Publications by authors named "Hengyan Zhu"

Despite significant advancements in anticancer nanotherapeutics, the efficient encapsulation of multiple therapeutic modalities within single nanocarriers remains challenging due to the complex requirements of supramolecular self-assembly and/or chemical modification. These intricate synthesis procedures often impede the clinical translation of promising nanomedicines. In this study, we introduce a cost-effective and straightforward self-assembling cytotoxic nanotherapeutic strategy that enables the noncovalent incorporation of water-insoluble anticancer molecular inhibitors with high drug loading.

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Synergistically active nanoparticles hold great promise for facilitating multimodal cancer therapy. However, strategies for their feasible manufacture and optimizing their formulations remain lacking. Herein, we developed hybrid homodimeric prodrug nanotherapeutics with tumor-restricted drug activation and chemophotodynamic pharmacology by leveraging the supramolecular nanoassembly of small molecules.

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Dysbiosis of the human oral microbiota has been reported to be associated with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) while the host-microbiota interactions with respect to the potential impact of pathogenic bacteria on host genomic and epigenomic abnormalities remain poorly studied. In this study, the mucosal bacterial community, host genome-wide transcriptome and DNA CpG methylation were simultaneously profiled in tumors and their adjacent normal tissues of OSCC patients. Significant enrichment in the relative abundance of seven bacteria species (Fusobacterium nucleatum, Treponema medium, Peptostreptococcus stomatis, Gemella morbillorum, Catonella morbi, Peptoanaerobacter yurli and Peptococcus simiae) were observed in OSCC tumor microenvironment.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cell senescence can inhibit oncogene activation, presenting a possible strategy to disrupt tumor cell functions, particularly in ovarian cancer where S1PR1 has been found to play a significant role.* -
  • In ovarian cancer, deleting S1PR1 slows cell growth and movement, promotes senescence, and enhances sensitivity to chemotherapy, particularly cisplatin.* -
  • The study identifies the S1PR1-PDK1-LATS1/2-YAP signaling pathway as a key regulator of ovarian cancer cell senescence, suggesting that targeting this pathway could improve standard treatment outcomes.*
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The bidirectional association between primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) suggests common risk factors and oncogenic molecular processes but it is unclear whether these two cancers display similar patterns of dysbiosis in their upper aerodigestive microbiota (UADM). We conducted a case-control study to characterize the microbial communities in esophageal lavage samples from 49 ESCC patients and oral rinse samples from 91 OSCC patients using 16S rRNA V3-V4 amplicon sequencing. Compared with their respective non-SCC controls from the same anatomical sites, 32 and 45 discriminative bacterial genera were detected in ESCC and OSCC patients, respectively.

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Objective: To investigate the interplay among the oral microbiota, HPV infection, traditional risk factors and patient outcomes in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

Materials And Methods: A multi-center study of HNSCC patients with paired tumor and control tissues. We characterized the oral microbiota and HPV infection of tissues in 166 Chinese adults by sequencing the bacterial 16S rRNA V3-V4 and HPV L1 regions, respectively, and examined the associations among the oral microbiota, HPV and clinical features.

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Background: Wnt-inducible signaling pathway protein 2 (WISP2) is a wnt1-induced signaling pathway protein 2. Although studies indicate that WISP2 may promote the development of various tumors, its role in ovarian cancer remains unclear. The objective of the current study was to analyze the effects of WISP2 on the proliferation and migration of ovarian cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

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