Autophagy inhibitors for cancer therapy: Small molecules and nanomedicines.

Autophagy is a conserved process in which the cytosolic materials are degraded and eventually recycled for cellular metabolism to maintain homeostasis. The dichotomous role of autophagy in pathogenesis is complicated. Accumulating reports have suggested that cytoprotective autophagy is responsible for tumor growth and progression.

Thyroid-stimulating hormone-thyroid hormone signaling contributes to circadian regulation through repressing clock2/npas2 in zebrafish.

Thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) is important for the thyroid gland, development, growth, and metabolism. Defects in TSH production or the thyrotrope cells within the pituitary gland cause congenital hypothyroidism (CH), resulting in growth retardation and neurocognitive impairment. While human TSH is known to display rhythmicity, the molecular mechanisms underlying the circadian regulation of TSH and the effects of TSH-thyroid hormone (TH) signaling on the circadian clock remain elusive.

Autophagy-Targeted Calcium Phosphate Nanoparticles Enable Transarterial Chemoembolization for Enhanced Cancer Therapy.

Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) is commonly used for treating advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the instability of lipiodol-drug emulsion and the altered tumor microenvironment (TME, such as hypoxia-induced autophagy) postembolization are responsible for the unsatisfactory therapeutic outcomes. Herein, pH-responsive poly(acrylic acid)/calcium phosphate nanoparticles (PAA/CaP NPs) were synthesized and used as the carrier of epirubicin (EPI) to enhance the efficacy of TACE therapy through autophagy inhibition.

Mannosylated engineered trichosanthin-legumain protein vaccine hydrogel for breast cancer immunotherapy.

The development of cancer vaccines based on tumor-associated antigens is hurdled by lack of an efficient adjuvant and insufficient efficacy. To improve the efficacy of vaccines, a genetically-engineered method was employed in this work to achieve the codelivery of antigen and adjuvant to enhance immune responses. Trichosanthin is a plant-derived protein that possesses cancer immune stimulation function.

Chemo-Phototherapy with Carfilzomib-Encapsulated TiN Nanoshells Suppressing Tumor Growth and Lymphatic Metastasis.

The design of nanomedicine for cancer therapy, especially the treatment of tumor metastasis has received great attention. Proteasome inhibition is accepted as a new strategy for cancer therapy. Despite being a big breakthrough in multiple myeloma therapy, carfilzomib (CFZ), a second-in-class proteasome inhibitor is still unsatisfactory for solid tumor and metastasis therapy.

Magnetism-mediated targeting hyperthermia-immunotherapy in "cold" tumor with CSF1R inhibitor.

Immunotherapy has profoundly changed the landscape of cancer management and represented the most significant breakthrough. Yet, it is a formidable challenge that the majority of cancers - the so-called "cold" tumors - poorly respond to immunotherapy. To find a general immunoregulatory modality that can be applied to a broad spectrum of cancers is an urgent need.

Biomimetic camouflage delivery strategies for cancer therapy.

Cancer remains a significant challenge despite the progress in developing different therapeutic approaches. Nanomedicine has been explored as a promising novel cancer therapy. Recently, biomimetic camouflage strategies have been investigated to change the bio-fate of therapeutics and target cancer cells while reducing the unwanted exposure on normal tissues.

Lactoferrin-mediated macrophage targeting delivery and patchouli alcohol-based therapeutic strategy for inflammatory bowel diseases.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are the incurable chronic recurrent gastrointestinal disorders and currently lack in safe and effective drugs. In this study, patchouli alcohol, a main active compound of traditional Chinese herb patchouli, was developed into biomimetic liposomes for macrophage-targeting delivery for IBD treatment. The developed lactoferrin-modified liposomes (LF-lipo) can specifically bind to LRP-1 expressed on the activated colonic macrophages and achieve cell-targeting anti-inflammatory therapy.

Advances on Tumor-Targeting Delivery of Cytotoxic Proteins.

Great attention has been paid to cytotoxic proteins (e.g., ribosome-inactivating proteins, RIPs) possessing high anticancer activities; unlike small drugs, cytotoxic proteins can effectively retain inside the cells and avoid drug efflux mediated by multidrug resistance transporters due to the large-size effect.

Expression of microRNA-133 inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition in lung cancer cells by directly targeting FOXQ1.

Introduction: MicroRNA (miR) was implicated in the tumorigenesis of many types of cancer, but no study was conducted on the exact role of miR-133 in lung cancer.

Methods: We have identified miR-133 as a putative regulator of FOXQ1 expression, and investigated the potential involvement of miR-133 in the migration and invasion of lung cancer cells, as well as the underlying molecular mechanism.

Results: MiR-133 directly targeted and down-regulated FOXQ1 expression, which in turn reduced TGF-β level.

Taurine Protected Against the Impairments of Neural Stem Cell Differentiated Neurons Induced by Oxygen-Glucose Deprivation.

Cell transplantation of neural stem cells (NSCs) is a promising approach for neurological recovery both structurally and functionally. However, one big obstacle is to promote differentiation of NSCs into neurons and the followed maturation. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the protective effect of taurine on the differentiation of NSCs and subsequent maturation of their neuronal lineage, when exposed to oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD).