Dissolving microneedles for transdermal delivery of huperzine A for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Increasingly attention has been paid to the transdermal drug delivery systems with microneedles owing to their excellent compliance, high efficiency, and controllable drug release, therefore, become promising alternative with tremendous advantages for delivering specific drugs such as huperzine A (Hup A) for treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) yet with low oral bioavailability. The purpose of the present study is to design, prepare, and evaluate a dissolving microneedle patch (DMNP) as a transdermal delivery system for the Hup A, investigating its drug release profiles and pharmacokinetics as well as pharmacodynamics treating of AD. Skin penetration experiments and intradermal dissolution tests showed that the blank DMNP could successfully penetrate the skin with an adequate depth and could be quickly dissolved within 5 min.

Characteristics, Cryoprotection Evaluation and In Vitro Release of BSA-Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles.

Chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NPs) are under increasing investigation for the delivery of therapeutic proteins, such as vaccines, interferons, and biologics. A large number of studies have been taken on the characteristics of CS-NPs, and very few of these studies have focused on the microstructure of protein-loaded NPs. In this study, we prepared the CS-NPs by an ionic gelation method, and bovine serum albumin (BSA) was used as a model protein.

Enhancement of Ag85B DNA vaccine immunogenicity against tuberculosis by dissolving microneedles in mice.

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major global public health problem. New immunization methods against TB are urgently needed. Plasmid DNA with a microneedle patch is a potentially attractive strategy to improve the immune effect.

CD14 gene polymorphisms associated with increased risk of bovine tuberculosis in Chinese Holstein cows.

Cluster differentiation antigen 14 (CD14) is an important pattern recognition receptor protein in innate immunity. The aim of this study was to identify and assess the association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CD14 gene with susceptibility to bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in Chinese Holstein cows. DNA samples from 517 Chinese Holstein cows (257 tuberculosis positive cases and 259 healthy controls) were collected from dairy farms in China.

Immunotherapeutic effect of BCG-polysaccharide nucleic acid powder on Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected mice using microneedle patches.

Polysaccharide nucleic acid fractions of bacillus Calmette-Guérin, termed BCG-PSN, have traditionally been used as immunomodulators in the treatment of dermatitis and allergic diseases. While the sales of injectable BCG-PSN have shown steady growth in recent years, no reports of using BCG-PSN powder or its immunotherapeutic effects exist. Here, BCG-PSN powder was applied directly to the skin to evaluate the immunotherapeutic effects on mice infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB).

BCG vaccine powder-laden and dissolvable microneedle arrays for lesion-free vaccination.

Live attenuated Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) bacillus is the only licensed vaccine for tuberculosis prevention worldwide to date. It must be delivered intradermally to be effective, which causes severe skin inflammation and sometimes, permanent scars. To minimize the side effects, we developed a novel microneedle array (MNA) that could deliver live attenuated freeze-dried BCG powder into the epidermis in a painless, lesion-free, and self-applicable fashion.

Association of rs4331426 and rs2057178 with Risk of Tuberculosis: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis.

Aims: A growing number of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB). However, the results of these studies have been inconclusive. This study evaluated whether the SNPs rs4331426 and rs2057178, identified by GWAS, are associated with TB susceptibility.

Identification of aptamer-binding sites in hepatitis C virus envelope glycoprotein e2.

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) encodes two envelope glycoproteins, E1 and E2. Our previous work selected a specific aptamer ZE2, which could bind to E2 with high affinity, with a great potential for developing new molecular probes as an early diagnostic reagents or therapeutic drugs targeting HCV. In this study, the binding sites between E2 and aptamer ZE2 were further explored.

A single nucleotide polymorphism of the TNRC9 gene associated with breast cancer risk in Chinese Han women.

A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the TNRC9 gene was identified as a breast cancer susceptibility genetic variant in recent genome-wide association studies of women of European ancestry. We investigated whether TNRC9 polymorphisms are associated with risk of breast cancer in Chinese women of the Han nationality. We genotyped the SNPs rs3803662, rs1362548, rs1123428 in 870 women, including 388 breast cancer patients and 482 healthy controls, via the PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism procedure and by sequence detection.

Genetic variants of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) are associated with breast cancer risk in Chinese women of the Han nationality.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2), a recently described risk factor for breast cancer, plays important roles in cell growth, invasiveness, motility, and angiogenesis. In attempt to investigate whether FGFR2 polymorphisms are associated with a risk of breast cancer in Chinese women of the Han nationality, we genotyped single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of seven FGFR2 sites (rs2981582, rs17102287, rs17542768, rs10510097, rs11200012, rs3750817, rs2981578) in 816 women including 388 breast cancer patients and 428 healthy controls via the polymerase chain reaction single-strand conformation polymorphism procedure as well as sequence detection. Our results suggest that the A allele and AA genotype of SNP rs2981578 appear to be protective factors associated with breast cancer, while the CT genotype of SNP rs3750817 is a putative risk factor.