Abnormal vasculature is one of the most conspicuous traits of tumor tissue, largely contributing to tumor immune evasion. The deregulation mainly arises from the potentiated pro-angiogenic factors secretion and can also target immune cells' biological events, such as migration and activation. Owing to this fact, angiogenesis blockade therapy was established to fight cancer by eliminating the nutrient and oxygen supply to the malignant cells by impairing the vascular network. Given the dominant role of vascular-endothelium growth factor (VEGF) in the angiogenesis process, the well-known anti-angiogenic agents mainly depend on the targeting of its actions. However, cancer cells mainly show resistance to anti-angiogenic agents by several mechanisms, and also potentiated local invasiveness and also distant metastasis have been observed following their administration. Herein, we will focus on clinical developments of angiogenesis blockade therapy, more particular, in combination with other conventional treatments, such as immunotherapy, chemoradiotherapy, targeted therapy, and also cancer vaccines.
27 May 2022 in International Journal of Pharmaceutics
Cancer is a major public health problem worldwide with more than an estimated 19.3 million new cases in 2020. The occurrence rises dramatically with age, and the overall risk accumulation is combined with the tendency for cellular repair mechanisms to be less effective in older individuals. Conventional cancer treatments, such as radiotherapy, surgery, and chemotherapy, have been used for decades to combat cancer. However, the emergence of novel fields of cancer research has led to the exploration of innovative treatment approaches focused on immunotherapy, epigenetic therapy, targeted therapy, multi-omics, and also multi-target therapy. The hypothesis was based on that drugs designed to act against individual targets cannot usually battle multigenic diseases like cancer. Multi-target therapies, either in combination or sequential order, have been recommended to combat acquired and intrinsic resistance to anti-cancer treatments. Several studies focused on multi-targeting treatments due to their advantages include; overcoming clonal heterogeneity, lower risk of multi-drug resistance (MDR), decreased drug toxicity, and thereby lower side effects. In this study, we'll discuss about multi-target drugs, their benefits in improving cancer treatments, and recent advances in the field of multi-targeted drugs. Also, we will study the research that performed clinical trials using multi-target therapeutic agents for cancer treatment.
5 January 2022 in Journal of Biological Engineering
Autologous bone grafts are commonly used as the gold standard to repair and regenerate diseased bones. However, they are strongly associated with postoperative complications, especially at the donor site, and increased surgical costs. In an effort to overcome these limitations, tissue engineering (TE) has been proposed as an alternative to promote bone repair. The successful outcome of tissue engineering depends on the microstructure and composition of the materials used as scaffold. Decellularized bone matrix-based biomaterials have been applied as bioscaffolds in bone tissue engineering. These biomaterials play an important role in providing the mechanical and physical microenvironment needed by cells to proliferate and survive. Decellularized extracellular matrix (dECM) can be used as a powder, hydrogel and electrospun scaffolds. These bioscaffolds mimic the native microenvironment due to their structure similar to the original tissue. The aim of this review is to highlight the bone decellularization techniques. Herein we discuss: (1) bone structure; (2) properties of an ideal scaffold; (3) the potential of decellularized bone as bioscaffolds; (4) terminal sterilization of decellularized bone; (5) cell removing confirmation in decellularized tissues; and (6) post decellularization procedures. Finally, the improvement of bone formation by dECM and the immunogenicity aspect of using the decellularized bone matrix are presented, to illustrate how novel dECM-based materials can be used as bioscaffold in tissue engineering. A comprehensive understanding of tissue engineering may allow for better incorporation of therapeutic approaches in bone defects allowing for bone repair and regeneration.
1 November 2018 in Materials Science and Engineering: C
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) led to COVID-19 and has become a pandemic worldwide with mortality of millions. Nanotechnology can be used to deliver antiviral medicines or other types of viral reproduction-inhibiting medications. At various steps of viral infection, nanotechnology could suggest practical solutions for usage in the fight against viral infection. Nanotechnology-based approaches can help in the fight against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Nanoparticles can play an essential role in progressing SARS-CoV-2 treatment and vaccine production in efficacy and safety. Nanocarriers have increased the speed of vaccine development and the efficiency of vaccines. As a result, the increased investigation into nanoparticles as nano-delivery systems and nanotherapeutics in viral infection, and the development of new and effective methods are essential for inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 infection. In this article, we compare the attributes of several nanoparticles and evaluate their capability to create novel vaccines and treatment methods against different types of viral diseases, especially the SARS-CoV-2 disease.Graphical Abstract