Hepatic Cellular Distribution of Silica Nanoparticles by Surface Energy Modification

Prognostic related gene index for predicting survival and immunotherapeutic effect of hepatocellular carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common malignant liver tumor. It is an aggressive disease with high mortality rate. In this study, we investigated a new prognosis-related gene index (PRGI) that can predict the survival and efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with HCC. RNA-seq data and clinical data of HCC samples were obtained from the cancer genome atlas and ICGC databases. Prognosis-related genes were obtained using log-rank tests and univariate Cox proportional hazards regression. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed on the overall survival rate of patients with prognosis-related genes and multiple clinicopathological factors, and a nomogram was constructed. A PRGI was then constructed based on least absolute shrinkage and selection operator or multivariate Cox Iterative Regression. The possible correlation between PRGI and immune cell infiltration or immunotherapy efficacy was discussed. Eight genes were identified to construct the PRGI. PRGI can predict the infiltration of immune cells into the tumor microenvironment of HCC and the response to immunotherapy. PRGI can accurately predict the survival rate of patients with HCC, reflect the immune microenvironment, and predict the efficacy of immunotherapy.

Adverse effects and underlying mechanism of amorphous silica nanoparticles in liver

Amorphous silica nanoparticles (SiNPs) have been widely used and mass-producted due to its unique properties. With the life cycle of SiNPs-based products, SiNPs are further released into the air, soil, surface water and sediment, resulting in an increasing risk to humans. SiNPs could enter into the human body through vein, respiratory tract, digestive tract or skin. Moreover, recent evidences have showed that, regardless of exposure pathways, SiNPs could even be traced in liver, which is gradually considered as one of the main organs that SiNPs accumulate. Increasing evidences supported the link between SiNPs exposure and adverse liver effects. However, the research models are diverse and the molecular mechanisms have not been well integrated. In this review, the liver-related studies of SiNPs in vivo and in vitro were screened from the PubMed database by systematic retrieval method. We explored the interaction between SiNPs and the liver, and especially proposed a framework of SiNPs-caused liver toxicity, considering AOP Wiki and existing studies. We identified increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a molecular initiating event (MIE), oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, lysosome disruption and mitochondrial dysfunction as subsequent key events (KEs), which gradually led to adverse outcomes (AOs) containing liver dysfunction and liver fibrosis through a series of key events about cell inflammation and death such as hepatocyte apoptosis/pyroptosis, hepatocyte autophagy dysfuncton and hepatic macrophages pyroptosis. To our best knowledge, this is the first AOP proposed on SiNPs-related liver toxicity. In the future, more epidemiological studies need to be performed and more biomarkers need to be explored to improve the AOP framework for SiNPs-associated liver toxicity.

Different coatings on magnetic nanoparticles dictate their degradation kinetics in vivo for 15 months after intravenous administration in mice

BACKGROUND

The surface coating of iron oxide magnetic nanoparticle (MNPs) drives their intracellular trafficking and degradation in endolysosomes, as well as dictating other cellular outcomes. As such, we assessed whether MNP coatings might influence their biodistribution, their accumulation in certain organs and their turnover therein, processes that must be understood in vivo to optimize the design of nanoformulations for specific therapeutic/diagnostic needs.

RESULTS

In this study, three different MNP coatings were analyzed, each conferring the identical 12 nm iron oxide cores with different physicochemical characteristics: 3-aminopropyl-triethoxysilane (APS), dextran (DEX), and dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA). When the biodistribution of these MNPs was analyzed in C57BL/6 mice, they all mainly accumulated in the spleen and liver one week after administration. The coating influenced the proportion of the MNPs in each organ, with more APS-MNPs accumulating in the spleen and more DMSA-MNPs accumulating in the liver, remaining there until they were fully degraded. The changes in the physicochemical properties of the MNPs (core size and magnetic properties) was also assessed during their intracellular degradation when internalized by two murine macrophage cell lines. The decrease in the size of the MNPs iron core was influenced by their coating and the organ in which they accumulated. Finally, MNP degradation was analyzed in the liver and spleen of C57BL/6 mice from 7 days to 15 months after the last intravenous MNP administration.

CONCLUSIONS

The MNPs degraded at different rates depending on the organ and their coating, the former representing the feature that was fundamental in determining the time they persisted. In the liver, the rate of degradation was similar for all three coatings, and it was faster than in the spleen. This information regarding the influence of coatings on the in vivo degradation of MNPs will help to choose the best coating for each biomedical application depending on the specific clinical requirements.

Penetration and translocation of functional inorganic nanomaterials into biological barriers

With excellent physicochemical properties, inorganic nanomaterials (INMs) have exhibited a series of attractive applications in biomedical fields. Biological barriers prevent successful delivery of nanomedicine in living systems that limits the development of nanomedicine especially for sufficient delivery of drugs and effective therapy. Numerous researches have focused on overcoming these biological barriers and homogeneity of organisms to enhance therapeutic efficacy, however, most of these strategies fail to resolve these challenges. In this review, we present the latest progress about how INMs interact with biological barriers and penetrate these barriers. We also summarize that both native structure and components of biological barriers and physicochemical properties of INMs contributed to the penetration capacity. Knowledge about the relationship between INMs structure and penetration capacity will guide the design and application of functional and efficient nanomedicine in the future.

Understanding Nanomaterial-Liver Interactions to Facilitate the Development of Safer Nanoapplications

Nanomaterials (NMs) are widely used in commercial and medical products, such as cosmetics, vaccines, and drug carriers. Exposure to NMs via various routes such as dermal, inhalation, and ingestion has been shown to gain access to the systemic circulation, resulting in the accumulation of NMs in the liver. The unique organ structures and blood flow features facilitate the liver sequestration of NMs, which may cause adverse effects in the liver. Currently, most in vivo studies are focused on NMs accumulation at the organ level and evaluation of the gross changes in liver structure and functions, however, cell-type-specific uptake and responses, as well as the molecular mechanisms at cellular levels leading to effects at organ levels are lagging. Herein, the authors systematically review diverse interactions of NMs with the liver, specifically on major liver cell types including Kupffer cells (KCs), liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), and hepatocytes as well as the detailed molecular mechanisms involved. In addition, the knowledge gained on nano-liver interactions that can facilitate the development of safer nanoproducts and nanomedicine is also reviewed.

Isolation and Characterization of Compounds from Glycyrrhiza uralensis as Therapeutic Agents for the Muscle Disorders

Skeletal muscle is the most abundant tissue and constitutes about 40% of total body mass. Herein, we report that crude water extract (CWE) of G. uralensis enhanced myoblast proliferation and differentiation. Pretreatment of mice with the CWE of G. uralensis prior to cardiotoxin-induced muscle injury was found to enhance muscle regeneration by inducing myogenic gene expression and downregulating myostatin expression. Furthermore, this extract reduced nitrotyrosine protein levels and atrophy-related gene expression. Of the five different fractions of the CWE of G. uralensis obtained, the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) fraction more significantly enhanced myoblast proliferation and differentiation than the other fractions. Ten bioactive compounds were isolated from the EtOAc fraction and characterized by GC-MS and NMR. Of these compounds (4-hydroxybenzoic acid, liquiritigenin, (R)-(-)-vestitol, isoliquiritigenin, medicarpin, tetrahydroxymethoxychalcone, licochalcone B, liquiritin, liquiritinapioside, and ononin), liquiritigenin, tetrahydroxymethoxychalcone, and licochalcone B were found to enhance myoblast proliferation and differentiation, and myofiber diameters in injured muscles were wider with the liquiritigenin than the non-treated one. Computational analysis showed these compounds are non-toxic and possess good drug-likeness properties. These findings suggest that G. uralensis-extracted components might be useful therapeutic agents for the management of muscle-associated diseases.

Role of Liver-Mediated Tolerance in Nanoparticle-Based Tumor Therapy

In the last decades, the use of nanocarriers for immunotherapeutic purposes has gained a lot of attention, especially in the field of tumor therapy. However, most types of nanocarriers accumulate strongly in the liver after systemic application. Due to the default tolerance-promoting role of liver non-parenchymal cells (NPCs), Kupffer cells (KCs), liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs), and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), their potential role on the immunological outcome of systemic nano-vaccination approaches for therapy of tumors in the liver and in other organs needs to be considered. Concerning immunological functions, KCs have been the focus until now, but recent studies have elucidated an important role of LSECs and HSCs as well. Therefore, this review aims to summarize current knowledge on the employment of nanocarriers for immunotherapeutic therapy of liver diseases and the overall role of liver NPCs in the context of nano-vaccination approaches. With regard to the latter, we discuss strategies on how to address liver NPCs, aiming to exploit and modulate their immunological properties, and alternatively how to avoid unwanted engagement of nano-vaccines by liver NPCs for tumor therapy.

Time-Resolved Quantification of Nanoparticle Uptake, Distribution, and Impact in Precision-Cut Liver Slices

Much effort within the nanosafety field is currently focused on the use of advanced in vitro models to reduce the gap between in vitro and in vivo studies. Within this context, precision-cut tissue slices are a unique ex vivo model to investigate nanoparticle impact using live tissue from laboratory animals and even humans. However, several aspects of the basic mechanisms of nanoparticle interactions with tissue have not yet been elucidated. To this end, liver slices are exposed to carboxylated and amino-modified polystyrene known to have a different impact on cells. As observed in standard cell cultures, amino-modified polystyrene nanoparticles induce apoptosis, and their impact is affected by the corona forming on their surface in biological fluids. Subsequently, a detailed time-resolved study of nanoparticle uptake and distribution in the tissue is performed, combining fluorescence imaging and flow cytometry on cells recovered after tissue digestion. As observed in vivo, the Kupffer cells accumulate high nanoparticle amounts and, interestingly, they move within the tissue towards the slice borders. Similar observations are reproduced in liver slices from human tissue. Thus, tissue slices can be used to reproduce ex vivo important features of nanoparticle outcomes in the liver and study nanoparticle impact on real tissue.