically-susceptible nanostructures (AuNC, SPION) and ensures biocompatibility of the resulting APEBM nanocomposite although it contains elevated metal concentrations (approx. 1 mg·mL-1 of Au, around 0.3 mg·mL-1 of Fe). In vitro and in vivo imaging was performed.

FINDINGS

Successful in vivo FI and MRI recorded in healthy mice corroborated the applicability of the APEBM nanocomposite and, simultaneously, served as a proof of concept concerning the potential future exploitation of this new FI/MRI bimodal contrast agent in preclinical and clinical practice.

Application of nano-radiosensitizers in non-small cell lung cancer

Radiotherapy stands as a cornerstone in the treatment of numerous malignant tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer. However, the critical challenge of amplifying the tumoricidal effectiveness of radiotherapy while minimizing collateral damage to healthy tissues remains an area of significant research interest. Radiosensitizers, by methods such as amplifying DNA damage and fostering the creation of free radicals, play a pivotal role in enhancing the destructive impact of radiotherapy on tumors. Over recent decades, nano-dimensional radiosensitizers have emerged as a notable advancement. Their mechanisms include cell cycle arrest in the G2/M phase, combating tumor hypoxia, and others, thereby enhancing the efficacy of radiotherapy. This review delves into the evolving landscape of nanomaterials used for radiosensitization in non-small cell lung cancer. It provides insights into the current research progress and critically examines the challenges and future prospects within this burgeoning field.

Stimuli-Responsive Nanoradiosensitizers for Enhanced Cancer Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy (RT) has been a classical therapeutic method of cancer for several decades. It attracts tremendous attention for the precise and efficient treatment of local tumors with stimuli-responsive nanomaterials, which enhance RT. However, there are few systematic reviews summarizing the newly emerging stimuli-responsive mechanisms and strategies used for tumor radio-sensitization. Hence, this review provides a comprehensive overview of recently reported studies on stimuli-responsive nanomaterials for radio-sensitization. It includes four different approaches for sensitized RT, namely endogenous response, exogenous response, dual stimuli-response, and multi stimuli-response. Endogenous response involves various stimuli such as pH, hypoxia, GSH, and reactive oxygen species (ROS), and enzymes. On the other hand, exogenous response encompasses X-ray, light, and ultrasound. Dual stimuli-response combines pH/enzyme, pH/ultrasound, and ROS/light. Lastly, multi stimuli-response involves the combination of pH/ROS/GSH and X-ray/ROS/GSH. By elaborating on these responsive mechanisms and applying them to clinical RT diagnosis and treatment, these methods can enhance radiosensitive efficiency and minimize damage to surrounding normal tissues. Finally, this review discusses the additional challenges and perspectives related to stimuli-responsive nanomaterials for tumor radio-sensitization.

New insights into nanosystems for non-small-cell lung cancer: diagnosis and treatment

Lung cancer is caused by a malignant tumor that shows the fastest growth in both incidence and mortality and is also the greatest threat to human health and life. At present, both in terms of incidence and mortality, lung cancer is the first in male malignant tumors, and the second in female malignant tumors. In the past two decades, research and development of antitumor drugs worldwide have been booming, and a large number of innovative drugs have entered clinical trials and practice. In the era of precision medicine, the concept and strategy of cancer from diagnosis to treatment are experiencing unprecedented changes. The ability of tumor diagnosis and treatment has rapidly improved, the discovery rate and cure rate of early tumors have greatly improved, and the overall survival of patients has benefited significantly, with a tendency to transform to a chronic disease with tumor. The emergence of nanotechnology brings new horizons for tumor diagnosis and treatment. Nanomaterials with good biocompatibility have played an important role in tumor imaging, diagnosis, drug delivery, controlled drug release, etc. This article mainly reviews the advancements in lipid-based nanosystems, polymer-based nanosystems, and inorganic nanosystems in the diagnosis and treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Overexpressed transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) in lung adenocarcinoma harbours a new opportunity for therapeutic targeting

The specific biological function of transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) in pathogenesis of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains unclear. In this study, TRPV1 expression in tumor tissues, primary cells and cell lines of LUAD, as well as the mechanism mediating its hyperexpression were systematically studied. Multiple models and techniques were adopted to elucidate the relationship between TRPV1 hyperexpression and tumor recurrence and metastasis. Results showed that TRPV1 expression was increased in tumor tissues and primary tumor cells of LUAD patients. The increased expression was associated with worse overall survival outcome and raised HIF1α levels. TRPV1 expression in A549 and NCI-H292 cells was increased after pretreatment with cigarette smoke extract or spermine NONOate. Moreover, A549 cells with TRPV1 overexpression has enhanced tumor growth rates in subcutaneous grafted tumor models, and increased intrapulmonary metastasis after tail vein infusion in nude BALB/c nude mice. Mechanistically, TRPV1 overexpression in A549 cells promoted HIF1α expression and nuclear translocation by promoting CREB phosphorylation and activation of NOS1-NO pathway, ultimately leading to accelerated cell proliferation and stronger invasiveness. In addition, based on photothermal effects, CuS-TRPV1 mAb effectively targeted and induced apoptosis of TRPV1-A549 cells both in vivo and in vitro, thereby mitigating tumor growth and metastasis induced by xenotransplantation of TRPV1-A549 cells. In conclusion, TRPV1 hyperexpression in LUAD is a risk factor for tumor progression and is involved in proliferation and migration of tumor cells through activation of HIF1α. Our study also attempted a new strategy inhibiting the recurrence and metastasis of LUAD: by CuS-TRPV1 mAb precisely kill TRPV1 hyperexpression cells through photothermal effects.

Aerosol capture and coronavirus spike protein deactivation by enzyme functionalized antiviral membranes

The airborne nature of coronavirus transmission makes it critical to develop new barrier technologies that can simultaneously reduce aerosol and viral spread. Here, we report nanostructured membranes with tunable thickness and porosity for filtering coronavirus-sized aerosols, combined with antiviral enzyme functionalization that can denature spike glycoproteins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in low-hydration environments. Thin, asymmetric membranes with subtilisin enzyme and methacrylic functionalization show more than 98.90% filtration efficiency for 100-nm unfunctionalized and protein-functionalized polystyrene latex aerosol particles. Unfunctionalized membranes provided a protection factor of 540 ± 380 for coronavirus-sized particle, above the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's standard of 10 for N95 masks. SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein on the surface of coronavirus-sized particles was denatured in 30 s by subtilisin enzyme-functionalized membranes with 0.02-0.2% water content on the membrane surface.

Cell-derived membrane biomimetic nanocarriers for targeted therapy of pulmonary disease

Pulmonary diseases are currently one of the major threats of human health, especially considering the recent COVID-19 pandemic. However, the current treatments are facing the challenges like insufficient local drug concentrations, the fast lung clearance and risks to induce unexpected inflammation. Cell-derived membrane biomimetic nanocarriers are recently emerged delivery strategy, showing advantages of long circulation time, excellent biocompatibility and immune escape ability. In this review, applications of using cell-derived membrane biomimetic nanocarriers from diverse cell sources for the targeted therapy of pulmonary disease were summarized. In addition, improvements of the cell-derived membrane biomimetic nanocarriers for augmented therapeutic ability against different kinds of pulmonary diseases were introduced. This review is expected to provide a general guideline for the potential applications of cell-derived membrane biomimetic nanocarriers to treat pulmonary diseases.

Clinical Roles of Risk Model Based on Differentially Expressed Genes in Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Prognosis and Immunity of Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays an important regulatory role in the progression of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the TME might contribute to the occurrence and development of cancer. This study evaluates the role of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of MSCs and the development of NSCLC and develops a prognostic risk model to assess the therapeutic responses. The DEGs in MSCs from lung tissues and from normal tissues were analyzed using GEO2R. The functions and mechanisms of the DEGs were analyzed using the Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Additionally, the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database was used to determine the expression levels of the DEGs of MSCs in the NSCLC tissues. The prognostic factors of NSCLC related to MSCs were screened by survival analysis, meta-analysis, Cox regression analysis, and a prognostic risk model and nomogram was developed. The signaling mechanisms and immune roles that risk model participate in NSCLC development were determined via Gene Set Enrichment Analysis and CIBERSORT analysis. Compared to the normal tissues, 161 DEGs were identified in the MSCs of the lung tissues. These DEGs were associated with mechanisms, such as DNA replication, nuclear division, and homologous recombination. The overexpression of DDIT4, IL6, ITGA11, MME, MSX2, POSTN, and TRPA1 were associated with dismal prognosis of NSCLC patients. A high-risk score based on the prognostic risk model indicated the dismal prognosis of NSCLC patients. The nomogram showed that the age, clinical stage, and risk score affected the prognosis of NSCLC patients. Further, the high-risk model was associated with signaling mechanisms, such as the ECM-receptor interaction pathways, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, and MAPK pathways, involved in the progression of NSCLC and was also related to the components of the immune system, such as macrophages M0, T follicular helper cells, regulatory T cells. Therefore, the risk model and nomogram that was constructed on the basis of MSC-related factors such as POSTN, TRPA1, and DDIT4 could facilitate the discovery of target molecules that participate in the progression of NSCLC, which might also serve as new candidate markers for evaluating the prognosis of NSCLC patients.

Cetuximab Combined With Sonodynamic Therapy Achieves Dual-Modal Image Monitoring for the Treatment of EGFR-Sensitive Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Background

Blocking signaling by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), can effectively inhibit the proliferation and differentiation of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Additionally, an increasing number of NSCLC patients have treatment limitations caused by EGFR overexpression or mutations. Therefore, we constructed a nanotherapy platform consisting of cetuximab (CTX) to target EGFR-sensitive NSCLC with an iron tetroxide core loading the sound-sensitive agent IR780 for dual-mode imaging diagnosis by combining targeting and sonodynamic therapy (SDT) to reshape the tumor microenvironment (TME), enhance the SDT antitumor effects and improve the therapeutic effects of EGFR sensitivity.

Methods

IR780@INPs were prepared by reverse rotary evaporation, CTX was adsorbed/coupled to obtain IR780@INPs-CTX, and the morphology and structure were characterized. Intracellular ROS levels and cell apoptosis first verified its killing effects against tumor cells. Then, a nude mouse lung cancer subcutaneous xenograft model was established with HCC827 cells. A real-time fluorescence IVIS imaging system determined the targeting and live distribution of IR780@INPs-CTX in the transplanted tumors and the imaging effects of the T2 sequence of the INPs by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) 0 h, 2 h, 4 h and 6 h after administration to confirm drug efficacy.

Results

In vitro, US+IR780@INPs-CTX produced a large amount of ROS after SDT to induce cell apoptosis, and significant cell death after live/dead staining was observed. In vivo fluorescence imaging showed the IR780@INPs-CTX was mainly concentrated in the tumor with a small amount in the liver. MRI displayed rapid enrichment of the IR780@INPs into tumor tissue 0h after injection and the T2 signal intensity gradually decreases with time without obvious drug enrichment in the surrounding tissues. In vivo, at the end of treatment, the US+IR780@INPs-CTX group showed disappearance or a continued decrease in tumor volume, indicating strong SDT killing effects.

Conclusion

The combination of CTX and SDT is expected to become a novel treatment for EGFR-sensitive NSCLC.

Sono and nano: A perfect synergy for eco-compatible Biginelli reaction

In this study, we evaluated the performance of nano-γ-Fe2O3–SO3H catalyst in the Biginelli reaction and synthesized 3,4-dihydropyrimidine-2-(1H)-ones. This reaction was carried out under solvent-free and ultrasonic irradiation conditions and belonged to one-pot multicomponent reactions (MCRs) with an adopted aromatic aldehyde, ethyl acetoacetate, and urea as starting materials for the beginning of the reaction. The synthesized materials were efficient in synthesizing 3,4-dihydropyrimidine-2-(1H)-ones via the Biginelli reaction under reaction conditions. Thus, the advantages of using nano-γ-Fe2O3–SO3H in the Biginelli reaction are short reaction time, high efficiency, green method, solvent free, and cost-effective. Furthermore, nano-γ-Fe2O3–SO3H as a heterogeneous catalyst can be recycled five times without significantly reducing catalytic activity.

Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes Accelerate Diabetic Wound Healing via Ameliorating Oxidative Stress and Promoting Angiogenesis

Diabetic wounds remain a great challenge for clinicians due to the multiple bacterial infections and oxidative damage. Exosomes, as an appealing nanodrug delivery system, have been widely applied in the treatment of diabetic wounds. Endovascular cells are important component cells of the vascular wall. Herein, we investigated the effects of HUCMSCs and HUC-Exos (exosomes secreted by HUCMSCs) on diabetic wound healing. In this study, HUVECs were coincubated with HUCMSCs, and HUC-Exos were utilized for in vitro and in vivo experiments to verify their roles in the regulation of diabetic wound healing. Our results demonstrated that HUCMSCs have the ability to regulate oxidative stress injuries of endothelial cells through exosomes and accelerate diabetic cutaneous wound healing in vitro. The present study suggests that HUC-Exos accelerate diabetic cutaneous wound healing, providing a promising therapeutic strategy for chronic diabetic wound repair.

Development of nanotechnology-mediated precision radiotherapy for anti-metastasis and radioprotection

Radiotherapy (RT), including external beam RT and internal radiation therapy, uses high-energy ionizing radiation to kill tumor cells.

Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes and Their Potential Agents in Hematological Diseases

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are the most exploited stem cells with multilineage differentiation potential and immunomodulatory properties. Numerous lines of findings have reported their successful applications in a multitude of inflammatory conditions and immune disorders. However, it is currently discovered that these effects are mainly mediated in a paracrine manner by MSC-exosomes. Moreover, MSC-exosomes have been implicated in a wide variety of biological responses including immunomodulation, oxidative stress, tumor progression, and tissue regeneration. Meanwhile, they are reported to actively participate in various hematological diseases by the means of transferring different types of exosomal components to the target cells. Therefore, in this review, we briefly discuss the sources and biological features of MSCs and then illustrate the biogenesis and biological processes of MSC-exosomes. Of note, this paper especially highlights the latest research progress of MSC-exosomes in hematological diseases.

Exosomes derived from pioglitazone-pretreated MSCs accelerate diabetic wound healing through enhancing angiogenesis

BACKGROUND

Enhanced angiogenesis can promote diabetic wound healing. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)-derived exosomes, which are cell-free therapeutics, are promising candidates for the treatment of diabetic wound healing. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of exosomes derived from MSCs pretreated with pioglitazone (PGZ-Exos) on diabetic wound healing.

RESULTS

We isolated PGZ-Exos from the supernatants of pioglitazone-treated BMSCs and found that PGZ-Exos significantly promote the cell viability and proliferation of Human Umbilical Vein Vascular Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) injured by high glucose (HG). PGZ-Exos enhanced the biological functions of HUVECs, including migration, tube formation, wound repair and VEGF expression in vitro. In addition, PGZ-Exos promoted the protein expression of p-AKT, p-PI3K and p-eNOS and suppressed that of PTEN. LY294002 inhibited the biological function of HUVECs through inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/eNOS pathway. In vivo modeling in diabetic rat wounds showed that pioglitazone pretreatment enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of MSCs-derived exosomes and accelerated diabetic wound healing via enhanced angiogenesis. In addition, PGZ-Exos promoted collagen deposition, ECM remodeling and VEGF and CD31 expression, indicating adequate angiogenesis in diabetic wound healing.

CONCLUSIONS

PGZ-Exos accelerated diabetic wound healing by promoting the angiogenic function of HUVECs through activation of the PI3K/AKT/eNOS pathway. This offers a promising novel cell-free therapy for treating diabetic wound healing.