The Neuroprotective Effects of Curcumin Nanoparticles on The Cerebral Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury in The Rats-The Roles of The Protein Kinase RNA-Like ER Kinase/Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase and Transcription Factor EB proteins

OBJECTIVE

Reduction of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI)/re-oxygenation injury, is defined as the paradoxical exacerbation of the cellular dysfunction and death, following restoration of the blood flow to previously ischemic tissues. The re-establishment of blood flow is essential to salvage the ischemic tissues. As a result, the treatment of IRI with novel therapies, which have fewer side effects, are of great importance. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of curcumin nanoparticle (CN) pre-treatment on the cerebral I/R rat model.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this experimental study, CN was administered to rats orally five days before the bilateral common carotid artery occlusion (BCCAO) and continued for three days. The intensity of oxidative stress, the activities of antioxidant enzymes, glutathione (GSH) content, the activity of mitochondrial enzymes, including succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), curcumin bioavailability, pERK/ERK expression ratio and TFEB protein were studied. Data analysis was performed using Graphpad Prism V.8 software, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS V.26 software).

RESULTS

Cerebral IRI-damage significantly increased the oxidative stress (P=0.0008) and decreased the activity of the antioxidant enzymes including catalase (CAT) (P<0.001), super oxide dismutase (SOD) (P<0.001), reduced GSH (P<0.001), mitochondrial enzymes, pERK/ERK expression ratio (P=0.002) and TEFB protein (P=0.005) in rats' brains. In addition, the pre-treatment of the rats with CN resulted in a decrease in the reactive oxygen species (ROS), and an increase in the activities of antioxidants and mitochondrial enzymes. This in turn up-regulated the pERK/ERK expression ratio and TEFB expression.

CONCLUSION

CN has neuroprotective effects on the cerebral IRI condition due to its antioxidant properties and is able to overexpress the pERK and TFEB proteins; thus, it can be considered as a suitable treatment option during and after the incidence of stroke.

miRNAs and exosomal miRNAs in lung cancer: New emerging players in tumor progression and therapy response

Non-coding RNAs have shown key roles in cancer and among them, short RNA molecules are known as microRNAs (miRNAs). These molecules have length less than 25 nucleotides and suppress translation and expression. The functional miRNAs are produced in cytoplasm. Lung cancer is a devastating disease that its mortality and morbidity have undergone an increase in recent years. Aggressive behavior leads to undesirable prognosis and tumors demonstrate abnormal proliferation and invasion. In the present review, miRNA functions in lung cancer is described. miRNAs reduce/increase proliferation and metastasis. They modulate cell death and proliferation. Overexpression of oncogenic miRNAs facilitates drug resistance and radio-resistance in lung cancer. Tumor microenvironment components including macrophages and cancer-associated fibroblasts demonstrate interactions with miRNAs in lung cancer. Other factors such as HIF-1α, lncRNAs and circRNAs modulate miRNA expression. miRNAs have also value in the diagnosis of lung cancer. Understanding such interactions can pave the way for developing novel therapeutics in near future for lung cancer patients.

(Nano)platforms in breast cancer therapy: Drug/gene delivery, advanced nanocarriers and immunotherapy

Breast cancer is the most malignant tumor in women, and there is no absolute cure for it. Although treatment modalities including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are utilized for breast cancer, it is still a life-threatening disease for humans. Nanomedicine has provided a new opportunity in breast cancer treatment, which is the focus of the current study. The nanocarriers deliver chemotherapeutic agents and natural products, both of which increase cytotoxicity against breast tumor cells and prevent the development of drug resistance. The efficacy of gene therapy is boosted by nanoparticles and the delivery of CRISPR/Cas9, Noncoding RNAs, and RNAi, promoting their potential for gene expression regulation. The drug and gene codelivery by nanoparticles can exert a synergistic impact on breast tumors and enhance cellular uptake via endocytosis. Nanostructures are able to induce photothermal and photodynamic therapy for breast tumor ablation via cell death induction. The nanoparticles can provide tumor microenvironment remodeling and repolarization of macrophages for antitumor immunity. The stimuli-responsive nanocarriers, including pH-, redox-, and light-sensitive, can mediate targeted suppression of breast tumors. Besides, nanoparticles can provide a diagnosis of breast cancer and detect biomarkers. Various kinds of nanoparticles have been employed for breast cancer therapy, including carbon-, lipid-, polymeric- and metal-based nanostructures, which are different in terms of biocompatibility and delivery efficiency.