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Lung cancer is the top cause of cancer mortality in the world. Distant metastasis leads to high mortality. Abdominal metastasis of lung cancer is characterized by very poor prognosis and the median survival time is usually less than two months. Therefore, it is of clinical significance to develop a new effective method for the treatment of abdominal metastasis of lung cancer. Cell therapy has promoted the development of new technology and strategy in oncology. Macrophages, as an important component of solid tumors, have also attracted great attention as a promising strategy of cell therapy in oncology. However, the reinfusion of autologous macrophages would be easily "re-educated" by the tumor microenvironment into a phenotype that promotes tumor development. This work developed a potential therapy using celastrol nanoparticle-containing M1-like macrophages (NP@M1) as a combinatory therapeutic system. M1-like macrophages (M1Φ) not only can serve as a drug delivery carrier for celastrol but also as a biotherapeutic agent. In turn, the celastrol nanoparticles (NPs) can maintain an anticancer polarized status of M1Φ, and subsequently, the exocytosed NPs can also execute the tumor cell-killing effect. Such a system thus provides a "two-birds-one-stone" therapeutic strategy and a proof of concept for the currently incurable abdominal metastasis of lung cancer.

The development of cancer vaccines based on tumor-associated antigens is hurdled by lack of an efficient adjuvant and insufficient efficacy. To improve the efficacy of vaccines, a genetically-engineered method was employed in this work to achieve the codelivery of antigen and adjuvant to enhance immune responses. Trichosanthin is a plant-derived protein that possesses cancer immune stimulation function. A genetically engineered protein vaccine composed of trichosanthin (adjuvant) and legumain domain (a peptidic antigen) was constructed, which was further chemically modified with mannose for targeting dendritic cells (DCs). The method is facile and ready for scaling up for massive production. Such a "two-in-one" vaccine is advantageous for codelivery for augmenting the immune responses. The vaccine inhibited the tumors by triggering a robust cytotoxic T lymphocyte response in the orthotopic-breast-tumor mice. Furthermore, the vaccine was loaded into the temperature-sensitive hydrogel based on Pluronic F127 for implanting use in the post-surgical site. The sustained-released vaccine from the hydrogel inhibited not only the tumor recurrence but also the lung metastases of breast cancer. These findings demonstrated that it was a safe and effective vaccination for breast cancer immunotherapy in either a prophylactical or therapeutical manner for remodeling the tumor immune microenvironment and arresting tumor growth.

This article highlights the conducted researches on the composition and structure of β-glucans isolated from the basidiomycete raw material Inonotus hispidus. By means of using the alditol acetate method, as well as by UV and IR methods, one-dimensional (13C NMR, 1H NMR), two-dimensional (1H-1H COSY, 1H-13C HSQC) NMR spectroscopy, the composition and molecular structure of polysaccharides were determined and their branching was proved. It was clarified that the composition of the polysaccharide fractions consists mainly of glucose residues (68-100%), as well as residues of fructose, xylose, mannose and galactose as minor monosaccharides. NMR spectroscopic studies of the specimens showed that the obtained polysaccharides consist of branched glucan structures linked by α- and β-glycosidic bonds. In the structure of β-glucans, the main chain is linked mainly through β-1,3-, partially β-1,4-glycosidic bonds, the branched parts consist of one or more β-D-glucose residues that are linked β-1,3- glycosidic bonds, as well as with the main chain, mainly through α- or β-1,6-glycosidic bonds. The results of the study of molecular parameters showed that the MW of β-glucans of basidiomycetes are in the range of 9100-9900 Da, MWD - 1.2-1.5.

Synthesis possibility of cellulose sulfates with a low and high degree of substitution (DS) by direct homogenous sulfation of cotton cellulose in N,N-dimethylacetamide/lithium chloride (DMA/LiCl) using SO3/pyridine (Py) complex was studied comprehensively. The sulfation reactions were carried at different temperatures, time durations, amount of the sulfating reagent and celluloses with varying weight average degree of polymerization (DPw). It was found that the method is very appropriate to prepare sodium cellulose sulfate (SCS) with low and high DS from celluloses having wide range DPw. Completely water-soluble SCS samples with regulable DS values from 0.23 to 2.56 were obtained. Suitable conditions were proposed to gain high sulfate content and the samples with DS values of 2.16–2.32, and yield of 69.4–77.8% could be prepared in these conditions. Celluloses with low and high DPw values exhibited similar reactivity for sulfation. Precipitation of the product and drastic depolymerization in the polymer chain have not occurred during the reaction.

There is a close connection between epigenetic regulation, cancer metabolism, and immunology. The combination of epigenetic therapy and immunotherapy provides a promising avenue for cancer management. As an epigenetic regulator of histone acetylation, panobinostat can induce histone acetylation and inhibit tumor cell proliferation, as well as regulate aerobic glycolysis and reprogram intratumoral immune cells. JQ1 is a BRD4 inhibitor that can suppress PD-L1 expression. Herein, we proposed a chemo-free, epigenetic-based combination therapy of panobinostat/JQ1 for metastatic colorectal cancer. A novel targeted binary-drug liposome was developed based on lactoferrin-mediated binding with the LRP-1 receptor. It was found that the tumor-targeted delivery was further enhanced by