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During the last years metalloproteinases as a family of proteases have been implicated in various human diseases and catalytic mechanisms of pathological disorders. Metalloproteinases can be divided into two subgroups, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and adamalysins (ADAMs).

Cysteine cathepsins are important regulators and signaling molecules of an unimaginable number of biological processes, while they concurrently play an essential role in cancer progression, invasion and metastasis. The purposes of our study were to: a) compare the expression levels of cathepsins B, H and L in the supernatants of colon cancer tissues from 74 patients versus the corresponding enzymic expressions of supernatants in the adjacent normal colorectal tissues; and b) correlate our results to the grade of the malignancy by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The findings indicated that cathepsins B, H and L of all malignant tissues exhibited significantly higher expression levels than their corresponding controls. Furthermore, cathepsin B expression levels doubled in all tumor samples and this increase remained quite steady with tumor stage advancement, in contrast to cathepsin H expression which rose significantly as malignancy progressed. Specifically, cathepsin H concentration was higher than the corresponding control: 155% in B1 stage and 204.44% in D stage. Among the three investigated proteases, cathepsin L has shown the highest increase, which in D stage stood 261.03% higher than the corresponding control. The results at hand suggested that cysteine protease H and L expression levels could be of critical value in the diagnosis and progression of colon cancer.

Over the last decade, a diverse spectrum of vanadium compounds has arisen as anti-inflammatory therapeutic metallodrugs targeting various diseases. Recent studies have demonstrated that select well-defined vanadium species are involved in many immune-driven molecular mechanisms that regulate and influence immune responses. In addition, advances in cell immunotherapy have relied on the use of metallodrugs to create a “safe,” highly regulated, environment for optimal control of immune response. Emerging findings include optimal regulation of B/T cell signaling and expression of immune suppressive or anti-inflammatory cytokines, critical for immune cell effector functions. Furthermore, in-depth perusals have explored NF-κB and Toll-like receptor signaling mechanisms in order to enhance adaptive immune responses and promote recruitment or conversion of inflammatory cells to immunodeficient tissues. Consequently, well-defined vanadium metallodrugs, poised to access and resensitize the immune microenvironment, interact with various biomolecular targets, such as B cells, T cells, interleukin markers, and transcription factors, thereby influencing and affecting immune signaling. A synthetically formulated and structure-based (bio)chemical reactivity account of vanadoforms emerges as a plausible strategy for designing drugs characterized by selectivity and specificity, with respect to the cellular molecular targets intimately linked to immune responses, thereby giving rise to a challenging field linked to the development of immune system vanadodrugs.

Lung cancer chemoresistance is the most common obstacle in lung cancer therapy. Recent studies have indicated that microRNAs play a significant role in this phenomenon and can function as either tumor suppressor or tumor promoters. In the present study we investigated the role of two distinct miR members, the oncomir miR-205 and the tumor suppressor miR-218 concerning the proliferation, invasion and induction of apoptosis in lung cancer cells after carboplatin treatment. The results showed that miR-205 is overexpressed in A549 and H1975 lung cancer cells concurrent with the down regulation of miR-218. Furthermore, ectopic miR-218 overexpression reduced cell proliferation, invasion and migration of lung cancer cells, whereas miR-205 rescued the suppressive effect of miR-218. Our findings suggest that miR-218 play an important role in lung cancer therapy. Tumor suppressor role in inhibiting cancer cell proliferation, and overcoming chemoresistance of miR-218 could be useful in future cancer therapeutic approaches.