Volume 3
Published on February 2025Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer mortality around the world. The progression of lung cancer is often marked by the metastasis, which is a progress where the lung cancer cells start to spread out to other organs and systems in our human body. This progression is always marked by the scientists as the sign of the mortality of the patient. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a critical process in the development of lung cancer, contributing to metastasis and resistance to therapy. EMT facilitates the invasion of the cancer cell, and prevents the apoptosis. EMT also enhances tumor cell survival, and resistance to the conventional chemotherapy or target treatment. It is an important process that leads to the spread of cancer cell and cause death. This essay focuses on the molecule transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β), which plays a central role in regulating EMT. In particular, mutations in TGF-β receptors significantly impact this process. This essay examines the effects of TGF-β receptor mutations on EMT in lung cancer, analyzing common and emerging mutations, their functional consequences, and the potential therapeutic implications. By exploring the altered signaling pathways and their effects on EMT markers, this study provides insights into the role of TGF-β receptor mutations in lung cancer metastasis and prognosis.
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Individuals, ranging from the average person to athletes, face potential risks of exercise-related injuries. To explore the mechanisms of repair, it is imperative to focus on skeletal muscle, whose regeneration depends on a resident population of muscle stem cells known as satellite cells. Through meticulous experimentation and research, it has been revealed that epigenetic regulatory mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs, play a pivotal role in governing gene expression within skeletal muscle satellite cells. These findings underscore the significant impact of these regulatory processes in addressing exercise-induced injuries.
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Although the two compounds quercetin and kaempferol components of TCM were verified as useful anticancer compounds, their molecular mechanisms are not well discussed. The present work aims to demystify the antitumor mechanisms of TCM compounds. Therefore, network pharmacology and pharmacophore screening were adopted with molecular docking to identify the bioactive compounds possessing excellent oral bioavailability and drug-likeness. The method of pharmacophore screening was then employed to examine molecular interactions occurred between the compounds and targets. The gene-disease associations were collected from the DisGeNET database. The STRING database was utilized to cluster overlapping targets. The key targets were identified, and molecular docking with quercetin and kaempferol was performed against these targets to further characterize drug binding affinities, which verified strong binding affinities comparable with the known anticancer drugs. The multitarget inhibitor was identified and exerted a powerful inhibitory effect on tumor cells, as demonstrated by the CCK-8 assay. Quercetin and kaempferol components derived from TCM with good oral bioavailability and drug-likeness held promise for effective antitumor treatment, especially for tumors resistant to other treatment.
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Of all the drugs launched on the market over the past decade, a substantial number of approved prodrugs have been significant, underscoring the importance of this prodrug to drug design. It is reported that 10% of all marketed drugs globally can be classified as prodrugs. The core goal of the prodrug strategy is to improve the undesirable properties of the drug molecule, including but not limited to insufficient solubility, low selectivity, poor chemical stability, poor taste, strong local irritation, significant pain, and possible systemic toxicity during metabolism in vivo. This review article includes the discussion of the phosphate prodrugs, ketone prodrugs, ester prodrugs, amide prodrugs, pH-responsive prodrugs, enzyme-activated prodrugs, carbamate prodrugs, liposomal prodrugs, and pleiotropic prodrugs. The latest research on prodrugs in the field of cancer, nano and antibacterial in recent years are also discussed. Through the research and application of the above chemical modification methods and the clinical application of prodrug technology in the fields of cancer treatment, nanotechnology, antimicrobial drugs, etc., researchers can design safer and more effective treatments to meet clinical needs and optimize the treatment experience of patients. At the same time, these studies not only confirm the importance of prodrug design in drug development, but also provide new ideas and methods for future drug design.
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Pancreatic cancer, a highly malignant solid tumor of the digestive tract, is characterized by its challenging early detection, rapid metastatic potential, high degree of aggressiveness, and notably low postoperative survival rate. Current therapeutic options—such as surgery, chemotherapy, or radiotherapy—often prove inadequate due to the disease’s advanced stage at diagnosis, leading to a median survival time of only three to six months post-diagnosis. Given the limitations of conventional treatments, nanotechnology offers promising avenues for addressing key therapeutic challenges in pancreatic cancer. This review explores the progress and potential of various nanotechnology-based interventions, including nano-scaled drug delivery systems, nano-scaled surgical tools like the nanoknife, and nanoperticle-based imaging probe. Each approach provides unique benefits, from enhancing the precision and efficacy of drug delivery to improving diagnostic sensitivity and minimizing collateral damage in treatment. This article summarizes the current landscape of nanotechnology applications in pancreatic cancer therapy and discusses the challenges and future directions for advancing these promising strategies, which may transform the prognosis and quality of life for affected patients.
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One of the leading causes of dementia and a significant global public health concern is Alzheimer's disease (AD). The many facets of AD are examined in this study, with particular attention to its pathophysiology, genetic and lifestyle risk factors, and developments in diagnostic methods. We discuss how several animal models, including Drosophila and C. elegans, as well as vertebrates like non-human primates, dogs, mice, rats, and zebrafish, have been used to study the genetic basis of AD. Along with the effect of COVID-19 on AD patients, the function of the ApoE4 allele and Western diets in disease vulnerability are examined. The frequency of AD is rising, according to demographic statistics, which emphasizes the critical need for research on early identification and treatments. The potential of existing diagnostic techniques, such as phosphorylated tau and amyloid β plasma testing and PET scans, is assessed in clinical and research contexts. The article highlights the value of lifestyle modifications and early detection in treating AD, providing insights into potential future treatment approaches and broader ramifications for the study of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Breast cancer is one of the common nasty tumors that seriously endanger women's health problems. Its incidence and mortality rate rank first among female malignant tumors in the world. At the same time, the prevalence and mortality rate of women in China remain high, and it shows a trend of younger age. With the acceleration of social rhythm, irregular diet, increasing pressure and other reasons, the incidence of breast cancer in women is increasing year by year. Currently, the treatment of breast cancer usually includes surgery, chemoradiotherapy, endocrine therapy, targeted drugs, etc. Although these combined therapies are effective in reducing the mortality rate of breast cancer, the side effects on the patients’ body are still large. Most of the previous studies focused on the perspective of western medicine, but this paper analyzed the theory, cognition and the therapeutic effects of traditional Chinese medicine on breast cancer from the perspective of Chinese medicine. The results of this study show that traditional Chinese medicine treatment of breast cancer and prognosis have good performance, especially in alleviating complications and alleviating the side effects of chemoradiation.
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Microencapsulation technology is an emerging encapsulation method with significant applications in various fields, including pharmaceuticals and food products. This article reviews the preparation materials, principles of preparation processes, and the advantages and disadvantages of microencapsulation. It also analyzes the application of microencapsulation technology in improving drug stability and in pharmaceutical formulations, providing a theoretical basis for selecting microencapsulation processes and offering references for research and development in drug formulation using microencapsulation technology.
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Prodrugs has been established as a strategy to improve the medical properties of their parent drugs, and thereby enhance the possibility of these potential drugs to cure the disease but this modified drugs should be cautious as their properties like issue distribution, efficacy and toxicity may change. In the current developed modifying strategies, esterification is among the most common ones, which masks charged hydrophilic groups with ester promoieties so that permeation ability of drugs through the membrane will enhance. Among various esters, phosphorus-containing ester prodrugs are attractive due to close relationship between atom phosphorus and key bioactive compounds including DNA or RNA, phospholipid, proteins. Herein, we will review the developments of these prodrugs, especially phosphate and phosphonate prodrugs, their synthetic methods, pros and cons, application and methods for characterization, with which specific examples or clinical trials will be attached for clearer description Ultimately, we prospect that the phosphorus-containing prodrugs will for certain be further studied and improved and be an indispensable role in medical cares.
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