Synthesis of glycyrrhetinic acid-modified liposomes to deliver Murrayafoline A for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a common type of cancer associated with a high mortality rate. Among several bioactive compounds, Murrayafoline A (MuA) has been proved as a bio substance that exhibits great potentials in treating liver cancer. In order to overcome the high cytotoxicity and low solubility of MuA, a delivery system based on nanocarriers is necessary to deliver MuA towards the desired target.

Therapeutic advantage of targeting lysosomal membrane integrity supported by lysophagy in malignant glioma.

Lysosomes function as the digestive system of a cell and are involved in macromolecular recycling, vesicle trafficking, metabolic reprogramming, and progrowth signaling. Although quality control of lysosome biogenesis is thought to be a potential target for cancer therapy, practical strategies have not been established. Here, we show that lysosomal membrane integrity supported by lysophagy, a selective autophagy for damaged lysosomes, is a promising therapeutic target for glioblastoma (GBM).

Magnetic Ni-Doped TiO Photocatalysts for Disinfection of Bacteria.

Ni-doped TiO nanoparticles have been synthesized by a modified sol-gel method. The crystal phase composition, particle size, and magnetic and optical properties of the samples were comprehensively examined using x-ray diffraction analysis, transmission electron microscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis, Raman spectroscopy, magnetization measurements, and ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption techniques. The results showed that the prepared Ni-doped TiO samples sintered at 400°C crystallized completely in anatase phase with average particle size in the range from 8 nm to 10 nm and presented broad visible absorption.

Autophagy inhibition synergizes with calcium mobilization to achieve efficient therapy of malignant gliomas.

Autophagy plays a critical role in tumorigenesis, but how autophagy contributes to cancer cells' responses to chemotherapeutics remains controversial. To investigate the roles of autophagy in malignant gliomas, we used CRISPR/CAS9 to knock out the ATG5 gene, which is essential for autophagosome formation, in tumor cells derived from patients with glioblastoma. While ATG5 disruption inhibited autophagy, it did not change the phenotypes of glioma cells and did not alter their sensitivity to temozolomide, an agent used for glioblastoma patient therapy.

Distinct roles of Rheb and Raptor in activating mTOR complex 1 for the self-renewal of hematopoietic stem cells.

The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex 1 (mTORC1) senses a cell's energy status and environmental levels of nutrients and growth factors. In response, mTORC1 mediates signaling that controls protein translation and cellular metabolism. Although mTORC1 plays a critical role in hematopoiesis, it remains unclear which upstream stimuli regulate mTORC1 activity in the context of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) maintenance in vivo.

Functional dissection of hematopoietic stem cell populations with a stemness-monitoring system based on NS-GFP transgene expression.

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in a steady state can be efficiently purified by selecting for a combination of several cell surface markers; however, such markers do not consistently reflect HSC activity. In this study, we successfully enriched HSCs with a unique stemness-monitoring system using a transgenic mouse in which green florescence protein (GFP) is driven by the promoter/enhancer region of the nucleostemin (NS) gene. We found that the phenotypically defined long-term (LT)-HSC population exhibited the highest level of NS-GFP intensity, whereas NS-GFP intensity was strongly downregulated during differentiation in vitro and in vivo.