Tumor Targeting by Peptide-Decorated Gold Nanoparticles.

Cancer remains one of the most important challenges in biomedical sciences. Chemotherapeutic agents are very potent molecules that exhibit a significant level of toxicity in numerous tissues of the body, particularly in those characterized by high proliferative activity, such as the bone marrow. The scenario is even more complex in the case of the central nervous system, and in particular brain tumors, where the blood brain barrier limits the efficacy of drug therapies.

Histamine and T helper cytokine-driven epithelial barrier dysfunction in allergic rhinitis.

Background: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is characterized by mucosal inflammation, driven by activated immune cells. Mast cells and T2 cells might decrease epithelial barrier integrity in AR, maintaining a leaky epithelial barrier.

Objective: We sought to investigate the role of histamine and T2 cells in driving epithelial barrier dysfunction in AR.

Immunotherapy with subcutaneous immunogenic autologous tumor lysate increases murine glioblastoma survival.

Immunotherapeutic strategies for glioblastoma, the most frequent malignant primary brain tumor, aim to improve its disastrous consequences. On top of the standard treatment, one strategy uses T cell activation by autologous dendritic cells (DC) ex vivo loaded with tumor lysate to attack remaining cancer cells. Wondering whether 'targeting' in vivo DCs could replace these ex vivo ones, immunogenic autologous tumor lysate was used to treat glioma-inoculated mice in the absence of ex vivo loaded DCs.

Dynamic stroma reorganization drives blood vessel dysmorphia during glioma growth.

Glioma growth and progression are characterized by abundant development of blood vessels that are highly aberrant and poorly functional, with detrimental consequences for drug delivery efficacy. The mechanisms driving this vessel dysmorphia during tumor progression are poorly understood. Using longitudinal intravital imaging in a mouse glioma model, we identify that dynamic sprouting and functional morphogenesis of a highly branched vessel network characterize the initial tumor growth, dramatically changing to vessel expansion, leakage, and loss of branching complexity in the later stages.