Transdermal drug delivery for local or systemic therapy provides a potential anticancer modality with a high patient compliance. However, the drug delivery efficiency across the skin is highly challenging due to the physiological barriers, which limit the desired therapeutic effects. In this study, we prepared liposome-in-hydrogels containing a tumor targeting photosensitizer IR780 (IR780/lipo/gels) for tumor photothermal therapy (PTT). The formulation effectively delivered IR780 to subcutaneous tumor and deep metastatic sites, while the hydrogels were applied on the skin overlying the tumor or on an area of distant normal skin. The photothermal antitumor activity of topically administered IR780/lipo/gels was evaluated following laser irradiation. We observed significant inhibition of the rate of the tumor growth without any toxicity associated with the topical administration of hydrogels. Collectively, the topical administration of IR780/lipo/gels represents a new noninvasive and safe strategy for targeted tumor PTT.

Background: Duck hepatitis A virus (DHAV) is a single-stranded, positive-strand small RNA virus that causes a very high mortality rate in ducklings. The DHAV-3 subtype incidence rate has recently increased in China, causing great economic losses to the waterfowl breeding industry. We analyzed the protection rate of DHAV vaccines used in mainland China from 2009 to 2021 and evaluated the effectiveness of vaccine prevention and control to reduce the economic losses caused by DHAV to the waterfowl breeding industry. We screened five electronic research databases and obtained 14 studies and patents on the protection efficiency of DHAV-1 and DHAV-3 vaccines. Results: Meta-analysis demonstrated that immunized ducklings produced higher antibody levels and had a significantly higher survival rate than non-immunized ducklings [relative risk (RR) = 12, 95% confidence interval (CI) 6–26, P < 0.01]. The age of the ducks and vaccine valence did not affect protection efficiency. Data source analysis of the vaccine protection rate demonstrated that the vaccines conferred immune protection for ducklings in both small-scale experiments and large-scale clinical conditions. The analysis results revealed that although the vaccines conferred protection, the immune protective effect differed between small-scale experimental conditions and large-scale clinical conditions. This might have been due to non-standard vaccination and environmental factors. Conclusions: Domestic DHAV vaccines can protect ducklings effectively. The subjects immunized (breeding ducks or ducklings) and vaccine valence had no effect on the protective effect. Both small-scale experiments and large-scale clinical conditions conferred immune protection on ducklings, but vaccine immunization under small-scale experimental conditions had slightly better protective effects than large-scale clinical immunization.

To evaluate the overall prevalence of FIP infection in cats in mainland China and associated risk factors, studies on the prevalence of FIP conducted from 1 January 2008 to 20 December 2023 were retrieved from five databases—CNKI, Wanfang, PubMed, Web of Science, and ScienceDirect—and comprehensively reviewed. The 21 studies selected, with a total of 181,014 samples, underwent a rigorous meta-analysis after quality assessment. The results revealed a 2% prevalence of FIP (95% CI: 1–2%) through the random-effects model, showing considerable heterogeneity (I² = 95.2%). The subsequent subgroup analysis revealed that the age and gender of cats are significant risk factors for FIP infection in mainland China. In order to effectively reduce and control the prevalence of FIP on the Chinese mainland, we suggest improving the immunity of cats, with special attention given to health management in kittens and intact cats, and continuously monitoring FIPV.

Zhou S, et al. J Vet Sci. 2021 Sep;23(1):e13. https://doi.org/10.4142/jvs.21209

The innate immune system is the first line of host defense sensing viral infection. Manganese (Mn) has recently been found to be involved in the activation of the innate immune DNA-sensing cGAS-STING pathway and subsequent anti-DNA virus function. However, it is still unclear whether Mn²⁺ mediates host defense against RNA viruses. In this study, we demonstrate that Mn²⁺ exhibited antiviral effects against various animal and human viruses, including RNA viruses such as PRRSVs and VSV, as well as DNA viruses such as HSV1, in a dose-dependent manner. Moreover, cGAS and STING were both investigated in the Mn²⁺ mediated antiviral roles using the knockout cells made by the CRISPR-Cas9 approach. Unexpectedly, the results revealed that neither cGAS knockout nor STING knockout had any effect on Mn²⁺-mediated antiviral functions. Nevertheless, we verified that Mn²⁺ promoted the activation of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway. These findings suggest that Mn²⁺ has broad-spectrum antiviral activities in a cGAS-STING pathway independent manner. This study also provides significant insights into redundant mechanisms participating in the Mn²⁺ antiviral functions, and also indicates a new target for Mn²⁺ antiviral therapeutics.