A Spatiotemporally Controllable DNA Hydrogel Mesh for Focused Antimetastasis Therapy of Cancer.

Cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed diseases with high mortality, and approximately 50% of patients are prone to present metastasis after various treatments. The shedding of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) during tumor therapy is the root cause of metastasis. In this work, we proposed a focused antimetastasis therapy strategy based on a spatiotemporally controllable DNA hydrogel mesh (SNARE: just like a turtle trapped in the jar) in vivo.

Micro/nanomotor development towards enhanced cancer therapy.

Cancer remains a leading global life-threatening disease, with traditional cancer therapies hindered by inefficient drug delivery and the complex tumor microenvironment. Micro/nanomotors-nanomaterials capable of converting chemical, physical, or biological energy into autonomous mechanical motion-emerge as a transformative tool for precision oncology. By overcoming the limitations of passive drug carriers, these motors enable active penetration of tumor barriers, targeted cargo delivery, and spatiotemporally controlled therapy, offering unprecedented opportunities to enhance treatment efficacy and reduce systemic toxicity.

Disrupting tumor homeostasis with an autoamplificatory nanoinducer to augment pyroptosis for efficient immunotherapy.

Abnormal tumor homeostasis is crucial in maintaining tumor cell survival and growth. Thus, developing effective antitumor strategies that can simultaneously disrupt multiple intracellular homeostatic mechanisms may be more effective and less laborious. Herein, an autoamplificatory nanoinducer (CLRN) composed of photosensitizer Ce6, glucose metabolism inhibitor lonidamine and methyltransferase inhibitor RG108 is designed and constructed to enhance pyroptosis and upregulate immunosurveillance by disrupting intracellular redox and metabolic homeostasis.

Controlling T cell-tumor cell interaction with a biomimetic physical barrier for cancer immunotherapy.

Cancer immunotherapy has shown tremendous promise in various cancers. However, current strategies, such as immune checkpoint blockade, primarily restore exhausted T cells but provide only transient efficacy, as the rapid clearance of antibodies. Their limited durability is further hindered by persistent T cell-tumor cell interactions that accelerate T cell exhaustion.

Ugi-reaction-derived ionizable lipids with cyclic tertiary amine heads enable spleen-targeted mRNA delivery.

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have become an important platform for nucleic acid delivery. However, LNP-mediated delivery to non-hepatic organs and specific cell types remains a non-negligible challenge. As a key component of LNPs, ionizable lipids were rationally designed to adjust the LNPs properties to achieve organ-targeted delivery.

Recent advances in nanopharmaceutical strategies for cancer treatment.

Next-generation cancer nanomedicines are revolutionizing therapeutic precision through multifunctional, adaptive, and tumor-specific strategies. This review discusses emerging innovations in cancer nanomedicine, including stimuli-responsive nanomedicines, biomimetic nanomedicines, nanozymes, nanovaccines, immunotherapy, and diagnostic-integrated theranostics. These platforms allow for spatially controlled therapy, deep tumor penetration, and immune reprogramming with minimal systemic toxicity.

Advances in Regenerative Therapies for Inflammatory Arthritis: Exploring the Potential of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Extracellular Vesicles.

Inflammatory arthritis, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA), is a group of degenerative joint diseases that result in reduced mobility and a prevalent cause of disability. Despite differing etiologies, both conditions involve inflammation, affecting only the joints in OA and systemic in RA due to its autoimmune nature. Regenerative medicine offers promising alternatives, with a focus on the therapy with mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) and their secreted extracellular vesicles (EVs).

Self-assembling dendrimer nanodrug formulations for decreased hERG-related toxicity and enhanced therapeutic efficacy.

Cardiotoxicity, especially human ether-a-go-go-related gene (hERG)-related toxicity, is a leading cause of drug failure or market withdrawal. Reducing hERG binding to obviate potential cardiac toxicity is crucial. Nanotechnology has been applied to drug delivery for reducing drug toxicity and improving efficacy, but few studies have addressed hERG-related cardiotoxicity.

A near-infrared aggregation-induced emission photosensitizer with mitochondria specificity enhances radiotherapy for cancer stem cells ablation.

Multifunctional fluorescent molecules with organelle-targeting capabilities and high phototherapeutic efficacy have been regarded as promising materials for real-time tumor diagnosis and non-invasive treatment in the clinic. In this study, we developed a near-infrared (NIR) emissive photosensitizer, DACNPy+, which exhibits mitochondrial targeting ability, laser-triggered type I and type II reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, and aggregation-induced emission (AIE) properties. After being encapsulated by platelet membranes and liposomal membranes, DACNPy+ was formulated into biomimetic nanoparticles termed DFL, which demonstrated remarkable tumor-targeting capabilities and long-term tumor tracking.

Advanced Pharmaceutical Nanotechnologies Applied for Chinese Herbal Medicines.

Over centuries of clinical practice, Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs) have gained widespread recognition for their efficacy in treating various diseases. However, their complex material basis and relatively mild therapeutic efficacy limit their modernization and quality control. Recently, the application of pharmaceutical nanotechnology to CHMs has not only enhanced their efficacy, but also helped elucidate their material basis, thereby substantially advancing their modernization.

Nanostrategies synergize with locoregional interventional therapies for boosting antitumor immunity.

Compared with traditional surgical resection, systemic chemotherapy, or radiotherapy, locoregional interventional therapies (LITs) possess their own advantages of minimally invasive procedure and immunomodulatory effects in cancer treatment. Local ablation and intravascular interventional therapy represent excellent LIT candidate to combine with immunotherapy. Diverse nanomaterials with excellent biocompatibility show promises in modulating antitumor immunity.

Bioprofiling and vaccine development for Zika virus.

Zika virus (ZIKV) has emerged as a global health priority due to its association with severe congenital abnormalities, including microcephaly and neonatal mortality in infants born to infected mothers. In adults, ZIKV infection is epidemiologically linked to Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). These clinical manifestations prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare ZIKV a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

Biomimetic Nanodrug Prepared by Cell Exocytosis Induces Cancer Stem Cell Differentiation by Attenuating Wnt Signaling Pathway.

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a critical therapeutic target due to their role in chemoresistance and tumor recurrence. Targeting CSCs based on their distinct differentiation ability is a brilliant cancer therapeutic strategy. Although a few small-molecule and nanomaterial-based differentiation inducers have been reported, their limited specificity raises concerns about off-target effects, particularly the unintended differentiation of normal stem cells.

Cardiosplenic axis-targeted immunomodulatory liposome for myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury treatment.

Monocyte/macrophage (Mo/Mϕ) infiltration is critical in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI). However, the complex composition of the myocardium severely hinders drug accumulation and makes it challenging to modulate the Mo/Mϕ immune response at the MIRI site. The spleen, acting as a Mo/Mϕ reservoir, plays a crucial role in the development of MIRI along the cardiosplenic axis.

Massage-Mimicking Nanosheets Mechanically Reorganize Inter-organelle Contacts to Restore Mitochondrial Functions in Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is exacerbated by dysfunction of inter-organelle contact, which depends on cellular responses to the mechanical microenvironment and can be regulated by external mechanical forces. Delivering dynamic mechanical forces to neural cells proves challenging due to the skull. Inspired by the effects of massage; here PEGylated black phosphorus nanosheets (PEG-BPNS), known for their excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, specific surface area, mechanical strength, and flexibility, are introduced, which are capable of adhering to neural cell membrane and generating mechanical stimulation with their lateral size of 200 nm, exhibiting therapeutic potential in a 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-te-trahydropyridine-induced PD mouse model by regulating inter-organelle contacts.

Innovative Atherosclerosis Models: Advancing Pathophysiology and Translational Research.

Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory condition influenced by glucose and lipid disorders, oxidative stress, and thrombosis, reflecting the complexity of its pathological process. The development of accurate experimental models that simulate human AS is essential for understanding its initiation and progression. This review summarizes the current AS research models and analyzes their specific application scenarios.

Extracellular Vesicle-Based Strategies for Tumor Immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy is one of the most promising approaches for cancer management, as it utilizes the intrinsic immune response to target cancer cells. Normally, the human body uses its immune system as a defense mechanism to detect and eliminate foreign objects, including cancer cells. However, cancers develop a 'switch off' mechanism, known as immune checkpoint proteins, to evade immune surveillance and suppress immune activation.

Oral delivery of therapeutic proteins by engineered bacterial type zero secretion system.

Genetically engineered commensal bacteria are promising living drugs, however, their therapeutic molecules are frequently confined to their colonization sites. Herein, we report an oral protein delivery technology utilizing an engineered bacterial type zero secretion system (T0SS) via outer membrane vesicles (OMVs). We find that OMVs produced in situ by Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) can penetrate the intact gut epithelial barrier to enter the circulation and that epithelial transcytosis involves pinocytosis and dynamin-dependent pathways.

Targeting vaccines to dendritic cells by mimicking the processing and presentation of antigens in xenotransplant rejection.

Targeting the delivery of vaccines to dendritic cells (DCs) is challenging. Here we show that, by mimicking the fast and strong antigen processing and presentation that occurs during the rejection of xenotransplanted tissue, xenogeneic cell membrane-derived vesicles exposing tissue-specific antibodies can be leveraged to deliver peptide antigens and mRNA-encoded antigens to DCs. In mice with murine melanoma and murine thymoma, xenogeneic vesicles encapsulating a tumour-derived antigenic peptide or coated on lipid nanoparticles encapsulating an mRNA coding for a tumour antigen elicited potent tumour-specific T-cell responses that inhibited tumour growth.

An antigen-capturing and lymph node-targeting nanoparticle for cancer immunotherapy.

Cancer immunotherapy leverages the immune system to combat cancer and has shown promise for many patients. However, its effectiveness is often hampered by an immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and the low immunogenicity of tumor cells. In this study, we developed an in situ cancer vaccine that integrates chemotherapy and immunotherapy in a single platform.

A mitochondria-targeted nanozyme with enhanced antioxidant activity to prevent acute liver injury by remodeling mitochondria respiratory chain.

Developing nanomedicines with enhanced activity to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) has emerged as a promising strategy for addressing ROS-associated diseases, such as drug-induced liver injury. However, designing nanozymes that not only remove ROS but also accelerate the repair of damaged liver cells remains challenging. Here, a two-pronged black phosphorus/Ceria nanozyme with mitochondria-targeting ability (TBP@CeO) is designed.