In the history of nucleic acid research, DNA has always been the main research focus. After the sketch of the human genome was completed in 2000, RNA has been started to gain more attention due to its abundancies in the cell and its essential role in cellular physiology and pathologies. Recent studies have shown that RNAs are susceptible to oxidative damage and oxidized RNA is able to break the RNA strand, and affect the protein synthesis, which can lead to cell degradation and cell death. Studies have shown that RNA oxidation is one of the early events in the formation and development of neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. However, its molecular mechanism, as well as its impact on these diseases, are still unclear. In this article, we review the different types of RNA oxidative damage and the neurodegenerative diseases that are reported to be associated with RNA oxidative damage. In addition, we discuss recent findings on the association between RNA oxidative damage and the development of neurodegenerative diseases, which will have great significance for the development of novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of these diseases.

In the present study, we designed a substrate-independent antimicrobial nanoparticle (SNP) via self-assembly of poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly (diallyl dimethyl ammonium chloride) (PDDA). The prepared nanoparticle, with a cube structure, as revealed by scanning electron microscope (SEM), maintained structural integrity even after extensive washing. In addition, the SNP was endowed with substrate-independent adhesive affinity to various surfaces by carbodiimide reaction owing to the carboxyl group of PAA. The results of blood compatibility and cytocompatibility demonstrated that the SNP had a limited effect on blood coagulation and cell proliferation. The results of antibacterial tests indicated that the SNP exhibited significant inhibition ability for both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria, reducing cell amount by 97.2% and 98.2% within 24 h for Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility were attributed to the introduction of carboxyl group, and the significantly antimicrobial property was ascribed to the introduction of PDDA. Furthermore, the SNP maintained outstanding long-term antimicrobial property. In general, it was believed that the designed SNP probably showed potential for applications in various biological and clinical fields.

The accumulation of nanotechnology-based drugs has been realized in various ways. However, the concentration of drugs encapsulated by nanomaterials is not equal to the concentration of effective drugs; often, the drugs become effective only when they are released from the nanomaterials as free drugs. This means only when the drugs are rapidly released after the accumulated drug-encapsulating nanomaterials can they truly achieve the purpose of increasing the concentration of drugs in the tumor. Therefore, we herein report a dual-response nano-carrier of glutathione and acid to achieve the rapid release of encapsulated drug and increase the effective drug concentration in the tumor. The nano-carrier was constructed using a dual-responsive amphiphilic copolymer, composed of polyethylene glycol and hydrophobic acetylated dextran and connected by a disulfide bond. In the tumor microenvironment, disulfide bonds could be biodegraded by glutathione that is overexpressed in the tumor, exposing the core of nano-carrier composed of acetylated dextran. Then the acidic environment would induce the deacetylation of acetylated dextran into water-soluble dextran. In this way, the nano-carrier will degrade quickly, realizing the purpose of rapid drug release. The results showed that the drug release rate of dual-responsive nano-carrier was much higher than that of glutathione or acid-responsive nano-carrier alone. Furthermore, both in vitro and in vivo experiments confirmed that dual-responsive nano-carrier possessed more efficient anti-tumor effects. Therefore, we believe that dual-responsive nano-carriers have better clinical application prospects.