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Currently, the outcomes of conventional chemotherapeutic approaches are unsatisfactory. Clinical application of nanoparticles seems promising. We aim to evaluate the possible antitumor activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) as a chemotherapeutic approach in in vitro and in vivo experimental models. An in vitro study was performed on three different cell lines, namely human hepatocellular carcinoma (HEPG2), human prostate cancer (PC3), and none-small cell lung cancer (A549) cell lines. An in vivo study using diethylnitrosamine (DENA)-induced HCC in adult male Wistar rats was conducted to investigate the potential antitumor activity of ZnONPs in HCC and the possible underlying mechanisms. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was induced by oral administration of DENA given in drinking water (100 mg/L) for 8 weeks. Rats were allocated into four groups, namely a control group, an HCC control group receiving DENA alone, a ZnONPs (10 μg/kg per week, intravenous (i.v.) for 1 month) control group, and a ZnONPs treatment group (receiving ZnONPs + DENA). ZnONPs significantly reduced the elevated serum levels of HCC-related tumor markers alphafetoprotein and alpha-l-fucosidase and the apoptotic marker caspase-3 compared with the untreated HCC rats. In addition, treatment with ZnONPs significantly decreased the elevated levels of hepatocyte integrity and oxidative stress markers as compared with the untreated HCC control group. Furthermore, the histopathological study revealed anaplasia and fibrous degenerations which were significantly corrected by ZnONPs treatment. In conclusion, administration of ZnONPs exhibited a promising preclinical anticancer efficacy in HCC and could be considered as a novel strategy for the treatment HCC in clinical practices.

Survivin, a member of the inhibitor of apoptosis protein family, has an important role in cell cycle regulation. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is a polypeptide hormone with wide range of biologic effects including stimulation of lipogenesis in sebaceous glands. Their overexpression in some fibrotic disorders suggests a possible implication of both IGF-I and survivin in the pathogenesis of acne and/or acne scars. The current study aimed to assess and correlate serum levels of IGF-I and survivin in patients with active acne vulgaris and postinflammatory acne scars and to evaluate their lesional expressions in comparison to healthy controls. Serum IGF-I and survivin were estimated using commercially available ELISA kits and their tissues expressions were investigated using Western blotting. Our findings suggest that IGF-I and survivin could play potential roles in the pathogenesis of active acne vulgaris and more importantly in postinflammatory acne scars with significant positive correlation coefficient between serum levels of IGF-I and survivin which support IGF-I-/PI3K-/AKT-mediated downregulation of nuclear expression of FoxO transcription factors resulting in enhanced survivin expression.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most life-threatening cancers. The present study was designed to chronologically analyze the HCC chemically induced by diethylnitrosamine (DEN) in male Wistar rats during a 27-week period. DEN was given to rats in drinking water (100 mg/L) to induce HCC. In the present study, the DEN-administered groups recorded dramatic results in the tumor markers, oxidative stress, lipid profile, liver function, and hematological parameters at all intervals when compared with their corresponding values in the control groups. In addition, the morphometric analysis of livers of the DEN-administered groups (from 9 to 27 weeks) showed gradual enlargement and several grayish white nodules and foci on the peripheral surface of the liver as the features of HCC. In conclusion, the present sequential model chronologically analyzes all steps of hepatocarcinogenesis and presents a new staging system for classification of HCC that may be valuable for investigating the effects of anticarcinogenic compounds at varying stages of hepatocarcinogenesis in vivo.

We have developed a novel albumin-binding prodrug of doxorubicin that incorporates p-aminobenzyloxycarbonyl (PABC) as a 1,6 self-immolative spacer in addition to the heptapeptide, Arg-Ser-Ser-Tyr-Tyr-Ser-Leu, as a substrate for the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) that is overexpressed in prostate carcinoma and represents a molecular target for selectively releasing an anticancer agent from a prodrug formulation. The prodrug exhibited good water solubility and was bound rapidly to the cysteine-34 position of human serum albumin. Incubation studies with PSA demonstrated that the albumin-bound form of the prodrug was cleaved rapidly at the P1-P1' scissile bond, releasing H-Ser-Leu-PABC-DOXO, which was further degraded to release doxorubicin as a final cleavage product within a few hours in prostate tumor tissue homogenates as well as in PSA-positive LNCaP LN cell lysates. Moreover, our prodrug exhibited antiproliferative activity in a low micromolar range against a PSA-expressing prostate cancer cell line (LNCaP).

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PurposeOver the past 30 years, no consistent survival benefits have been recorded for anticancer agents of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), except for the multikinase inhibitor sorafenib (Nexavar®), which clinically achieves only ~3 months overall survival benefit. This modest benefit is attributed to limited aqueous solubility, slow dissolution rate and, consequently, limited absorption from the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, novel formulation modalities are in demand to improve the bioavailability of the drug to attack HCC in a more efficient manner. In the current study, we aimed to design a novel sorafenib-loaded carbon nanotubes (CNTs) formula that is able to improve the therapeutic efficacy of carried cargo against HCC and subsequently investigate the antitumour activity of this formula.Materials and methodsSorafenib was loaded on functionalized CNTs through physical adsorption, and an alginate-based method was subsequently applied to microcapsulate the drug-loaded CNTs (CNTs-SFN). The therapeutic efficacy of the new formula was estimated and compared to that of conventional sorafenib, both in vitro (against HepG2 cells) and in vivo (in a DENA-induced HCC rat model).ResultsThe in vitro MTT anti-proliferative assay revealed that the drug-loaded CNTs formula was at least two-fold more cytotoxic towards HepG2 cells than was sorafenib itself. Moreover, the in vivo animal experiments proved that our innovative formula was superior to conventional sorafenib at all assessed end points. Circulating AFP-L3% was significantly decreased in the CNTs-SFN-MCs-treated group (14.0%) in comparison to that of the DENA (40.3%) and sorafenib (38.8%) groups. This superiority was further confirmed by Western blot analysis and immunofluorescence assessment of some HCC-relevant biomarkers.ConclusionOur results firmly suggest the distinctive cancer-suppressive nature of CNTs-SFN-MCs, both against HepG2 cells in vitro and in a DENA-induced HCC rat model in vivo, with a preferential superiority over conventional sorafenib.