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Gambogic acid (GA) is a naturally derived potent anticancer agent with extremely poor biocompatibility. In the present study, a novel of redox/pH dual-responsive multifunctional magnetic complex micelle (sPEG/HA/CSO-SS-Hex/Fe3O4/GA), which consisted of a reducible hexadecanol-modified chitosan oligosaccharide polymer micelle (CSO-SS-Hex) coated with hyaluronic acid (HA) and DCA grafted sheddable PEG-PLL (sPEG) copolymers and loaded with gambogic acid (GA) and Fe3O4 nanoparticles were developed for parenteral delivery for the treatment of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC). The ex vivo study showed that the sPEG shielded cationic HA/CSO-SS-Hex/Fe3O4/GA core at physiological pH but quickly shed off to re-expose the core due to its charge reversible property. The sPEG/HA/CSO-SS-Hex/Fe3O4/GA micelles effectively facilitated tumor-targeted GA delivery by HA, which is a targeting ligand for CD44 receptor of TNBC cells, meanwhile increase GA uptake at the acidic condition but diminished the drug uptake at neutral pH. The in vitro cellular uptake study and in vivo biodistribution and antitumor activity of the formulations were determined, all results showed that the complex micelle enhanced TNBC tumor cellular uptake and fast drug release due to the combined effect of magnet targeting, CD44 receptor-mediated internalization and redox/pH dual-responsive drug release. Hence, tumor-targeted delivery of GA with redox/pH dual-responsive multifunctional magnetic complex micelle sPEG/HA/CSO-SS-Hex/Fe3O4/GA might have potential implications for the chemotherapy of TNBC.

Due to the high morbidity, mortality and late detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), it becomes a major public health challenge. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported to be aberrantly expressed in patients with HCC and thus may serve as potential diagnostic biomarkers. The aim of this study was to systematically assess the diagnostic accuracy of miRNAs as biomarkers for diagnosing HCC through a meta-analysis. Our results indicated that serum miRNAs had a relatively high diagnostic value for HCC diagnosis; the combination of serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) and miRNAs displayed a better diagnostic accuracy than using AFP or miRNAs alone; the combination of multiple miRNAs assay in serum had the highest diagnostic accuracy in HCC diagnosis based on the published data. In conclusion, our meta-analysis suggests that miRNAs, especially serum miRNAs, had a relatively high diagnostic value for HCC diagnosis, which can discriminate HCC from healthy subjects and those with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis easily, and may serve as a novel, less-invasive screening tool.

to the explore the effect of Human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 peptide vaccine in combination with paclitaxel-cisplatin (TP) chemotherapy on cervical cancer in vitro and in vivo.(1) the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I restricted T cell epitopes were studied by bioinformatics for transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP). Their effects were compared and E7Pa had the most dramatic effect. (2) In vivo, the C57BL/6 mice were divided equally into 6 groups randomly after loading with TC-1 cells (HPV 16 positive tumor cells from C57BL/6 mouse), named as E7Pa + CpG + TP, E7Pa + CpG, CpG + TP, TP and CpG group as experiment groups and control (blank injection with physiological saline). The tumor volumes were measured regularly by tumor growth curve to compare the therapeutic effects in different groups; the related cell factors in murine peripheral blood were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); the TUNEL test kit was used to explore cellular apoptosis in tumor tissue; the survival curve was drawn from the TC-1 cell loading to natural death; safety was tested by pathological test and leucocyte count.at day 60 of tumor growth, the tumor volume of immunotherapy plus TP chemotherapy group was (0.013 ± 0.010) cm(3) versus the control (1.900 ± 0.075) cm(3) with a great significant deviation (P0.01). Meanwhile, the volumes were E7Pa + CpG group (0.340 ± 0.038) cm(3), TP + CpG group (0.650 ± 0.029) cm(3), TP group (1.100 ± 0.052) cm(3) and that of CpG group was (0.890 ± 0.047) cm(3) separately. And these groups had significant difference with the controls (P0.05). The average survival time of different groups were E7Pa + CpG + TP group (108.50 ± 8.97) d, E7Pa + CpG group (100.02 ± 2.27) d, CpG + TP group (79.63 ± 4.05) d, TP group (73.24 ± 3.11) d, CpG group (68.63 ± 1.38) d and controls (52.37 ± 2.47) d. And the difference between the E7Pa + CpG + TP and E7Pa + CpG groups had great significance with the controls (P0.01). Furthermore, the immune system was effectively stimulated for suppressing tumor growth in the immunotherapy group while cell apoptosis was significantly induced in the chemotherapy group. The combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy was significantly efficacious than either of them alone. And it could thoroughly stimulate the immune effects and enhance the anti-tumor function of chemotherapeutical drugs. In safety test, there was no significant difference among all groups.the HPV16 peptide vaccine in combination with TP chemotherapy can treat the HPV16 E7 positive tumor effectively in experiment.

To investigate the synergistic therapy effects of B and T lymphocyte attenuator (BTLA) extracellular domain in combination with heat shock protein 70 (HSP70)-TC-1 antigen peptide complex on the mouse model of cervical cancer and the related immunological mechanisms.(1) Detecting the BTLA and herpesvirus entry mediator (HVEM) gene expression in the tumor microenvironment after C57BL/6 mice were inoculated with TC-1 tumor cells by realtime PCR; BTLA, HVEM expression on tumor infiltrating lymphocytes cell surface were detected by flow cytometry (fluorescence intensity). (2) According to different treatments, tumor-bearing mice were divided into 5 groups, which was injected with pcDNA3.1 (empty vector plasmid as control), psBTLA (vector plasmid which expresses BTLA extracellular domain), HSP70 (HSP70-TC-1 cell peptide complex), HSP70 + pcDNA3.1 or HSP70 + psBTLA, respectively. The weight of tumor was recorded. The expression of immunoregulatory genes in tumor microenvironment were detected. The change of lymphocyte amount and cytotoxicity were detected too; lymphocyte proliferation activity was measured by tritium thymidine incorporation assay; the concentration of interleukin (IL)2 and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) in supernatants of spleen lymphocyte were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).(1) BTLA gene expression was gradually increased after tumor cells inoculation. The highest expression level was 2.83 ± 0.35 at 14th day, which had statistical significance difference with the 7th day expression of 1.66 ± 0.25 (P0.05). While HVEM mRNA expression did not change significantly (P0.05). The 7th and 14th day after TC-1 cells inoculation, the average fluorescence intensity of BTLA expression on the surface of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes was 33.5 and 51.8, respectively, in which there was statistically significant difference (P0.05); while the difference of HVEM expression was not statistically significant (57.2 vs 49.3, P0.05). (2) The 28th day after inoculation, tumor inhibition rate of HSP70 + psBTLA group was 88%, which was significantly higher than other treatment groups (P0.05). The 28th day after TC-1 cells inoculation, combination therapy not only promoted IFN-γ and IL-2 gene (3.12 ± 0.71, 3.20 ± 0.62) expression but also reduced transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), Foxp3 and IL-10 expression (0.25 ± 0.03, 0.19 ± 0.03, 0.31 ± 0.04; P0.05). It also promoted CD₈(+) T lymphocyte infiltration (52 ± 6)/high power field, cytotoxicity (65.5 ± 2.4)%, proliferation (15.0 × 10³ cpm) and cytokine IL-2, IFN-γ secretion (824 ± 51), (1096 ± 112) pg/ml, which were all significantly higher than other groups (P0.05).The effect of immunotherapy on tumor can be augmented by the combination of psBTLA which expresses extracellular domain of BTLA and HSP70-TC-1 tumor antigen peptide complex, which could improve the expression of the related immunoregulatory genes to establish a much better microenvironment in favor of anti-tumor immune response against the mice model of the cervix carcinoma.

To prepare the human papillomavirus (HPV) 16 peptide vaccine and explore the effect in vitro and in vivo.(1) Prediction of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I restricted T cell epitopes by bioinformatics target at transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP) and named by E7Pa, E7Pb, E7Pc separately. (2) In vivo, the C57BL/6 mice were divided into five groups with same amounts randomly after loading with TC-1 cells (HPV 16 positive tumor cells from C57BL/6 mouse), named as E7Pa + CpG, E7Pb + CpG, E7Pc + CpG (as experiment groups, and added 50 microg/ml E7Pa, E7Pb, E7Pc, respectively), CpG (as positive control group and added Con A with 12 mg/L final concentration) and blank control group (without any treatment). The T cell proliferation was detected by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay at different time points; the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) delivery method was used to test the cytolytic T lymphocyte (CTL) activity of mouse splenic lymphocyte in different ratio of effector cells and target cells (E:T); the related cytokines in tumor tissue and mouse peripheral blood were evaluated by real-time PCR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), respectively. The tumor volumes were measured to contrast the therapeutic effect in different groups.(1) Three peptide named E7Pa, E7Pb, E7Pc were successfully preparated which had high affinity and specificity. (2) After vaccination of 24, 48, 72, 96 hours, MTT results shown that the proliferation rate in E7Pa + CpG group were (131 +/- 32)%, (302 +/- 15)%, (552 +/- 28)%, (731 +/- 24)% individually, which were much higher than those in blank control [(72 +/- 15)%, (120 +/- 57)%, (176 +/- 41)%, (288 +/- 29)%; P0.01], and the other groups i.e. E7Pb + CpG, E7Pc + CpG and CpG groups all proliferated much higher than those in blank control group with statistic signification (P0.05), but there was no significant difference between groups (P0.05); the LDH delivery assay showed that when the ratio of E:T was 100:1, the activity of CTL in the E7Pa + CpG group was most powerful than the other groups with statistic signification (P0.01).Meanwhile, the ratio of E:T was concentration-dependent. Compared E7Pb + CpG, E7Pc + CpG or CpG groups with blank control group, there were significantly difference (P0.05), while there was no significant difference between groups (P0.05). The mRNA levels of interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), interleukin-2 (IL-2) in tumor tissue and peripheral blood in E7Pa + CpG group were significantly higher than those in blank control group (P0.01), which was the similar results when compared E7Pb + CpG, E7Pc + CpG or CpG groups with control group (P0.05), and without significant difference between groups (P0.05). The tumor volumes were suppressed obviously in all the experiment groups, especially at the 60th days, the volumes in E7Pa + CpG group were much smaller than that in blank control group with statistic signification (P0.01), which was the similar results that E7Pb + CpG, E7Pc + CpG or CpG groups had difference than blank control group with statistic signification (P0.05), and without significant difference between groups (P0.05).The HPV16 E7 peptide target at TAP combination with CpG as a vaccine could treat effectively the HPV16 E7 positive tumor in experiment.