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Tailoring the morphologies and optical properties of the 2D and hierarchical nanostructures self-assembled by the π-conjugated molecules is both interesting and challenging. Herein, a series of 2D ribbon-like nanostructures with single or multiple H-aggregated perylene bisimides (PBI) monolayer and hierarchical nanostructures (including straw-like, dumbbell-shaped, and rod-like nanostructures) are fabricated by solution self-assembly of three chiral alanine-decorated PBI. The influence of the solvent's dissolving capacity, the chirality of alanine, and the preparation methods on the morphologies and optical properties of the nanostructures were extensively studied. It was observed that the hierarchical nanostructures are formed by the reorganization of the 2D ribbon-like nanostructures. The size of the 2D ribbon-like nanostructures and the amount of the hierarchical nanostructures increase with the decrease in the solvent's dissolving capacity. The small chiral alanine moiety is unable to induce chirality in the nanostructures, owing to its low steric hindrance and the dominant strong π-π stacking interaction of the PBI skeleton. A weaker π-π stacking interaction and better H-aggregated arrangement of the PBI skeleton could reduce the low-wavelength fluorescence intensity. The process of heating, cooling, and aging promotes the formation of H-aggregation in the PBI skeleton. The region of spectral overlap of the PBI solutions increases with the decrease in the dissolving capacity of the solvent and the steric hindrance of the chiral alanine. This study supplies a view to tailor the morphologies and optical properties of the nanostructures, which could be used as sensors and photocatalysts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Colon cancer is a common malignant tumor that occurs in the digestive tract of the colon. At present, the treatment of colon cancer is unsatisfactory, and its recurrence and drug resistance are common. It is important to find an effective treatment for colon cancer. In this study, we found that coxsackievirus group B3 can induce pyroptosis in colon cancer cell lines, which shows its oncolytic activity. Based on these findings, we believe that CVB3 may play an important role in the treatment of colon cancer as an oncolytic virus. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related death, and there are few effective therapies for colon cancer. This study explored the use of coxsackievirus group B3 (CVB3) as an oncolytic virus for the treatment of colon cancer. In this study, we verified that CVB3 induces death of colon cancer cell lines by directly observing cell morphology and Western blot results, and observed the oncolytic effects of CVB3 by constructing an immunodeficient nude mice model. Our data show that CVB3 induces pyroptosis in colon cancer cell lines. Mechanistically, we demonstrated that CVB3 causes cleavage of gasdermin E (GSDME), but not gasdermin D (GSDMD), by activating caspase-3. This leads to production of GSDME N-termini and the development of pores in the plasma membrane, inducing pyroptosis of colon cancer cell lines. We also demonstrate that CVB3-induced pyroptosis is promoted by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Finally, in vivo studies using immunodeficient nude mice revealed that intratumoral injection of CVB3 led to significant tumor regression. Our findings indicate that CVB3 has oncolytic activity in colon cancer cell lines via GSDME-mediated pyroptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oncolytic virotherapy is a promising antitumor therapeutic strategy. It is based on the ability of viruses to selectively kill cancer cells and induce host antitumor immune responses. However, the clinical outcomes of oncolytic viruses (OVs) vary widely. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to illustrate the efficacy and safety of oncolytic viruses. The Cochrane Library, PubMed, and EMBASE databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published up to 31 January 2020. The data for objective response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and adverse events (AEs) were independently extracted by two investigators from 11 studies that met the inclusion criteria. In subgroup analyses, the objective response rate benefit was observed in patients treated with oncolytic DNA viruses (odds ratio (OR) = 4.05; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.96–8.33; p = 0.0002), but not in those treated with oncolytic RNA viruses (OR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.66–1.52, p = 0.99). Moreover, the intratumoral injection arm yielded a statistically significant improvement (OR = 4.05, 95% CI: 1.96–8.33, p = 0.0002), but no such improvement was observed for the intravenous injection arm (OR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.66–1.52, p = 0.99). Among the five OVs investigated in RCTs, only talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) effectively prolonged the OS of patients (hazard ratio (HR), 0.79; 95% CI: 0.63–0.99; p = 0.04). None of the oncolytic virotherapies improved the PFS (HR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.85–1.19, p = 0.96). Notably, the pooled rate of severe AEs (grade ≥3) was higher for the oncolytic virotherapy group (39%) compared with the control group (27%) (risk difference (RD), 12%; risk ratio (RR), 1.44; 95% CI: 1.17–1.78; p = 0.0006). This review offers a reference for fundamental research and clinical treatment of oncolytic viruses. Further randomized controlled trials are needed to verify these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer vaccines have been extensively studied in recent years and have contributed to exceptional achievements in cancer treatment. They are some of the most newly developed vaccines, although only two are currently approved for use, Provenge and Talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC). Despite the approval of these two vaccines, most vaccines have been terminated at the clinical trial stage, which indicates that although they are effective in theory, concerns still exist, including low antigenicity of targeting antigens and tumor heterogeneity. In recent years, with new understanding of the biological function and vaccine potential of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), their potential application in cancer vaccine design deserves our attention. Therefore, this review focuses on the mechanisms, advantages, and prospects of OMVs as antigen-carrier vaccines in cancer vaccine development. We believe that OMV-based vaccines present a safe and effective cancer therapeutic option with broad application prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Picornaviruses are associated with acute and chronic diseases. The clinical manifestations of infections are often mild, but infections may also lead to respiratory symptoms, gastroenteritis, myocarditis, meningitis, hepatitis, and poliomyelitis, with serious impacts on human health and economic losses in animal husbandry. Thus far, research on picornaviruses has mainly focused on structural proteins such as VP1, whereas the non-structural protein 2B, which plays vital roles in the life cycle of the viruses and exhibits a viroporin or viroporin-like activity, has been overlooked. Viroporins are viral proteins containing at least one amphipathic α-helical structure, which oligomerizes to form transmembrane hydrophilic pores. In this review, we mainly summarize recent research data on the viroporin or viroporin-like activity of 2B proteins, which affects the biological function of the membrane, regulates cell death, and affects the host immune response. Considering these mechanisms, the potential application of the 2B protein as a candidate target for antiviral drug development is discussed, along with research challenges and prospects toward realizing a novel treatment strategy for picornavirus infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]