A Microfluidic Platform for Evaluating the Internalization of Liposome Drug Carriers in Tumor Spheroids.

The development of in vitro models recapitulating nanoparticle transport under physiological flow conditions is of great importance for predicting the efficacy of nanoparticle drug carriers. Liposomes are extensively used for drug delivery owing to their biocompatibility and biodegradability and the ability to carry both hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds. Here, we used a library of liposomes with various dimensions and a microfluidic platform comprising a large array of uniformly sized breast cancer spheroids to explore size-dependent liposome internalization and retention in the spheroids under close-to-physiological interstitial conditions.

Atg1 modulates mitochondrial dynamics to promote germline stem cell maintenance in Drosophila.

Mitochondrial dynamics (fusion and fission) are necessary for stem cell maintenance and differentiation. However, the relationship between mitophagy, mitochondrial dynamics and stem cell exhaustion needs to be clearly understood. Here we report the multifaceted role of Atg1 in mitophagy, mitochondrial dynamics and stem cell maintenance in female germline stem cells (GSCs) in Drosophila.

Glycosyltransferases: the multifaceted enzymatic regulator in insects.

Glycosyltransferases (GTs) catalyse the reaction of glyco-conjugation of various biomolecules by transferring the saccharide moieties from an activated nucleotide sugar to nucleophilic glycosyl acceptor. In insects, GTs show diverse temporal and site-specific expression patterns and thus play significant roles in forming the complex biomolecular structures that are necessary for insect survival, growth and development. Several insects exhibit GT-mediated detoxification as a key defence strategy against plant allelochemicals and xenobiotic compounds, as well as a mechanism for pesticide cross-resistance.