Nanomedicine-based immunotherapy for central nervous system disorders

Optimal design of nanoparticle-based delivery of drugs, cargoes/or adjuvants, and immunotherapy of glioblastoma. Diverse types of nanoscale materials can serve as vehicles for targeted delivery of tumor-cytotoxic nanomedicines.

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Mechanisms and pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profiles underlying the low nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity of etimicin

Schematic representation of possible mechanisms of aminoglycosides (AGs)-induced nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity. The schematic diagram mainly includes three parts: (1) AGs are predominantly distributed in the mitochondria of renal tubular cells and inner ear hair cell-like cells; (2) AGs inhibit mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) complexes I, IV, and V; and (3) AGs inhibit the PGC-1α-NRF1-TFAM pathway, which may repress mitochondrial biosynthesis.

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Importance of integrating nanotechnology with pharmacology and physiology for innovative drug delivery and therapy – an illustration with firsthand examples

Nanotechnology has been applied extensively in drug delivery to improve the therapeutic outcomes of various diseases. Tremendous efforts have been focused on the development of novel nanoparticles and delineation of the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles in relation to their biological fate and functions. However, in the design and evaluation of these nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems,   ...

Discovery and development of NA-1 for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke

Stroke creates a complex interplay of multiple signaing pathways including excitotoxicity, ionic imbalance, inflammation, oxidative stress and apoptosis. There are very few treatments that have been shown to be beneficial in acute stroke. Recent findings have provided insights into the pathophysiology and mechanisms of ischemic stroke, complementing the traditional glutamate hypothesis: the molecular interaction between PSD95 and GluN2B has been identified as a culprit in stroke-mediated excitotoxicity, leading to the discovery of NA-1, a peptide that disrupts that interaction, as a potent neuroprotective agent for the treatment of acute stroke. ...

Therapeutic gene editing: delivery and regulatory perspectives

Gene-editing technology is an emerging therapeutic modality for manipulating the eukaryotic genome by using target-sequence- speci c engineered nucleases. Because of the exceptional advantages that gene-editing technology offers in facilitating the accurate correction of sequences in a genome, gene editing-based therapy is being aggressively developed as a next-generation therapeutic approach to treat a wide range of diseases.

Vascular endothelial dysfunction, a major mediator in diabetic cardiomyopathy

Diabetes mellitus is currently a major public health problem. A common complication of diabetes is cardiac dysfunction, which is recognized as a microvascular disease that leads to morbidity and mortality in diabetic patients. While ischemic events are commonly observed in diabetic patients, the risk for developing heart failure is also increased, independent of the severity of coronary artery disease and hypertension. This diabetes-associated clinical entity is considered a distinct disease process referred to as “diabetic cardiomyopathy”   ...

Emerging roles of sphingosylphosphorylcholine in modulating cardiovascular functions and diseases

Roles of sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC) in blood vessels. In normal vessels, the endothelium is intact. SPC acts on endothelial cellsand has protective effects on blood vessels. When the endothelium is injured, vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are exposed to SPC,which is harmful to blood vessels