Simvastatin induced ferroptosis for triple-negative breast cancer therapy.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a management of aggressive breast cancer, remains an unmet medical challenge. Although a wave of efforts had spurred to design novel therapeutic method of TNBC, unpredictable prognosis with lacking effective therapeutic targets along with the resistance to apoptosis seriously limited survival benefits. Ferroptosis is a non-apoptotic form of cell death that is induced by excessive lipid peroxidation, which provide an innovative way to combat cancer.

Multistage Extraction of Star Anise and Black Pepper Derivatives for Antibacterial, Antioxidant, and Anticancer Activity.

Recently, natural resources have attracted considerable interest for their applications in food security and human health problems. Traditional natural spices, such as star anise and black pepper, played important roles in the pharmaceutical and food industries due to their strong pharmacological activity, antioxidant potential and rare complications. In order to achieve biomasses from the natural product with multiple bioactivities, we developed the multistage extraction method to extract and separate various bioactive compounds from these natural plants.

Co-transplantation of Schwann cells and neural stem cells in the laminin-chitosan-PLGA nerve conduit to repair the injured recurrent laryngeal nerve in SD rats.

The objective of this paper is to investigate the possibility and efficacy of recurrent laryngeal nerve repair by transplantation of co-cultured Schwann cells and neural stem cells (NSCs) in laminin-chitosan-poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (laminin-chitosan-PLGA) nerve conduits in rats. A laminin-chitosan-PLGA conduit was used in a rat recurrent laryngeal nerve transection model. The rat recurrent laryngeal nerve was dissected to generate a 5  mm defect.

Biodegradable zwitterionic polymer membrane coating endowing nanoparticles with ultra-long circulation and enhanced tumor photothermal therapy.

Long blood circulation is the basic requirement of advanced drug delivery systems for tumor treatment, which leads to enhanced tumor therapeutic efficiency and reduced side effects. However, the pharmacokinetics of the current nanoparticles in vivo is still unsatisfactory, which leads to limited success to translate nanoparticles into clinical applications. Inspired by the natural cell membrane-coating strategy, a series of zwitterionic polymer membranes are firstly developed and coated onto different kinds of nanoparticles in this work.

Metal-Organic Framework Nanoparticles with Near-Infrared Dye for Multimodal Imaging and Guided Phototherapy.

From the conception of atom economy to develop multifunctional nanomaterials, it is important to construct nanomaterials by maximizing functional units while minimizing unnecessary components. Noteworthy, metal-organic framework (MOF) nanoparticles are excellent examples to meet this idea. Current approaches for multifunctional MOFs are mainly based on encapsulation of functional molecules or multistep modification; however, high risk for leakage and burst release and time-consuming and complicated organic synthesis limit their applications.

Biodegradable phosphorylcholine-based zwitterionic polymer nanogels with smart charge-conversion ability for efficient inhibition of tumor cells.

Zwitterionic polymer nanocarriers have attracted much attention in recent years due to their desirable biocompatibility and anti-fouling properties. However, the super-hydrophilic and neutral charge of zwitterionic polymer results in weak interactions with negatively charged cell membranes, which leads to suboptimal uptake by tumor cells. Herein, a series of biodegradable poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine-s-s-vinylimidazole) (PMV) nanogels with uniform spherical shape was fabricated by one-step reflux precipitation polymerization, which was clean and efficient.

Laminin-chitosan-PLGA conduit co-transplanted with Schwann and neural stem cells to repair the injured recurrent laryngeal nerve.

The aim of the present study was to assess the possibility and efficacy of utilizing a laminin-chitosan-poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid), otherwise known as laminin-chitosan-PLGA, nerve conduit with the co-transplantation of Schwann and neural stem cells to repair peripheral nerve defects. Previous experiments have demonstrated that the three-dimensional structure of the built in fiber filament electrospinning of laminin-chitosan-PLGA nerve conduit is beneficial to the migration and regeneration of nerve cells, and has notable mechanical strength and plasticity. It is able to provide support in the neural tissue regeneration process, and has the ability to degrade itself once peripheral nerves complete their regeneration, providing more advantages than other biological and synthetic materials.

Biodegradable Zwitterionic Nanogels with Long Circulation for Antitumor Drug Delivery.

Zwitterionic nanocarriers have emerged as a new class of biocompatible nanomaterials with outstanding stealth capability in blood circulation. In this work, a novel biodegradable zwitterionic nanogel based on poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA) was developed for reduction-responsive drug delivery to tumors. PSBMA nanogels were facilely fabricated by one-step reflux precipitation polymerization with the advantage of being surfactant-free and time-saving.

Red blood cell membrane-camouflaged melanin nanoparticles for enhanced photothermal therapy.

Photothermal therapy (PTT) has represented a promising noninvasive approach for cancer treatment in recent years. However, there still remain challenges in developing non-toxic and biodegradable biomaterials with high photothermal efficiency in vivo. Herein, we explored natural melanin nanoparticles extracted from living cuttlefish as effective photothermal agents and developed red blood cell (RBC) membrane-camouflaged melanin (Melanin@RBC) nanoparticles as a platform for in vivo antitumor PTT.

Schwann cells promote the capability of neural stem cells to differentiate into neurons and secret neurotrophic factors.

The present study investigated whether co-culturing Schwann cells (SCs) with neural stem cells (NSCs) improves viability, direction of differentiation and secretion of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in NSCs. The three groups assessed were as follows: SCs, NSCs, and a co-culture of SCs and NSCs. Cellular morphological changes were observed under an inverted phase contrast microscope and quantified.

Primary extranodal head and neck classical Hodgkin lymphoma: A rare clinical case report.

The subcutaneous soft tissue of the forehead is a rare anatomic site for Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), and no such case has previously been reported in the literature, to the best of our knowledge. HLs commonly present in the nodal regions in the majority of patients, rarely occurring in extranodal sites, whereas primary extranodal lymphoma is less common and is more typical in cases of non-HL. The present study reports a novel case of extranodal head and neck classical HL (cHL), initially diagnosed as frontal fibroma.