Adipocyte-Based Cell Therapy in Oncology: The Role of Cancer-Associated Adipocytes and Their Reinterpretation as Delivery Platforms

Metabolic labeling and targeted modulation of adipocytes

Adipocytes play a critical role in energy storage and endocrine signaling and are associated with various diseases such as cancer and diabetes. Facile strategies to engineer adipocytes have long been pursued for elucidating adipocyte biology and developing adipocyte-based therapies. Herein, we report metabolic glycan labeling of adipocytes and subsequent targeted modulation of adipocytes via click chemistry. We show that azido tags expressed on the surface of adipocytes can persist for over 4 days. By conjugating dibenzocyclooctyne (DBCO)-cargos onto azido-labeled adipocytes via click chemistry, the cargos can be retained on the adipocyte membrane for over 12 hours. We further show that signaling molecules including adiponectin, calreticulin, mannose-binding lectin 2, and milk fat globule-EGF factor 8 protein can be conjugated to adipocytes to orchestrate their phagocytosis by macrophages. The azido-labeled adipocytes grafted into mice can also mediate targeted conjugation of DBCO-cargos in vivo. This adipocyte labeling and targeting technology will facilitate the development of adipocyte-based therapies and provides a new platform for manipulating the interaction between adipocytes and other types of cells.

Targeting Cancer: Microenvironment and Immunotherapy Innovations

In 2024, the United States was projected to experience 2 million new cancer diagnoses and approximately 611,720 cancer-related deaths, reflecting a broader global trend in which cancer cases are anticipated to exceed 35 million by 2050. This increasing burden highlights ongoing challenges in cancer treatment despite significant advances that have reduced cancer mortality by 31% since 1991. Key obstacles include the disease's inherent heterogeneity and complexity, such as treatment resistance, cancer stem cells, and the multifaceted tumor microenvironment (TME). The TME-comprising various tumor and immune cells, blood vessels, and biochemical factors-plays a crucial role in tumor growth and resistance to therapies. Recent innovations in cancer treatment, particularly in the field of immuno-oncology, have leveraged insights into TME interactions. An emerging example is the FDA-approved therapy using tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), demonstrating the potential of cell-based approaches in solid tumors. However, TIL therapy is just one of many strategies being explored. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the emerging field of immuno-oncology, focusing on how novel therapies targeting or harnessing components of the TME could enhance treatment efficacy and address persistent challenges in cancer care.

Immunotherapy and the ovarian cancer microenvironment: Exploring potential strategies for enhanced treatment efficacy

Despite progress in cancer immunotherapy, ovarian cancer (OC) prognosis continues to be disappointing. Recent studies have shed light on how not just tumour cells, but also the complex tumour microenvironment, contribute to this unfavourable outcome of OC immunotherapy. The complexities of the immune microenvironment categorize OC as a 'cold tumour'. Nonetheless, understanding the precise mechanisms through which the microenvironment influences the effectiveness of OC immunotherapy remains an ongoing scientific endeavour. This review primarily aims to dissect the inherent characteristics and behaviours of diverse cells within the immune microenvironment, along with an exploration into its reprogramming and metabolic changes. It is expected that these insights will elucidate the operational dynamics of the immune microenvironment in OC and lay a theoretical groundwork for improving the efficacy of immunotherapy in OC management.

Ginsenosides: an immunomodulator for the treatment of colorectal cancer

Ginsenosides, the primary bioactive ingredients derived from the root of Panax ginseng, are eagerly in demand for tumor patients as a complementary and alternative drug. Ginsenosides have increasingly become a "hot topic" in recent years due to their multifunctional role in treating colorectal cancer (CRC) and regulating tumor microenvironment (TME). Emerging experimental research on ginsenosides in the treatment and immune regulation of CRC has been published, while no review sums up its specific role in the CRC microenvironment. Therefore, this paper systematically introduces how ginsenosides affect the TME, specifically by enhancing immune response, inhibiting the activation of stromal cells, and altering the hallmarks of CRC cells. In addition, we discuss their impact on the physicochemical properties of the tumor microenvironment. Furthermore, we discuss the application of ginsenosides in clinical treatment as their efficacy in enhancing tumor patient immunity and prolonging survival. The future perspectives of ginsenoside as a complementary and alternative drug of CRC are also provided. This review hopes to open up a new horizon for the cancer treatment of Traditional Chinese Medicine monomers.

Tumor Microenvironment Modulation by Cancer-Derived Extracellular Vesicles

The tumor microenvironment (TME) plays an important role in the process of tumorigenesis, regulating the growth, metabolism, proliferation, and invasion of cancer cells, as well as contributing to tumor resistance to the conventional chemoradiotherapies. Several types of cells with relatively stable phenotypes have been identified within the TME, including cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), neutrophils, and natural killer (NK) cells, which have been shown to modulate cancer cell proliferation, metastasis, and interaction with the immune system, thus promoting tumor heterogeneity. Growing evidence suggests that tumor-cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs), via the transfer of various molecules (e.g., RNA, proteins, peptides, and lipids), play a pivotal role in the transformation of normal cells in the TME into their tumor-associated protumorigenic counterparts. This review article focuses on the functions of EVs in the modulation of the TME with a view to how exosomes contribute to the transformation of normal cells, as well as their importance for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

Primary adipocytes as targetable drug depot to prevent post-surgical cancer recurrence

Surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy or radiation therapy remains the mainstream treatment for breast cancer in the clinic. However, cancer recurrence post surgery is still common. In view of the clinical practice that autologous fat tissue grafting is often used to facilitate breast reconstruction after lumpectomy, here we develop an in vivo targetable adipocyte-based drug depot for the prevention of post-surgical cancer recurrence. We show that primary adipocytes can be metabolically labeled with clickable chemical tags (e.g., azido groups), for subsequent conjugation of dibenzocyclooctyne (DBCO)-bearing cargo via efficient click chemistry. The conjugated cargo can retain well on the adipocyte membrane. By incorporating a cleavable linker between DBCO and cargo, the conjugated cargo can be gradually released from the surface of adipocytes to effect on neighboring cells. In the context of breast cancer surgery, azido-labeled adipocytes grafted to the surgical site can capture circulating DBCO-drugs for improved prevention of 4T1 triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) recurrence and metastasis. This targetable and refillable adipocyte-based drug depot holds great promise for drug delivery, transplantation, and other applications.

Cellular and micro-environmental responses influencing the antitumor activity of all-trans retinoic acid in breast cancer

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) is the most relevant and functionally active metabolite of Vitamin-A. From a therapeutic standpoint, ATRA is the first example of pharmacological agent exerting its anti-tumor activity via a cell differentiating action. In the clinics, ATRA is used in the treatment of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia, a rare form of myeloid leukemia with unprecedented therapeutic results. The extraordinary effectiveness of ATRA in the treatment of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia patients has raised interest in evaluating the potential of this natural retinoid in the treatment of other types of neoplasias, with particular reference to solid tumors.The present article provides an overview of the available pre-clinical and clinical studies focussing on ATRA as a therapeutic agent in the context of breast cancer from a holistic point of view. In detail, we focus on the direct effects of ATRA in breast cancer cells as well as the underlying molecular mechanisms of action. In addition, we summarize the available information on the action exerted by ATRA on the breast cancer micro-environment, an emerging determinant of the progression and invasive behaviour of solid tumors. In particular we discuss the recent evidences of ATRA activity on the immune system. Finally, we analyse and discuss the results obtained with the few ATRA-based clinical trials conducted in the context of breast cancer.

Advances in Nanodelivery Systems Based on Metabolism Reprogramming Strategies for Enhanced Tumor Therapy

Tumor development and metastasis are closely related to the complexity of the metabolism network. Recently, metabolism reprogramming strategies have attracted much attention in tumor metabolism therapy. Although there is preliminary success of metabolism therapy agents, their therapeutic effects have been restricted by the effective reaching of the tumor sites of drugs. Nanodelivery systems with unique physical properties and elaborate designs can specifically deliver to the tumors. In this review, we first summarize the research progress of nanodelivery systems based on tumor metabolism reprogramming strategies to enhance therapies by depleting glucose, inhibiting glycolysis, depleting lactic acid, inhibiting lipid metabolism, depleting glutamine and glutathione, and disrupting metal metabolisms combined with other therapies, including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, photodynamic therapy, etc. We further discuss in detail the advantages of nanodelivery systems based on tumor metabolism reprogramming strategies for tumor therapy. As well as the opportunities and challenges for integrating nanodelivery systems into tumor metabolism therapy, we analyze the outlook for these emerging areas. This review is expected to improve our understanding of modulating tumor metabolisms for enhanced therapy.

Delivery of SIRT1 by cancer-associated adipocyte-derived extracellular vesicles regulates immune response and tumorigenesis of ovarian cancer cells

PURPOSE

This study intends to investigate the possible molecular mechanism of immune response and tumorigenesis in ovarian cancer cells, mediated by sirtuin 1 (SIRT1)-containing extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from cancer-associated adipocytes (CAAs) (CAA-EVs).

METHODS

Differentially expressed genes in EVs from CAAs were screened by RNA transcriptome sequencing, and the downstream pathway was predicted in silico. The binding between SIRT1 and CD24 was investigated by luciferase activity and ChIP-PCR assays. EVs were extracted from human ovarian cancer tissue-isolated CAAs, and the internalization of CCA-EVs by ovarian cancer cells was characterized. The ovarian cancer cell line was injected into mice to establish an animal model. Flow cytometry was performed to analyze the proportions of M1 and M2 macrophages, CD8+ T, T-reg, and CD4+ T cells. TUNEL staining was used to detect cell apoptosis in the mouse tumor tissues. ELISA detection was performed on immune-related factors in the serum of mice.

RESULTS

CAA-EVs could deliver SIRT1 to ovarian cancer cells, thereby affecting the immune response of ovarian cancer cells in vitro and promoting tumorigenesis in vivo. SIRT1 could transcriptionally activate the expression of CD24, and CD24 could up-regulate Siglec-10 expression. CAA-EVs-SIRT1 activated the CD24/Siglec-10 axis and promoted CD8+ T cell apoptosis, thereby promoting tumorigenesis in mice.

CONCLUSION

CAA-EVs-mediated transfer of SIRT1 regulates the CD24/Siglec-10 axis to curb immune response and promote tumorigenesis of ovarian cancer cells.

Nanotechnological Advancements for the Theranostic Intervention in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer: Current Perspectives and Future Direction

Anaplastic thyroid cancer is the rarest, most aggressive, and undifferentiated class of thyroid cancer, accounting for nearly forty percent of all thyroid cancer-related deaths. It is caused by alterations in many cellular pathways like MAPK, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, ALK, Wnt activation, and TP53 inactivation. Although many treatment strategies, such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy, have been proposed to treat anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, they are usually accompanied by concerns such as resistance, which may lead to the lethality of the patient. The emerging nanotechnology-based approaches cater the purposes such as targeted drug delivery and modulation in drug release patterns based on internal or external stimuli, leading to an increase in drug concentration at the site of the action that gives the required therapeutic action as well as modulation in diagnostic intervention with the help of dye property materials. Nanotechnological platforms like liposomes, micelles, dendrimers, exosomes, and various nanoparticles are available and are of high research interest for therapeutic intervention in anaplastic thyroid cancer. The pro gression of the disease can also be traced by using magnetic probes or radio-labeled probes and quantum dots that serve as a diagnostic intervention in anaplastic thyroid cancer.

Castration promotes the browning of the prostate tumor microenvironment

BACKGROUND

Adipose tissue has gained attention due to its potential paracrine role. Periprostatic adipose tissue surrounds the prostate and the prostatic urethra, and it is an essential player in prostate cancer progression. Since obesity is directly related to human tumor progression, and adipose tissue depots are one of the significant components of the tumor microenvironment, the molecular mediators of the communication between adipocytes and epithelial cells are in the spotlight. Although periprostatic white adipose tissue contributes to prostate cancer progression, brown adipose tissue (BAT), which has beneficial effects in metabolic pathologies, has been scarcely investigated concerning cancer progression. Given that adipose tissue is a target of androgen signaling, the actual role of androgen removal on the periprostatic adipose tissue was the aim of this work.

METHODS

Surgical castration of the transgenic adenocarcinoma of the mouse prostate (TRAMP) was employed. By histology examination and software analysis, WAT and BAT tissue was quantified. 3T3-like adipocytes were used to study the role of Casodex® in modifying adipocyte differentiation and to investigate the function of the secretome of adipocytes on the proliferation of androgen-dependent and independent prostate cancer cells. Finally, the role of cell communication was assayed by TRAMP-C1 xenograft implanted in the presence of 3T3-like adipocytes.

RESULTS

Androgen removal increases brown/beige adipose tissue in the fat immediately surrounding the prostate glands of TRAMP mice, concomitant with an adjustment of the metabolism. Castration increases body temperature, respiratory exchange rate, and energy expenditure. Also, in vitro, it is described that blocking androgen signaling by Casodex® increases the uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) marker in 3T3-like adipocytes. Finally, the effect of brown/beige adipocyte secretome was studied on the proliferation of prostate cancer cells in vivo and in vitro. The secretome of brown/beige adipocytes reduces the proliferation of prostate cancer cells mediated partly by the secretion of extracellular vesicles.

CONCLUSIONS

Consequently, we concluded that hampering androgen signaling plays a crucial role in the browning of the periprostatic adipose tissue. Also, the presence of brown adipocytes exhibits the opposite effect to that of white adipocytes in vitro regulating processes that govern the mechanisms of cell proliferation of prostate cancer cells. And finally, promoting the browning of adipose tissue in the periprostatic adipose tissue might be a way to handle prostate cancer cell progression. Video Abstract.

Multi-Faceted Role of Cancer-Associated Adipocytes in Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed types of cancer, especially in obese patients, and the second cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Based on these data, extensive research has been performed over the last decades to decipher the pivotal role of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and its cellular and molecular components in CRC development and progression. In this regard, substantial progress has been made in the identification of cancer-associated adipocytes' (CAAs) characteristics, considering their active role in the CCR tumor niche, by releasing a panel of metabolites, growth factors, and inflammatory adipokines, which assist the cancer cells' development. Disposed in the tumor invasion front, CAAs exhibit a fibroblastic-like phenotype and establish a bidirectional molecular dialogue with colorectal tumor cells, which leads to functional changes in both cell types and contributes to tumor progression. CAAs also modulate the antitumor immune cells' response and promote metabolic reprogramming and chemotherapeutic resistance in colon cancer cells. This review aims to report recent cumulative data regarding the molecular mechanisms of CAAs' differentiation and their activity spectrum in the TME of CRC. A better understanding of CAAs and the molecular interplay between CAAs and tumor cells will provide insights into tumor biology and may open the perspective of new therapeutic opportunities in CRC patients.

Current Trends in Nanotheranostics: A Concise Review on Bioimaging and Smart Wearable Technology

The area of interventional nanotheranostics combines the use of interventional procedures with nanotechnology for the detection and treatment of physiological disorders. Using catheters or endoscopes, for example, interventional techniques make use of minimally invasive approaches to diagnose and treat medical disorders. It is feasible to increase the precision of these approaches and potency by integrating nanotechnology. To visualize and target various parts of the body, such as tumors or obstructed blood veins, one can utilize nanoscale probes or therapeutic delivery systems. Interventional nanotheranostics offers targeted, minimally invasive therapies that can reduce side effects and enhance patient outcomes, and it has the potential to alter the way that many medical illnesses are handled. Clinical enrollment and implementation of such laboratory scale theranostics approach in medical practice is promising for the patients where the user can benefit by tracking its physiological state. This review aims to introduce the most recent advancements in the field of clinical imaging and diagnostic techniques as well as newly developed on-body wearable devices to deliver therapeutics and monitor its due alleviation in the biological milieu.

Exosomal cargos-mediated metabolic reprogramming in tumor microenvironment

Metabolic reprogramming is one of the hallmarks of cancer. As nutrients are scarce in the tumor microenvironment (TME), tumor cells adopt multiple metabolic adaptations to meet their growth requirements. Metabolic reprogramming is not only present in tumor cells, but exosomal cargos mediates intercellular communication between tumor cells and non-tumor cells in the TME, inducing metabolic remodeling to create an outpost of microvascular enrichment and immune escape. Here, we highlight the composition and characteristics of TME, meanwhile summarize the components of exosomal cargos and their corresponding sorting mode. Functionally, these exosomal cargos-mediated metabolic reprogramming improves the "soil" for tumor growth and metastasis. Moreover, we discuss the abnormal tumor metabolism targeted by exosomal cargos and its potential antitumor therapy. In conclusion, this review updates the current role of exosomal cargos in TME metabolic reprogramming and enriches the future application scenarios of exosomes.

Cancer-Associated Adipocytes and Breast Cancer: Intertwining in the Tumor Microenvironment and Challenges for Cancer Therapy

Adipocytes are the main components in breast tissue, and cancer-associated adipocytes (CAAs) are one of the most important components in the tumor microenvironment of breast cancer (BC). Bidirectional regulation was found between CAAs and BC cells. BC facilitates the dedifferentiation of adjacent adipocytes to form CAAs with morphological and biological changes. CAAs increase the secretion of multiple cytokines and adipokines to promote the tumorigenesis, progression, and metastasis of BC by remodeling the extracellular matrix, changing aromatase expression, and metabolic reprogramming, and shaping the tumor immune microenvironment. CAAs are also associated with the therapeutic response of BC and provide potential targets in BC therapy. The present review provides a comprehensive description of the crosstalk between CAAs and BC and discusses the potential strategies to target CAAs to overcome BC treatment resistance.

Nanotechnology-based cell-mediated delivery systems for cancer therapy and diagnosis

The global prevalence of cancer is increasing, necessitating new additions to traditional treatments and diagnoses to address shortcomings such as ineffectiveness, complications, and high cost. In this context, nano and microparticulate carriers stand out due to their unique properties such as controlled release, higher bioavailability, and lower toxicity. Despite their popularity, they face several challenges including rapid liver uptake, low chemical stability in blood circulation, immunogenicity concerns, and acute adverse effects. Cell-mediated delivery systems are important topics to research because of their biocompatibility, biodegradability, prolonged delivery, high loading capacity, and targeted drug delivery capabilities. To date, a variety of cells including blood, immune, cancer, and stem cells, sperm, and bacteria have been combined with nanoparticles to develop efficient targeted cancer delivery or diagnosis systems. The review paper aimed to provide an overview of the potential applications of cell-based delivery systems in cancer therapy and diagnosis.

Cell-based drug delivery systems and their in vivo fate

Cell-based drug delivery systems (DDSs) have received attention recently because of their unique biological properties and self-powered functions, such as excellent biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, long circulation time, tissue-homingcharacteristics, and ability to cross biological barriers. A variety of cells, including erythrocytes, stem cells, and lymphocytes, have been explored as functional vectors for the loading and delivery of various therapeutic payloads (e.g., small-molecule and nucleic acid drugs) for subsequent disease treatment. These cell-based DDSs have their own unique in vivo fates, which are attributed to various factors, including their biological properties and functions, the loaded drugs and loading process, physiological and pathological circumstances, and the body's response to these carrier cells, which result in differences in drug delivery efficiency and therapeutic effect. In this review, we summarize the main cell-based DDSs and their biological properties and functions, applications in drug delivery and disease treatment, and in vivo fate and influencing factors. We envision that the unique biological properties, combined with continuing research, will enable development of cell-based DDSs as friendly drug vectors for the safe, effective, and even personalized treatment of diseases.

Combination of Nanomaterials in Cell-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Cancer Treatment

Cell-based drug delivery systems have shown tremendous advantages in cancer treatment due to their distinctive properties. For instance, delivery of therapeutics using tumor-tropic cells like neutrophils, lymphocytes and mesenchymal stem cells can achieve specific tumor targeting due to the "Trojan Horse" effect. Other circulatory cells like erythrocytes and platelets can greatly improve the circulation time of nanoparticles due to their innate long circulation property. Adipocytes, especially cancer-associated adipocytes, play key roles in tumor development and metabolism, therefore, adipocytes are regarded as promising bio-derived nanoplatforms for anticancer targeted drug delivery. Nanomaterials are important participants in cell-based drug delivery because of their unique physicochemical characteristics. Therefore, the integration of various nanomaterials with different cell types will endow the constructed delivery systems with many attractive properties due to the merits of both. In this review, a number of strategies based on nanomaterial-involved cell-mediated drug delivery systems for cancer treatment will be summarized. This review discusses how nanomaterials can be a benefit to cell-based therapies and how cell-derived carriers overcome the limitations of nanomaterials, which highlights recent advancements and specific biomedical applications based on nanomaterial-mediated, cell-based drug delivery systems.

Lipid Profiling in Cancer Diagnosis with Hand-Held Ambient Mass Spectrometry Probes: Addressing the Late-Stage Performance Concerns

Untargeted lipid fingerprinting with hand-held ambient mass spectrometry (MS) probes without chromatographic separation has shown promise in the rapid characterization of cancers. As human cancers present significant molecular heterogeneities, careful molecular modeling and data validation strategies are required to minimize late-stage performance variations of these models across a large population. This review utilizes parallels from the pitfalls of conventional protein biomarkers in reaching bedside utility and provides recommendations for robust modeling as well as validation strategies that could enable the next logical steps in large scale assessment of the utility of ambient MS profiling for cancer diagnosis. Six recommendations are provided that range from careful initial determination of clinical added value to moving beyond just statistical associations to validate lipid involvements in disease processes mechanistically. Further guidelines for careful selection of suitable samples to capture expected and unexpected intragroup variance are provided and discussed in the context of demographic heterogeneities in the lipidome, further influenced by lifestyle factors, diet, and potential intersect with cancer lipid pathways probed in ambient mass spectrometry profiling studies.

Overview of the molecular mechanisms contributing to the formation of cancer‑associated adipocytes (Review)

Adipocytes are the main stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment. In addition to serving as energy stores for triglycerides, adipocytes may function as an active endocrine organ. The crosstalk between adipocytes and cancer cells was shown to promote the migration, invasion and proliferation of cancer cells and to cause phenotypic and functional changes in adipocytes. Tumor-derived soluble factors, such as TNF-α, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, Wnt3a, IL-6, and exosomal microRNAs (miRNA/miRs), including miR-144, miR-126, miR-155, as well as other miRNAs, have been shown to act on adipocytes at the tumor invasion front, resulting in the formation of cancer-associated adipocytes (CAAs) with diminished reduced terminal differentiation markers and a dedifferentiated phenotype. In addition, the number and size of CAA lipid droplets have been found to be significantly reduced compared with those of mature adipocytes, whereas inflammatory cytokines and proteases are overexpressed. The aim of the present review was to summarize the latest findings on the biological changes of CAAs and the potential role of tumor-adipocyte crosstalk in the formation of CAAs, in the hope of providing novel perspectives for breast cancer treatment.

Adipose-derived stromal/stem cells and extracellular vesicles for cancer therapy

INTRODUCTION

Mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) hold great perspective for the therapy of a host of diseases due to regenerative and anti-inflammatory properties by differentiation into diverse cell populations, homing to damaged tissue regions, paracrine effects, and release of extracellular vesicles.

AREAS COVERED

This review describes the isolation, characterization, and potential use of MSCs and ADSCs for benign and malignant diseases. The MSCs may be administered as whole cells or in form of their secretome that is held responsible for most of their beneficial effects. A special constituent of the paracrine components are the extracellular vesicles (EVs) that carry a biologically potent cargo of proteins, cytokines, and RNA.

EXPERT OPINION

The applications of MSCs and ADSCs are amply documented and have been investigated in preclinical models and many unregulated and a few controlled trials. Larger numbers of MSCs and ADSCs can be obtained for allogeneic transfer but imply difficulties including perseverance of the cells in vivo and possible differentiation into harmful cell types. MSC-derived cell-free preparations are easier to handle and manufacture for various applications. Especially, with the help of bioreactors, EVs can be obtained in excessive numbers and preloaded or charged with proteins, cytokines, and regulatory RNA specimen to treat inflammatory diseases and cancer.

Biomimetic Drug Delivery Systems Oriented by Biological Function in Tumor Targeting

The emergence of nanoscale drug delivery systems provides new opportunities for targeting the delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs and has achieved excellent results. In recent years, with the rise in the concept of intelligent drug delivery systems, the design and preparation of carriers have become more and more complicated, which is not conducive to clinical transformation. Researchers are gradually focused on biomimetic nanoscale drug delivery systems, trying to combine the physicochemical properties of nanoscale carriers with the natural biological functions of endogenous substances, so as to boost tumor targeting delivery. In this article, we first classify and introduce biomimetic nanoscale drug delivery systems, and then emphasize their unique biological functions. The biomimetic nanoscale drug delivery systems have the advantages of simple preparation, powerful functions, and low immunogenicity, having a good application prospect.

The Role of Exosomes in Thyroid Cancer and Their Potential Clinical Application

The incidence of thyroid cancer (TC) is rapidly increasing worldwide. The diagnostic accuracy and dynamics of TC need to be improved, and traditional treatments are not effective enough for patients with poorly differentiated thyroid cancer. Exosomes are membrane vesicles secreted specifically by various cells and are involved in intercellular communication. Recent studies have shown that exosomes secreted by TC cells contribute to tumor progression, angiogenesis and metastasis. Exosomes in liquid biopsies can reflect the overall molecular information of tumors, and have natural advantages in diagnosing TC. Exosomes also play an important role in tumor therapy due to their special physicochemical properties. TC patients will benefit as more exosome patterns are discovered. In this review, we discuss the role of TC-derived exosomes in tumorigenesis and development, and describe the application of exosomes in the diagnosis and treatment of TC.

Current mechanisms in obesity and tumor progression

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Hyperadiposity, as present in obesity, is a substantial threat to cancer risk and prognosis. Studies that have investigated the link between obesity and tumor progression have proposed several mechanistic frameworks, yet, these mechanisms are not fully defined. Further, a comprehensive understanding of how these various mechanisms may interact to create a dynamic disease state is lacking in the current literature.

RECENT FINDINGS

Recent work has begun to explore not only discrete mechanisms by which obesity may promote tumor growth (for instance, metabolic and growth factor functions of insulin; inflammatory cytokines; adipokines; and others), but also how these putative tumor-promoting factors may interact.

SUMMARY

This review will highlight the present understanding of obesity, as it relates to tumor development and progression. First, we will introduce the impact of obesity in cancer within the dynamic tumor microenvironment, which will serve as a theme to frame this review. The core of this review will discuss recently proposed mechanisms that implicate obesity in tumor progression, including chronic inflammation and the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines, adipokines, hormones, and genetic approaches. Furthermore, we intend to offer current insight in targeting adipose tissue during the development of cancer prevention and treatment strategies.

Cancer-associated adipocytes: emerging supporters in breast cancer

Breast cancer (BC) is a malignant breast tumor confronted with high invasion, metastasis and recurrence rate, and adipocytes are the largest components in breast tissue. The aberrant adipocytes, especially the BC-neighbored cancer-associated adipocytes (CAAs), are found in the invasive front of BC. CAAs present a vicious phenotype compared with mature mammary adipocytes and mediate the crosstalk network between adipocytes and BC cells. By releasing multiple adipokines such as leptin, adiponectin, interleukin (IL)-6, chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) and chemokine ligand 5 (CCL5), CAAs play essential roles in favor of proliferation, angiogenesis, dissemination, invasion and metastasis of BC. This article reviews the recent existing CAAs studies on the functions and mechanisms of adipocytes in the development of BC, including adipokine regulating, metabolic reprogramming, extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, microRNAs (miRNAs) and immune cell adjusting. Besides, adipocyte secretome and cellular interactions are implicated in the intervention to BC therapy and autologous fat grafting of breast reconstruction. Therefore, the potential functions and mechanisms of CAAs are very important for unveiling BC oncogenesis and progress. Deciphering the complex network between CAAs and BC is critical for designing therapeutic strategies and achieving the maximum therapeutic effects of BC.