Several cancer immunotherapy approaches have been recently introduced into the clinics and they have shown remarkable therapeutic potentials. The groundbreaking cancer immunotherapeutic agents function as a stimulant or modulator of the body immune system to fight against or kill cancers. Although targeted immunotherapies such as immune check point inhibitors (CTLA-4 or PD-1/PD-L1), DNA vaccination and CAR-T therapy are revolutionizing cancer treatment, the delivery efficacy can be further improved while their off-target toxicity can be mitigated through nanotechnology approaches. Recent research has demonstrated that nanotechnology has multifaceted role for (i) reeducating tumor associated macrophages (TAM) to function as tumor suppressor agent, (ii) serving as an efficient alternative for Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-T cell generation and transduction, and (iii) selective knockdown of Kras oncogene addiction by nano-Crisper-Cas9 delivery system. The function of host immune stimulatory signals and tumor immunotherapies can further be improved by repurposing of nanomedicine platform. This review summarizes the role of multifunctional polymeric, lipid, metallic and cell based nanoparticles for improving current immunotherapy.

Cancer is the second-highest cause of death worldwide. Several therapeutic approaches, such as conventional chemotherapy, antibodies and small-molecule inhibitors and nanotherapeutics, have been employed in battling cancer. Among them, nanotheranostics is an example of successful personalized medicine bearing the dual role of early diagnosis and therapy to cancer patients. In this review, we focus on various types of theranostic polymer and metal nanoparticles for their roles in cancer therapy and imaging concerning their limitations and future applications, such as dendritic cell cancer vaccination, gene delivery, T cell activation and immune modulation. Some of the recorded patent applications and clinical trials are illustrated and the impact of the biological microenvironment on the biodistribution and accumulation of nanoparticles is also discussed.

The main objective of this article is to review the recent patents which develop and implicate the chemical inhibitors of the key NAD+ biosynthetic enzymes for cancer treatment. We first discuss the biological principles of NAD+ metabolism in normal and malignant cells, with a focus on the feasibility of selectively targeting cancer cells by pharmacological inhibition of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) and indoleamine/tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenases (IDO/TDO), the rate-limiting salvage and de novo NAD+ biosynthetic enzymes, respectively. We then analyze a series of recent patents on development and optimization of chemical scaffolds for inhibiting NAMPT or IDO/TDO enzymes as potential anticancer drugs. Conclusion and Results: We have reviewed 16 relevant patents published since 2015, and summarized the chemical properties, mechanisms of action and proposed applications of the patented compounds. Without a better understanding of the properties of these compounds, their utility for further optimization and clinical use is unknown. For the compounds that have been tested using cell and mouse models of cancer, results look promising and clinical trials are currently ongoing to see if these results translate to improved cancer treatments.

Identified as the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among American women after lung cancer, breast cancer of all types has been the focus of numerous research studies. Even though triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents 15–20% of the number of breast cancer cases worldwide, its existing therapeutic options are fairly limited. Due to the pivotal role of the presence/absence of specific receptors to luminal A, luminal B, HER-2+, and TNBC in the molecular classification of breast cancer, the lack of these receptors has accounted for the aforementioned limitation. Thereupon, in an attempt to participate in the ongoing research endeavors to overcome such a limitation, the conducted study adopts a combination strategy as a therapeutic paradigm for TNBC, which has proven notable results with respect to both: improving patient outcomes and survivability rates. The study hinges upon an investigation of a promising NPs platform for CD44 mediated theranostic that can be combined with JAK/STAT inhibitors for the treatment of TNBC. The ability of momelotinib (MMB), which is a JAK/STAT inhibitor, to sensitize the TNBC to apoptosis inducer (CFM-4.16) has been evaluated in MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468. MMB + CFM-4.16 combination with a combination index (CI) ≤0.5, has been selected for in vitro and in vivo studies. MMB has been combined with CD44 directed polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) loaded with CFM-4.16, namely CD44-T-PNPs, which selectively delivered the payload to CD44 overexpressing TNBC with a significant decrease in cell viability associated with a high dose reduction index (DRI). The mechanism underlying their synergism is based on the simultaneous downregulation of P-STAT3 and the up-regulation of CARP-1, which has induced ROS-dependent apoptosis leading to caspase 3/7 elevation, cell shrinkage, DNA damage, and suppressed migration. CD44-T-PNPs showed a remarkable cellular internalization, demonstrated by uptake of a Rhodamine B dye in vitro and S0456 (NIR dye) in vivo. S0456 was conjugated to PNPs to form CD44-T-PNPs/S0456 that simultaneously delivered CFM-4.16 and S0456 parenterally with selective tumor targeting, prolonged circulation, minimized off-target distribution.

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Acute lung injury (ALI) is a life-threatening condition usually associated with poor therapeutic outcomes and a high mortality rate. Since 2019, the situation has worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ALI had approximately 40% of deaths before COVID-19, mainly due to the dysfunction of the blood–gas barrier that led to lung edema, failure of gas exchange, and dyspnea. Many strategies have been taken to mitigate the disease condition, such as diuretics, surfactants, antioxidants, glucocorticoids, heparin, and ventilators with concomitant sedatives. However, until now, there is no available effective therapy for ALI. Thus, we are presenting a new compound termed Arabincoside B (AR-B), recently isolated from Caralluma arabica, to be tested in such conditions. For that, the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) mice model was used to investigate the capability of the AR-B compound to control the ALI compared to standard dexamethasone. The results showed that AR-B had a significant effect on retrieving ALI. A further mechanistic study carried out in the serum, lung homogenate, histological, and immunohistochemistry sections revealed that the AR-B either in 50 mg/kg or 75 mg/kg dose inhibited pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6, IL-13, NF-κB, TNFα, and NO and stimulated regulatory cytokines IL-10. Moreover, AR-B showed a considerable potential to protect the pulmonary tissue against oxidative stress by decreasing MDA and increasing catalase and Nrf2. Also, the AR-B exhibited an anti-apoptotic effect on the lung epithelium, confirmed by reducing COX and BAX expression and upregulating Bcl-2 expression. These results pave its clinical application for ALI.

Introduction: Echinacea purpurea is a flowering plant commonly used as an herbal medicine despite insufficient scientific bases to validate its usage. The present study aimed to examine in vitro and in vivo hepatoprotective effects of aqueous and alcoholic extracts of E. purpurea flowers. Methods: In vitro protection against hepato-cytotoxicity was carried out on human HepG-2 cells using colorimetric tetrazolium (MTT) assay, while the in vivo hepatoprotective activity was studied against carbon-tetrachloride (CCl4) induced acute hepatotoxicity in rats. Results: The results revealed that the extracts of E. purpurea induced discernable in vitro protection on HepG-2 cells and in vivo against CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity. Both extracts were significantly able to restore the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin, total protein, and albumin to normal levels compared to the CCl4 intoxicated group. In addition, the extracts markedly mitigated the oxidative stress by decreasing Malondialdehyde (MDA) and increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) markers compared to the CCl4 intoxicated group. It was also associated with the down-regulation of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in liver tissues. Histopathological examination revealed a decrease in hepatocytes’ degenerative changes and noticeable improvement of the liver damage by extracts of E. purpurea. Conclusion: These findings have proven that aqueous and alcoholic extracts of E. purpurea flowers have a significant hepatoprotective effect, probably owing to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory activities, and regulating apoptotic-related genes. This confirms the ethnomedicinal uses of E. purpurea in patients suffering from liver diseases.

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