Pulmonary delivery of triptolide-loaded liposomes decorated with anti-carbonic anhydrase IX antibody for lung cancer therapy.

Antibody-decorated liposomes can facilitate the precise delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs to the lung by targeting a recognition factor present on the surface of lung tumor cells. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) is an enzyme expressed on the surface of lung cancer cells with a restricted expression in normal lungs. Here, we explored the utility of anti-carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) antibody, conjugated to the surface of triptolide (TPL)-loaded liposomes (CA IX-TPL-Lips), to promote the therapeutic effects for lung cancer via pulmonary administration.

Carbonic anhydrase IX-directed immunoliposomes for targeted drug delivery to human lung cancer cells in vitro.

Targeted drug delivery to cancer cells by use of antibody-conjugated liposomes (immunoliposomes) has attracted considerable interest in recent years. Despite increasing efforts in developing immunoliposomes as drug carriers, the investigation of useful tumor-associated antigen targets is far from complete. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) is a cell surface antigen characterized by hypoxia-induced expression in many solid tumors.

Effect of liposomes on the absorption of water-soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients via oral administration.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of liposomes on the absorption of water-soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients. Salbutamol sulfate (SBS) has been widely used for treatment of bronchospasm in conditions such as asthma. Using SBS as the model drug in this study, we developed SBS-loaded liposomes for oral administration and explored the relationship between their bioavailability and anti-asthmatic efficacy.

Non-invasive prenatal detection of fetal trisomy 18 by RNA-SNP allelic ratio analysis using maternal plasma SERPINB2 mRNA: a feasibility study.

Objective: Non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of chromosome aneuploidies has been achieved by measuring the ratio of two alleles of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in circulating placental mRNA (the RNA-SNP allelic ratio approach) in maternal plasma. We investigated the feasibility of applying this approach for the non-invasive prenatal detection of fetal trisomy 18.

Method: We targeted serpin peptidase inhibitor, clade B (ovalbumin), membrane 2 (SERPINB2) mRNA, which is transcribed from chromosome 18 and is preferentially expressed by the placenta.

Plasma RNA integrity analysis: methodology and validation.

The detection of cell-free RNA in plasma and serum of human subjects has found increasing applications in the field of medical diagnostics. However, many questions regarding the biology of circulating RNA remain to be addressed. One issue concerns the molecular nature of these circulating RNA species.

Reduced plasma RNA integrity in nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients.

Purpose: Recent research has shown the feasibility of detecting cell-free RNA markers in human subjects. As elevated RNase activity has previously been described in the circulation of cancer patients, we hypothesized that cancer patients may have reduced plasma RNA integrity. In this study, we used nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) as a model system to test this hypothesis.

Circulating placental RNA in maternal plasma is associated with a preponderance of 5' mRNA fragments: implications for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis and monitoring.

Background: The molecular characteristics of placental RNA circulating in maternal plasma are unknown. We investigated the integrity of circulating placental RNA in maternal plasma and tested the relevance of plasma RNA integrity for noninvasive prenatal diagnosis.

Methods: Six different placental transcripts and mRNA of the housekeeping gene glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) were quantified for the 5' and 3' regions in maternal plasma by 1-step real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) assays.

Cell-free DNA and RNA in plasma as new tools for molecular diagnostics.

The recent interest in plasma nucleic acids has opened up many new promising possibilities for the noninvasive detection and monitoring of a variety of diseases. The discovery of tumor-derived DNA in the plasma of cancer patients has provided an alternative method for cancer detection, monitoring and prognostication, whereas the presence of fetal DNA in maternal plasma has revealed significant clinical potential for the prenatal diagnosis of fetal genetic diseases and pregnancy-associated complications. Further applications have been reported in transplantation, traumatology and acute medicine.