Salt-Compact Albumin as a New Pure Protein-based Biomaterials: From Design to In Vivo Studies.

Current biodegradable materials are facing many challenges when used for the design of implantable devices because of shortcomings such as toxicity of crosslinking agents and degradation derivatives, limited cell adhesion, and limited immunological compatibility. Here, a class of materials built entirely of stable protein is designed using a simple protocol based on salt-assisted compaction of albumin, breaking with current crosslinking strategies. Salt-assisted compaction is based on the assembly of albumin in the presence of high concentrations of specific salts such as sodium bromide.

NOD1 Agonist Induces Proliferation and Plasma Cell Differentiation of Mouse B Cells Especially CD23 B Cells.

Background: Like innate cells, B cells also express Pattern Recognition Receptors (PRRs) to detect danger signal such as tissue damage or pathogen intrusion. Production of specific antibodies by plasma cells results from the activation and differentiation of B cells following three signals: (i) antigen recognition by B Cell Receptors, (ii) recognition of danger and (iii) T-cell help. However, it is unclear whether T-cell help is dispensable for B cell activation and differentiation or not.

The Lactate Receptor GPR81 is a Mechanism of Leukemia-Associated Macrophage Polarization in the Bone Marrow Microenvironment.

Interactions between acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and the bone marrow microenvironment (BMME) are critical to leukemia progression and chemoresistance. Altered metabolite levels in the tumor microenvironment contribute to immunosuppression in solid tumors, while this has not been studied yet in the leukemic BMME. Metabolomics of AML patient bone marrow serum detected elevated metabolites, including lactate, compared to age- and sex-matched controls.

Triplet-Triplet Annihilation Upconversion-Based Photolysis: Applications in Photopharmacology.

The emerging field of photopharmacology is a promising chemobiological methodology for optical control of drug activities that could ultimately solve the off-target toxicity outside the disease location of many drugs for the treatment of a given pathology. The use of photolytic reactions looks very attractive for a light-activated drug release but requires to develop photolytic reactions sensitive to red or near-infrared light excitation for better tissue penetration. This review will present the concepts of triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion-based photolysis and their recent in vivo applications for light-induced drug delivery using photoactivatable nanoparticles.

Reduction of Pro-Inflammatory Markers in RAW264.7 Macrophages by Polyethylenimines.

The physiological problem of chronic inflammation and its associated pathologies attract ongoing attention with regard to methods for their control. Current systemic pharmacological treatments present problematic side effects. Thus, the possibility of new anti-inflammatory compounds with differing mechanisms of action or biophysical properties is enticing.

Strongly Metal-Adhesive and Self-Healing Gelatin@Polydopamine-Based Hydrogels with Long-Term Antioxidant Activity.

Bioinspired adhesives have been increasingly developed, especially towards a biomedical application. Therefore, in this study, dopamine (DA) was oxidized into polydopamine (PDA) in a gelatin mixture via titration with NaIO as a strong oxidant to easily obtain an adhesive antioxidant and self-healing PDA-gelatin hydrogel. Rheology experiments show a stiffness in the order of kPa and a thermal resistance above 50 °C, much above the gel-sol transition temperature of pristine gelatin.

Preclinical evaluation of implantable materials: conventional approaches, new models and future directions.

Nowadays, implants and prostheses are widely used to repair damaged tissues or to treat different diseases, but their use is associated with the risk of infection, inflammation and finally rejection. To address these issues, new antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory materials are being developed. Aforementioned materials require their thorough preclinical testing before clinical applications can be envisaged.

Photoactivatable Liposomes for Blue to Deep Red Light-Activated Surface Drug Release: Application to Controlled Delivery of the Antitumoral Drug Melphalan.

Liposome-based nanoparticles able to release, via a photolytic reaction, a payload anchored at the surface of the phospholipid bilayer were prepared. The liposome formulation strategy uses an original drug-conjugated blue light-sensitive photoactivatable coumarinyl linker. This is based on an efficient blue light-sensitive photolabile protecting group modified by a lipid anchor, which enables its incorporation into liposomes, leading to blue to green light-sensitive nanoparticles.

Triphenylphosphonium-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene platinum complexes [(NHC-TPP)Pt] induce cell death of human glioblastoma cancer stem cells.

A growing body of experimental and clinical evidence suggests that rare cell populations, known as cancer stem cells (CSCs), play an important role in the development and therapeutic resistance of several cancers, including glioblastoma. Elimination of these cells is therefore of paramount importance. Interestingly, recent results have shown that the use of drugs that specifically disrupt mitochondria or induce mitochondria-dependent apoptosis can efficiently kill cancer stem cells.

Myelodysplastic syndromes disable human CD271+VCAM1+CD146+ niches supporting normal hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.

Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) within the bone marrow microenvironment (BMME) support normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). However, the heterogeneity of human MSCs has limited the understanding of their contribution to clonal dynamics and evolution to myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). We combined three MSC cell surface markers, CD271, VCAM-1 (Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1) and CD146, to isolate distinct subsets of human MSCs from bone marrow aspirates of healthy controls (Control BM).

Click Chemistry for Liposome Surface Modification.

Click chemistry, and particularly azide-alkyne cycloaddition, represents one of the principal bioconjugation strategies that can be used to conveniently attach various ligands to the surface of preformed liposomes. This efficient and chemoselective reaction involves a Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition which can be performed under mild experimental conditions in aqueous media. Here we describe the application of a model click reaction to the conjugation, in a single step, of unprotected α-1-thiomannosyl ligands, functionalized with an azide group, to liposomes containing a terminal alkyne-functionalized lipid anchor.

Experimental Methods to Get Polydopamine Films: A Comparative Review on the Synthesis Methods, the Films' Composition and Properties.

In 2007, polydopamine (PDA) films were shown to be formed spontaneously on the surface of all known classes of materials by simply dipping those substrates in an aerated dopamine solution at pH = 8.5 in the presence of Tris(hydroxymethyl) amino methane buffer. This universal deposition method has raised a burst of interest in surface science, owing not only to the universality of this water based one pot deposition method but also to the ease of secondary modifications.

The Potential Role of 3D In Vitro Acute Myeloid Leukemia Culture Models in Understanding Drug Resistance in Leukemia Stem Cells.

The complexity of the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment makes studying hematological malignancies in vitro a challenging task. Three-dimensional cell cultures are being actively studied, particularly due to their ability to serve as a bridge of the gap between 2D cultures and animal models. The role of 3D in vitro models in studying the mechanisms of chemotherapeutic resistance and leukemia stem cells (LSCs) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is not well-reviewed.

Red Light-Responsive Upconverting Nanoparticles for Quantitative and Controlled Release of a Coumarin-Based Prodrug.

Photolytic reactions allow the optical control of the liberation of biological effectors by photolabile protecting groups. The development of versatile technologies enabling the use of deep-red or NIR light excitation still represents a challenging issue, in particular for light-induced drug release (e.g.

Bone Marrow Microenvironment-On-Chip for Culture of Functional Hematopoietic Stem Cells.

Hematopoiesis takes place in the bone marrow and is supported by a complex cellular and molecular network in the bone marrow microenvironment. Commonly used models of the human bone marrow microenvironment include murine models and two-dimensional and three-dimensional tissue cultures. While these model systems have led to critical advances in the field, they fail to recapitulate many aspects of the human bone marrow.

Coherent response of the electronic system driven by non-interfering laser pulses.

The strength of light-matter interaction in condensed matter is fundamentally linked to the orientation and oscillation strength of the materials' optical transition dipoles. Structurally anisotropic materials, e.g.

An imidazole modified lipid confers enhanced mRNA-LNP stability and strong immunization properties in mice and non-human primates.

The mRNA vaccine technology has promising applications to fight infectious diseases as demonstrated by the licensing of two mRNA-based vaccines, Comirnaty® (Pfizer/BioNtech) and Spikevax® (Moderna), in the context of the Covid-19 crisis. Safe and effective delivery systems are essential to the performance of these vaccines and lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) able to entrap, protect and deliver the mRNA in vivo are considered by many as the current "best in class". Nevertheless, current mRNA/LNP vaccine technology has still some limitations, one of them being thermostability, as evidenced by the ultracold distribution chain required for the licensed vaccines.

Design of Oligourea-Based Foldamers with Antibacterial and Antifungal Activities.

There is an urgent need to develop new therapeutic strategies to fight the emergence of multidrug resistant bacteria. Many antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been identified and characterized, but clinical translation has been limited partly due to their structural instability and degradability in physiological environments. The use of unnatural backbones leading to foldamers can generate peptidomimetics with improved properties and conformational stability.

Impact of anti-PDGFRα antibody surface functionalization on LNC uptake by oligodendrocyte progenitor cells.

Impairment of oligodendrocyte progenitor cell (OPC) differentiation into oligodendrocytes and chronic inflammation are key determinants of poor remyelination observed in diseases such as multiple sclerosis. For many pro-myelinating molecules, the therapeutic potential is hindered by poor solubility or limited access to the targeted cells. A promising approach to improve the delivery of those molecules to OPC is to encapsulate them in functionalized Lipid Nanocapsules (LNC).

Nanoparticle-Mediated Delivery of Micheliolide Analogs to Eliminate Leukemic Stem Cells in the Bone Marrow.

Micheliolide (MCL) is a naturally occurring sesquiterpene lactone that selectively targets leukemic stem cells (LSCs), which persist after conventional chemotherapy for myeloid leukemias, leading to disease relapse. To overcome modest MCL cytotoxicity, analogs with ≈two-threefold greater cytotoxicity against LSCs are synthesized via late-stage chemoenzymatic C-H functionalization. To enhance bone marrow delivery, MCL analogs are entrapped within bone-targeted polymeric nanoparticles (NPs).

Anti-inflammatory effects of free and liposome-encapsulated Algerian thermal waters in RAW 264.7 macrophages.

The main objectives of this work were to formulate liposomes encapsulating highly mineralized thermal waters (TWs) and to study anti-inflammatory effect of free and encapsulated thermal waters on RAW 264.7 macrophage cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). TWs-loaded conventional and deformable liposomes (TWs-Lip and TWs-DLip) were prepared by sonication and extrusion, respectively.

Design of a new cell penetrating peptide for DNA, siRNA and mRNA delivery.

Background: Delivery systems, including peptide-based ones, that destabilize endosomes in a pH-dependent manner are increasingly used to deliver cargoes of therapeutic interest, such as nucleic acids and proteins into mammalian cells.

Methods: The negatively charged amphipathic alpha-helicoidal forming peptide named HELP (Helical Erythrocyte Lysing Peptide) is a derivative from the bee venom melittin and was shown to have a pH-dependent activity with the highest lytic activity at pH 5.0 at the same time as becoming inactive when the pH is increased.

Energy and Momentum Distribution of Surface Plasmon-Induced Hot Carriers Isolated Spatiotemporal Separation.

Understanding the differences between photon-induced and plasmon-induced hot electrons is essential for the construction of devices for plasmonic energy conversion. The mechanism of the plasmonic enhancement in photochemistry, photocatalysis, and light-harvesting and especially the role of hot carriers is still heavily discussed. The question remains, if plasmon-induced and photon-induced hot carriers are fundamentally different or if plasmonic enhancement is only an effect of field concentration producing these carriers in greater numbers.

From the niche to malignant hematopoiesis and back: reciprocal interactions between leukemia and the bone marrow microenvironment.

The bone marrow microenvironment (BMME) regulates hematopoiesis through a complex network of cellular and molecular components. Hematologic malignancies reside within, and extensively interact with, the same BMME. These interactions consequently alter both malignant and benign hematopoiesis in multiple ways, and can encompass initiation of malignancy, support of malignant progression, resistance to chemotherapy, and loss of normal hematopoiesis.