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Topic Review
Anti-Cancer Role and Therapeutic Potential of Extracellular Vesicles
Cell–cell communication is an important mechanism in biological processes. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), also referred to as exosomes, microvesicles, and prostasomes, are microvesicles secreted from a variety of cells. Importantly, EVs contribute to cancer malignancy mechanisms such as carcinogenesis, proliferation, angiogenesis, metastasis, and escape from the immune system. As EVs are thought to be secreted into body fluids, they have the potential to serve as diagnostic markers for liquid biopsy. In addition, the characteristics of EVs make them suitable for use in drug delivery systems and novel cancer treatments. 
  • 483
  • 22 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Anti-Inflammatory Fibronectin-AgNP
The engineering of vascular regeneration still involves barriers that need to be conquered. In the current study, a novel nanocomposite comprising of fibronectin (denoted as FN) and a small amount of silver nanoparticles (AgNP, ~15.1, ~30.2 or ~75.5 ppm) was developed and its biological function and biocompatibility in Wharton’s jelly-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and rat models was investigated. The surface morphology as well as chemical composition for pure FN and the FN-AgNP nanocomposites incorporating various amounts of AgNP were firstly characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Among the nanocomposites, FN-AgNP with 30.2 ppm silver nanoparticles demonstrated the best biocompatibility as assessed through intracellular ROS production, proliferation of MSCs, and monocytes activation. The expression levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6, were also examined. FN-AgNP 30.2 ppm significantly inhibited pro-inflammatory cytokine expression compared to other materials, indicating superior performance of anti-immune response. Mechanistically, FN-AgNP 30.2 ppm significantly induced greater expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and stromal-cell derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1α) and promoted the migration of MSCs through matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) signaling pathway. Besides, in vitro and in vivo studies indicated that FN-AgNP 30.2 ppm stimulated greater protein expressions of CD31 and von Willebrand Factor (vWF) as well as facilitated better endothelialization capacity than other materials. Furthermore, the histological tissue examination revealed the lowest capsule formation and collagen deposition in rat subcutaneous implantation of FN-AgNP 30.2 ppm. In conclusion, FN-AgNP nanocomposites may facilitate the migration and proliferation of MSCs, induce endothelial cell differentiation, and attenuate immune response. These finding also suggests that FN-AgNP may be a potential anti-inflammatory surface modification strategy for vascular biomaterials. 
  • 458
  • 08 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Anti-Prostate Cancer Properties of Anthocyanidins/Anthocyanins
As water-soluble flavonoid derivatives, anthocyanidins and anthocyanins are the plants pigments mostly rich in berries, pomegranate, grapes, and dark color fruits. Many bioactivity properties of these advantageous phytochemicals have been reported; among them, their significant abilities in the suppression of tumor cells are of the promising therapeutic features, which have recently attracted great attention. The prostate malignancy, is considered the 2nd fatal and the most distributed cancer type in men worldwide.  In general, the anthocyanins (especifically cyanidin-3-O-glucoside) indicated higher activity against prostatic neoplasms compared to their correlated anthocyanidins (e.g., delphinidin); in which potent anti-inflammatory, apoptosis, and anti-proliferative activities were analyzed. 
  • 882
  • 11 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Antibodies and Pentraxins
Macrophages play a key role in induction of inflammatory responses. These inflammatory responses are mostly considered to be instigated by activation of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) or cytokine receptors. However, recently it has become clear that also antibodies and pentraxins, which can both activate Fc receptors (FcRs), induce very powerful inflammatory responses by macrophages that can even be an order of magnitude greater than PRRs. While the physiological function of this antibody-dependent inflammation (ADI) is to counteract infections, undesired activation or over-activation of this mechanism will lead to pathology, as observed in a variety of disorders, including viral infections such as COVID-19, chronic inflammatory disorders such as Crohn’s disease, and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
  • 490
  • 04 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Anticancer Effects of R-Loops
R-loops are three-stranded DNA/RNA hybrids that form by the annealing of the mRNA transcript to its coding template while displacing the non-coding strand. While R-loop formation regulates physiological genomic and mitochondrial transcription and DNA damage response, imbalanced R-loop formation can be a threat to the genomic integrity of the cell. As such, R-loop formation is a double-edged sword in cancer progression, and perturbed R-loop homeostasis is observed across various malignancies. 
  • 350
  • 10 May 2023
Topic Review
Antigen Presentation of SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccines
Infection with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has reached pandemic proportions. A number of effective vaccines have been produced, including mRNA vaccines and viral vector vaccines, which are now being implemented on a large scale in order to control the pandemic. The mRNA vaccines are composed of viral Spike S1 protein encoding mRNA incorporated in a lipid nanoparticle and stabilized by polyethylene glycol (PEG). The mRNA vaccines are novel in many respects, including cellular uptake and the intracellular routing, processing, and secretion of the viral protein. Because of space restrictions, viral vector vaccines not discussed in detail. The antigen presentation routes in MHC class I and class II, in relation to the induction of virus-neutralizing antibodies and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes, will be reviewed. In rare cases, mRNA vaccines induce unwanted immune mediated side effects. In rare cases, the mRNA-based vaccines may lead to an anaphylactic reaction. This reaction may be triggered by PEG. The intracellular routing of PEG and potential presentation in the context of CD1 will be discussed. 
  • 1.2K
  • 11 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Antioxidant Capacity of Seminal Plasma
The total antioxidant capacity of seminal plasma is a very common way of presenting the antioxidant capabilities of the seminal plasma. This term is used to evaluate the total ability of a fluid to scavenge free radicals in solution. In general, fertile men have seminal plasma with a higher total antioxidant capacity than that of infertile patients.
  • 1.4K
  • 26 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Antioxidant Therapy in Cancer
Cancer is characterized by increased oxidative stress, an imbalance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants. Enhanced ROS accumulation, as a result of metabolic disturbances and signaling aberrations, can promote carcinogenesis and malignant progression by inducing gene mutations and activating pro-oncogenic signaling, providing a possible rationale for targeting oxidative stress in cancer treatment.
  • 840
  • 29 Jul 2022
Topic Review
AP-1 Transcription Factors in Myeloma
Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable hematologic malignancy characterized by the clonal expansion of malignant plasma cells within the bone marrow. Activator Protein-1 (AP-1) transcription factors (TFs), comprised of the JUN, FOS, ATF and MAF multigene families, are implicated in a plethora of physiologic processes and tumorigenesis including plasma cell differentiation and MM pathogenesis. Depending on the genetic background, the tumor stage, and cues of the tumor microenvironment, specific dimeric AP-1 complexes are formed. For example, AP-1 complexes containing Fra-1, Fra-2 and B-ATF play central roles in the transcriptional control of B cell development and plasma cell differentiation, while dysregulation of AP-1 family members c-Maf, c-Jun, and JunB is associated with MM cell proliferation, survival, drug resistance, bone marrow angiogenesis, and bone disease. The present review article summarizes our up-to-date knowledge on the role of AP-1 family members in plasma cell differentiation and MM pathophysiology. Moreover, it discusses novel, rationally derived approaches to therapeutically target AP-1 TFs, including protein-protein and protein-DNA binding inhibitors, epigenetic modifiers and natural products.
  • 1.5K
  • 25 May 2021
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Apoptosis Regulators Bcl-2 and Caspase-3
Apoptosis, programmed cell death, has a central role in developmental biology and in maintaining the equilibrium of renewing tissues. A founding member of the Bcl-2 family of regulatory proteins for apoptosis is Bcl-2, which is encoded by the BCL2 gene. Caspase-3 shares typical features with all caspases, including the role of acting as a crucial mediator of apoptosis.
  • 716
  • 21 Oct 2022
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