Dual Functioned Hexapeptide-Coated Lipid-Core Nanomicelles Suppress Toll-Like Receptor-Mediated Inflammatory Responses through Endotoxin Scavenging and Endosomal pH Modulation

Excessive activation of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathways and the circulating endotoxin are key players in the pathogenesis of many acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. Regulation of TLR-mediated inflammatory responses by bioactive nanodevices represents a promising strategy for treating these diseases. In searching for novel, clinically applicable nanodevices with potent TLR inhibitory activities, three types of hexapeptide-modified nano-hybrids with different cores of phospholipid nanomicelles, liposomes, and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles are constructed. Interestingly, only the peptide-modified lipid-core nanomicelles (M-P12) display potent TLR inhibitory activities. Further mechanistic studies disclose that lipid-core nanomicelles have a generic property to bind to and scavenge lipophilic TLR ligands including lipopolysaccharide to block the ligand-receptor interaction and down-regulate the TLR signaling extracellularly. In addition, the peptide modification enables M-P12 a unique capability to modulate endosomal acidification upon being endocytosed into macrophages, which subsequently regulates the endosomal TLR signal transduction. In an acute lung injury mouse model, intratracheal administration of M-P12 can effectively target lung macrophages and reduce lung inflammation and injuries. This work defines a dual mechanism of action of the peptide-modified lipid-core nanomicelles in regulating TLR signaling, and provides new strategies for the development of therapeutic nanodevices for treating inflammatory diseases.

Royal jelly extracellular vesicles promote wound healing by modulating underlying cellular responses

Apis mellifera royal jelly (RJ) is a well-known remedy in traditional medicine around the world and its versatile effects range from antibacterial to anti-inflammatory properties and pro-regenerative properties. As a glandular product, RJ has been shown to contain a substantial number of extracellular vesicles (EVs), and, in this study, we aimed to investigate the extent of involvement of RJEVs in wound healing-associated effects. Molecular analysis of RJEVs verified the presence of exosomal markers such as CD63 and syntenin, and cargo molecules MRJP1, defensin-1, and jellein-3. Furthermore, RJEVs were demonstrated to modulate mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) differentiation and secretome, as well as decrease LPS-induced inflammation in macrophages by blocking the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. In vivo studies confirmed antibacterial effects of RJEVs and demonstrated an acceleration of wound healing in a splinted mouse model. This study suggests that RJEVs play a crucial role in the known effects of RJ by modulating the inflammatory phase and cellular response in wound healing. Transfer of RJ into the clinics has been impeded by the high complexity of the raw material. Isolating EVs from the raw RJ decreases the complexity while allowing standardization and quality control, bringing a natural nano-therapy one step closer to the clinics.

"Smart" drug delivery: A window to future of translational medicine

Chemotherapy is the mainstay of cancer treatment today. Chemotherapeutic drugs are non-selective and can harm both cancer and healthy cells, causing a variety of adverse effects such as lack of specificity, cytotoxicity, short half-life, poor solubility, multidrug resistance, and acquiring cancer stem-like characteristics. There is a paradigm shift in drug delivery systems (DDS) with the advent of smarter ways of targeted cancer treatment. Smart Drug Delivery Systems (SDDSs) are stimuli responsive and can be modified in chemical structure in response to light, pH, redox, magnetic fields, and enzyme degradation can be future of translational medicine. Therefore, SDDSs have the potential to be used as a viable cancer treatment alternative to traditional chemotherapy. This review focuses mostly on stimuli responsive drug delivery, inorganic nanocarriers (Carbon nanotubes, gold nanoparticles, Meso-porous silica nanoparticles, quantum dots etc.), organic nanocarriers (Dendrimers, liposomes, micelles), antibody-drug conjugates (ADC) and small molecule drug conjugates (SMDC) based SDDSs for targeted cancer therapy and strategies of targeted drug delivery systems in cancer cells.

The Optimized Delivery of Triterpenes by Liposomal Nanoformulations: Overcoming the Challenges

The last decade has witnessed a sustained increase in the research development of modern-day chemo-therapeutics, especially for those used for high mortality rate pathologies. However, the therapeutic landscape is continuously changing as a result of the currently existing toxic side effects induced by a substantial range of drug classes. One growing research direction driven to mitigate such inconveniences has converged towards the study of natural molecules for their promising therapeutic potential. Triterpenes are one such class of compounds, intensively investigated for their therapeutic versatility. Although the pharmacological effects reported for several representatives of this class has come as a well-deserved encouragement, the pharmacokinetic profile of these molecules has turned out to be an unwelcomed disappointment. Nevertheless, the light at the end of the tunnel arrived with the development of nanotechnology, more specifically, the use of liposomes as drug delivery systems. Liposomes are easily synthesizable phospholipid-based vesicles, with highly tunable surfaces, that have the ability to transport both hydrophilic and lipophilic structures ensuring superior drug bioavailability at the action site as well as an increased selectivity. This study aims to report the results related to the development of different types of liposomes, used as targeted vectors for the delivery of various triterpenes of high pharmacological interest.

Targeting Glioblastoma: The Current State of Different Therapeutic Approaches

BACKGROUND

Glioma is the primary cancer of the central nervous system in adults. Among gliomas, glioblastoma is the most deadly and aggressive form with an average life span of 1 to 2 years. Despite implementing the rigorous standard care involving maximal surgical removal followed by concomitant radiation and chemotherapy, the patient prognosis remains poor. Due to the infiltrative nature of glioblastoma, chemo- and radio-resistance behavior of these tumors and lack of potent chemotherapeutic drugs, treatment of glioblastoma is still a big challenge.

OBJECTIVE

The goal of the present review is to shed some light on the present state of novel strategies including molecular therapies, immunotherapies, nanotechnology and combination therapies for patients with glioblastoma.

METHODOLOGY

Peer reviewed literature was extracted via Embase, Ovid, PubMed and Google Scholar till the year 2020.

CONCLUSION

Insufficient effect of chemotherapies for glioblastoma is more likely because of different drug resistance mechanisms and intrinsically complex pathological characteristics. Therefore, more advancement in various therapeutic approaches such as antitumor immune response, targeting growth regulatory and drug resistance pathways, enhancing drug delivery and drug carrier systems are required in order to establish an effective treatment approach for patients with glioblastoma.

Neurodegenerative Disease: A Perspective on Cell-Based Therapy in the New Era of Cell-Free Nano-Therapy

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDD) result in irreversible loss of neurons. Dementia develops when disease-induced neuronal loss becomes sufficient to impair both memory and cognitive functioning and, globally, dementia is increasing to epidemic proportions as populations age. In the current era of regenerative medicine intense activity is asking, can loss of endogenous neurons be compensated by replacement with exogenously derived cells that have either direct, or indirect, neurogenic capacity? But, more recently, excitement is growing around an emerging alternative to the cell-based approach - here nanotechnology for targeted delivery of growth factor aims to support and expand resident central nervous system (CNS) stem cells for endogenous repair. The concept of a high volume, off-the-shelf nano-therapeutic able to rejuvenate the endogenous neuroglia of the CNS is highly attractive, providing a simple solution to the complex challenges posed by cell-based regenerative medicine. The role of inflammation as an underlying driver of NDD is also considered where anti-inflammatory approaches are candidates for therapy. Indeed, cell-based therapy and/or nanotherapy may protect against inflammation to support both immune quiescence and neuronal survival in the CNS - key targets for treating NDD with the potential to reduce or even stop the cascading pathogenesis and disease progression, possibly promoting some repair where disease is treated early. By design, nanoparticles can be formulated to cross the blood brain barrier (BBB) enabling sustained delivery of neuro-protective agents for sufficient duration to reset neuro-immune homeostasis. Proven safe and efficacious, it is now urgent to deliver nano-medicine (NanoMed) as a scalable approach to treat NDD, where key stakeholders are the patients and the global economy.