Due to the complex physiological structure, microenvironment and multiple physiological barriers, traditional anti‐cancer drugs are severely restricted from reaching the tumour site. Cell‐penetrating peptides (CPPs) are typically made up of 5–30 amino acids, and can be utilised as molecular transporters to facilitate the passage of therapeutic drugs across physiological barriers. Up to now, CPPs have widely been used in many anti‐cancer treatment strategies, serving as an excellent potential choice for oncology treatment. However, their drawbacks, such as the lack of cell specificity, short duration of action, poor stability in vivo, compatibility problems (i.e. immunogenicity), poor therapeutic efficacy and formation of unwanted metabolites, have limited their further application in cancer treatment. The cellular uptake mechanisms of CPPs involve mainly endocytosis and direct penetration, but still remain highly controversial in academia. The CPPs‐based drug delivery strategy could be improved by clever design or chemical modifications to develop the next‐generation CPPs with enhanced cell penetration capability, stability and selectivity. In addition, some recent advances in targeted cell penetration that involve CPPs provide some new ideas to optimise CPPs.

Background: Chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCDs) are an urgent public health issue in China, especially among older adults. Hence, self-management is crucial for disease progression and treatment. Electronic health (e-health) literacy and self-efficacy positively correlate with self-management. However, we know little about their underlying mechanisms in older adults with CNCDs. Objective: To explore the factors that influence chronic disease self-management (CDSM) and verify self-efficacy as the mediator between e-health literacy and self-management behavior in older patients with CNCDs. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 289 older patients with CNCDs from Hunan province, China, between July and November 2021. E-health literacy, self-efficacy, social support, and CDSM data were collected through questionnaires. The influence of each factor on CDSM was explored with multiple linear regression analysis. Intermediary effects were computed via a structural equation model. Results: The total CDSM score in the patients was 29.39 ± 9.60 and only 46 (15.92%) patients used smart healthcare devices. The regression analysis showed e-health literacy, self-efficacy, and social support were the factors that affected CDSM. Furthermore, the structural equation model revealed that self-efficacy directly affected CDSM (β = 0.45, P < 0.01), whereas e-health literacy affected it directly (β = 0.42, P < 0.01) and indirectly (β = 0.429, P < 0.01) through self-efficacy. Conclusions: This study revealed that self-management among older patients with CNCDs is at a low level, and few of them use smart healthcare devices. Self-efficacy plays a partial intermediary role between e-health literacy and self-management in older patients with CNCDs. Thus, efforts to improve their CDSM by targeting e-health literacy may be more effective when considering self-efficacy.

Abnormal lipid metabolism including synthesis, uptake, modification, degradation and transport has been considered a hallmark of malignant tumors and contributes to the supply of substances and energy for rapid cell growth. Meanwhile, abnormal lipid metabolism is also associated with lipid peroxidation, which plays an important role in a newly discovered type of regulated cell death termed ferroptosis. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been proven to be associated with the occurrence and progression of cancer. Growing evidence indicates that lncRNAs are key regulators of abnormal lipid metabolism and ferroptosis in cancer. In this review, we mainly summarized the mechanism by which lncRNAs regulate aberrant lipid metabolism in cancer, illustrated that lipid metabolism can also influence the expression of lncRNAs, and discussed the mechanism by which lncRNAs affect ferroptosis. A comprehensive understanding of the interactions between lncRNAs, lipid metabolism and ferroptosis could help us to develop novel strategies for precise cancer treatment in the future.

Chronic disease self-management is a critical concern in public health, in which perceived social support plays an important role. However, the underlying pathways and mechanisms linking perceived social support to chronic disease self-management remained unclear. This study investigated whether psychological resilience and health empowerment mediated the relationship between perceived social support and the effectiveness of chronic disease self-management. A total of 368 older inpatients with chronic non-communicable diseases were recruited from three grade-A tertiary hospitals in Changsha City, China, using a convenience sampling method between January and June 2023. Data were collected using the General Information Questionnaire, the Chronic Disease Self-Management Scale, the Perceived Social Support Scale, the Connor–Davidson Resilience Scale, and the Health Empowerment Scale. Descriptive demographic analysis and Pearson correlation analysis were conducted using SPSS 26.0, and model 6 in the macro program Process 4.1 was employed to test the chain mediation effect. Most older inpatients were aged 60–69 years (52.2%), followed by those aged 70–79 years (30.7%). Regression analysis revealed that perceived social support, psychological resilience, and health empowerment collectively explained 45.7% of the variance in chronic disease self-management. Mediation analysis demonstrated that perceived social support not only had a direct positive impact on chronic disease self-management (effect = 0.141, 95% CI: LL = 0.041, UL = 0.241), but also indirectly affected chronic disease self-management through three significant mediating pathways: the independent mediating effect of psychological resilience (effect = 0.102, 95% CI: LL = 0.061, UL = 0.155), the independent mediating effect of health empowerment (effect = 0.042, 95% CI: LL = 0.010, UL = 0.080), and the chain mediating effect between psychological resilience and health empowerment (effect = 0.024, 95% CI: LL = 0.006, UL = 0.047). Perceived social support influenced chronic disease self-management directly and indirectly through psychological resilience and health empowerment. These findings offered practical guidance for developing more effective intervention strategies aimed at improving chronic disease self-management among older inpatients.

GTPase-activating protein (GAP) is a negative regulator of GTPase protein that is thought to promote the conversion of the active GTPase-GTP form to the GTPase-GDP form. Based on its ability to regulate GTPase proteins and other domains, GAPs are directly or indirectly involved in various cell requirement processes. We reviewed the existing evidence of GAPs regulating regulated cell death (RCD), mainly apoptosis and autophagy, as well as some novel RCDs, with particular attention to their association in diseases, especially cancer. We also considered that GAPs could affect tumor immunity and attempted to link GAPs, RCD and tumor immunity. A deeper understanding of the GAPs for regulating these processes could lead to the discovery of new therapeutic targets to avoid pathologic cell loss or to mediate cancer cell death.

Background: The Chinese population is aging, and chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) prevalence is correspondingly increasing, along with associated disability and healthcare costs. Although self-management has been associated with social support and is a recognized priority, its mediating variables have not been studied in detail, particularly among old people with chronic diseases. Purpose: To examine the mediating role of e-health literacy and general self-efficacy in the relationship between social support and self-management of chronic NCDs in Chinese community home-based aging institution residents. Patients and Methods: A random sample of 289 community home-based aging institution elders (≥ 60 years) with chronic NCDs in China was recruited. Questionnaire data were recorded on self-reported socio-demographics, self-management, social support, e-health literacy, and general self-efficacy. Pearson’s correlation analysis identified the relationship between these factors and self-management. Serial multiple mediation model was used to test the hypothesized relationships. Results: The self-management mean (±SD) score was 29.39 ± 9.60, and the level of self-management was medium. Social support (r = 0.283; P < 0.001), e-health literacy (r = 0.566; P < 0.001), and general self-efficacy (r = 0.477; P < 0.001) were positively associated with self-management. Furthermore, social support indirectly influenced self-management through three pathways: independent mediation of e-health literacy (effect = 0.234, P < 0.001), independent mediation of general self-efficacy (effect = 0.515, P < 0.001), and chain mediation of e-health literacy and general self-efficacy (effect = 0.075, P < 0.001). Conclusion: In Chinese community home-based aging institution elders, the relationship between self-reported self-management and social support is positively affected by the independent mediating effect of e-health literacy and general self-efficacy and the serial mediating effect of e-health literacy and general self-efficacy. Targeted self-management programs for elders with chronic NCDs have theoretical support, which could improve the health status and quality of life in this population.