Genetic Programming by Nitric Oxide-Sensing Gene Switch System in Tumor-Targeting Bacteria.

Recent progress in synthetic biology has enabled bacteria to respond to specific disease signals to perform diagnostic and/or therapeutic tasks. subsp. serovar Typhimurium ( Typhimurium) colonization of tumors results in increases in nitric oxide (NO) levels, suggesting that NO may act as a candidate inducer of tumor-specific gene expression.

Targeting of pancreatic cancer cells and stromal cells using engineered oncolytic Salmonella typhimurium.

Pancreatic cancer is resistant to conventional therapeutic interventions, mainly due to abundant cancer stromal cells and poor immune cell infiltration. Here, we used a targeted cancer therapy approach based on attenuated Salmonella typhimurium engineered to express cytolysin A (ClyA) to target cancer stromal cells and cancer cells and treat pancreatic cancer in mice. Nude mice bearing subcutaneous or orthotopic human pancreatic cancers were treated with engineered S.

Bacteria-cancer interactions: bacteria-based cancer therapy.

Recent advances in cancer therapeutics, such as targeted therapy and immunotherapy, have raised the hope for cures for many cancer types. However, there are still ongoing challenges to the pursuit of novel therapeutic approaches, including high toxicity to normal tissue and cells, difficulties in treating deep tumor tissue, and the possibility of drug resistance in tumor cells. The use of live tumor-targeting bacteria provides a unique therapeutic option that meets these challenges.

Affibody-functionalized AgS quantum dots for photoacoustic imaging of epidermal growth factor receptor overexpressed tumors.

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is a new and attractive imaging modality, and it has strong potential for application in the early detection of tumors through the use of optically absorbing targeted contrast agents. Ag2S quantum dots (QD) are a promising bionanomaterial and have attracted significant attention in the field of bioimaging. In this study, water-soluble and carboxylic acid group-coated Ag2S QDs with an ultrasmall size (∼8 nm) were synthesized via a one-step method.

Tumor-Targeting Peptides: Ligands for Molecular Imaging and Therapy.

The aberrant proliferation of tumor cells and abundant vasculature in tumor tissues are closely correlated with receptors that are specifically dysregulated in tumor cells. These tumor-associated targets are critical in early diagnosis and therapy selection. Ligands such as antibodies, proteins, polypeptides and polysaccharides that specifically bind to these targets can significantly improve the detection and cure rate when used as tumor imaging probes or anti-tumor agents.

Multifunctional BSA-Au nanostars for photoacoustic imaging and X-ray computed tomography.

We report the synthesis and characterization of bovine serum albumin-capped Au nanostars (BSA-AuNSs) for dual-modal computed tomography (CT)/photoacoustic (PA) imaging application. The BSA-AuNSs have an average size of 85nm, and a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak at approximately 770nm. They have excellent biocompatibility, good X-ray attenuation, and great PA contrast enhancement properties.