VISTA drives macrophages towards a pro-tumoral phenotype that promotes cancer cell phagocytosis yet down-regulates T cell responses.

Background: VISTA is a well-known immune checkpoint in T cell biology, but its role in innate immunity is less established. Here, we investigated the role of VISTA on anticancer macrophage immunity, with a focus on phagocytosis, macrophage polarization and concomitant T cell activation.

Methods: Macrophages, differentiated from VISTA overexpressed THP-1 cells and cord blood CD34 cell-derived monocytes, were used in phagocytosis assay using B lymphoma target cells opsonized with Rituximab.

Galectin-9 has non-apoptotic cytotoxic activity toward acute myeloid leukemia independent of cytarabine resistance.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignancy still associated with poor survival rates, among others, due to frequent occurrence of therapy-resistant relapse after standard-of-care treatment with cytarabine (AraC). AraC triggers apoptotic cell death, a type of cell death to which AML cells often become resistant. Therefore, therapeutic options that trigger an alternate type of cell death are of particular interest.

Galectin-9 Triggers Neutrophil-Mediated Anticancer Immunity.

In earlier studies, galectin-9 (Gal-9) was identified as a multifaceted player in both adaptive and innate immunity. Further, Gal-9 had direct cytotoxic and tumor-selective activity towards cancer cell lines of various origins. In the current study, we identified that treatment with Gal-9 triggered pronounced membrane alterations in cancer cells.

In-situ polymerized polypyrrole nanoparticles immobilized poly(ε-caprolactone) electrospun conductive scaffolds for bone tissue engineering.

Despite intensive attempts to fabricate polypyrrole nanoparticles (PPy-NPs) incorporated nanofibrous scaffolds, a low-cost facile strategy is still demanded. Herein, we developed a novel strategy- in-situ polymerization of PPy-NPs and immobilized them into the PCL polymeric matrix in a single step. For the in-situ polymerization of PPy-NPs, ferric chloride hexahydrate (FeCl.

Biocompatible superparamagnetic sub-micron vaterite particles for thermo-chemotherapy: From controlled design to in vitro anticancer synergism.

A promising candidate for the development of controlled and targeted nanoscale drug delivery system but less studied so far is calcium carbonate (CaCO) in the form of porous polycrystalline vaterite spheres. Vaterite has been shown to exhibit various beneficial properties such as excellent biocompatibility, high drug loading capacity, and pH-sensitive decomposition under mild conditions. However, fabricating vaterite particles with improved porosity, high surface area and loading a payload into the common synthesis method is still a challenge.

Drug release and kinetic models of anticancer drug (BTZ) from a pH-responsive alginate polydopamine hydrogel: Towards cancer chemotherapy.

A pH-sensitive polymeric carrier was developed in this study for local delivery of anticancer drug bortezomib (BTZ) to cancer cells. Our strategy is based on the conjugation of BTZ to polymeric carriers containing catechol groups, which are considered to release BTZ selectively in cancer cells. In this study we used alginate-conjugated polydopamine as a building block polymer.