The mannose receptor (MR, CD 206) is an endocytic receptor primarily expressed by macrophages and dendritic cells, which plays a critical role in both endocytosis and antigen processing and presentation. MR carbohydrate recognition domains (CRDs) exhibit a high binding affinity for branched and linear oligosaccharides. Furthermore, multivalent mannose presentation on the various templates like peptides, proteins, polymers, micelles, and dendrimers was proven to be a valuable approach for the selective and efficient delivery of various therapeutically active agents to MR. This review provides a detailed account of the most relevant and recent aspects of the synthesis and application of mannosylated bioactive formulations for MR-mediated delivery in treatments of cancer and other infectious diseases. It further highlights recent findings related to the necessary structural features of the mannose-containing ligands for successful binding to the MR.

A distinct feature of human prostate cancer (PCa) is the development of osteoblastic (bone-forming) bone metastases. Metastatic growth in the bone is supported by factors secreted by PCa cells that activate signaling networks in the tumor microenvironment that augment tumor growth. To better understand these signaling networks and identify potential targets for therapy of bone metastases, we characterized the secretome of a patient-derived xenograft, MDA-PCa-118b (PCa-118b), generated from osteoblastic bone lesion. PCa-118b induces osteoblastic tumors when implanted either in mouse femurs or subcutaneously. To study signaling molecules critical to these unique tumor/microenvironment-mediated events, we performed mass spectrometry on conditioned media of isolated PCa-118b tumor cells, and identified 26 secretory proteins, such as TGF-β2, GDF15, FGF3, FGF19, CXCL1, galectins, and β2-microglobulin, which represent both novel and previously published secreted proteins. RT-PCR using human versus mouse-specific primers showed that TGFβ2, GDF15, FGF3, FGF19, and CXCL1 were secreted from PCa-118b cells. TGFβ2, GDF15, FGF3, and FGF19 function as both autocrine and paracrine factors on tumor cells and stromal cells, that is, endothelial cells and osteoblasts. In contrast, CXCL1 functions as a paracrine factor through the CXCR2 receptor expressed on endothelial cells and osteoblasts. Thus, our study reveals a complex PCa bone metastasis secretome with paracrine and autocrine signaling functions that mediate cross-talk among multiple cell types within the tumor microenvironment.

The power of foodomics as a discipline that is now broadly used for quality assurance of food products and adulteration identification, as well as for determining the safety of food, is presented. Concerning sample preparation and application, maintenance of highly sophisticated instruments for both high-performance and high-throughput techniques, and analysis and data interpretation, special attention has to be paid to the development of skilled analysts. The obtained data shall be integrated under a strong bioinformatics environment. Modern mass spectrometry is an extremely powerful analytical tool since it can provide direct qualitative and quantitative information about a molecule of interest from only a minute amount of sample. Quality of this information is influenced by the sample preparation procedure, the type of mass spectrometer used and the analyst's skills. Technical advances are bringing new instruments of increased sensitivity, resolution and speed to the market. Other methods presented here give additional information and can be used as complementary tools to mass spectrometry or for validation of obtained results. Genomics and transcriptomics, as well as affinity-based methods, still have a broad use in food analysis. Serious drawbacks of some of them, especially the affinity-based methods, are the cross-reactivity between similar molecules and the influence of complex food matrices. However, these techniques can be used for pre-screening in order to reduce the large number of samples. Great progress has been made in the application of bioinformatics in foodomics. These developments enabled processing of large amounts of generated data for both identification and quantification, and for corresponding modeling.

Microgreens are young, immature vegetables that contain higher concentrations of active compounds compared to mature vegetables and seeds. Radish microgreens are a good source of antioxidants, phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid, carotenoids, and anthocyanins. The production of microgreens is limited by their short shelf life due to higher dark respiration and accelerated senescence. The study was performed on three radish cultivars (Raphanus sativus L.): purple radish (cvP), red radish (cvR), and green radish (cvG). Radish microgreens were grown in chambers with controlled conditions (24 °C and a photoperiod of 16/8 h) under two types of artificial LED light (45 μmol m⁻²s⁻¹): under white light (B:G:R) and a blue/red light combination (B:2R). The effect of the two types of light was examined on the 3rd, 7th, and 14th day after storage at a low temperature (+4 °C). The physiological status of the three cultivars of radish microgreens was examined by measuring the contents of total soluble phenolics, ascorbic acid, proteins, sugars, dry matter, anthocyanins, carotenoids, and chlorophyll as well as the total antioxidant activity. The results revealed that radish microgreens’ antioxidant capacity and phytochemical profile depend on the radish cultivar and on the type of LED light used for cultivation. It was shown that B:2R and red cultivar were most beneficial for the synthesis of most of the determined phytochemicals compared to B:G:R, or the purple and green cultivar, respectively. Storage at a low temperature in darkness slowed down most of the metabolic reactions during the first seven days, thus preserving most of the antioxidant activity.