Novel Approaches of Dysregulating Lysosome Functions in Cancer Cells by Specific Drugs and Its Nanoformulations: A Smart Approach of Modern Therapeutics.

The smart strategy of cancer cells to bypass the caspase-dependent apoptotic pathway has led to the discovery of novel anti-cancer approaches including the targeting of lysosomes. Recent discoveries observed that lysosomes perform far beyond just recycling of cellular waste, as these organelles are metabolically very active and mediate several signalling pathways to sense the cellular metabolic status. These organelles also play a significant role in mediating the immune system functions.

Recent advances in understanding oligonucleotide aptamers and their applications as therapeutic agents.

The innovative discovery of aptamers was based on target-specific treatment in clinical diagnostics and therapeutics. Aptamers are synthetic, single-stranded oligonucleotides, simply described as chemical antibodies, which can bind to diverse targets with high specificity and affinity. Aptamers are synthesized by the SELEX technique, and possess distinctive properties as small size (10-50 kDa), higher stability, easy manufacture and less immunogenicity.