Cancer is increasingly apparent as a systems-level, network happening. The central tendency of malignant alteration can be described as a two-phase procedure, where an initial increase of network plasticity is followed by reducing plasticity at late stages of tumor improvement. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are cancer cells that take characteristics associated with normal stem cells. Cancer therapy has been based on the concept that most of the cancer cells have a similar ability to separate metastasise and kill the host. In this review, we addressed the use of nanotechnology in the treatment of cancer stem cells.

Nanotechnology and ALL.

Over the past decades, our knowledge of integrins has evolved from being understood as simple cell surface adhesion molecules to receptors that have a complex range of intracellular and extracellular functions, such as delivering chemical and mechanical signals to cells. Consequently, they actively control cellular proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Dysregulation of integrin signaling is a major factor in the development and progression of many tumors. Many reviews have covered the broader integrin family in molecular and cellular studies and its roles in diseases. Nevertheless, further understanding of the mechanisms specific to an individual subunit of different heterodimers is more useful. Thus, we describe the current understanding of and exploratory investigations on the α6-integrin subunit (CD49f, VLA6; encoded by the gene itga6) in normal and cancer cells. The roles of ITGA6 in cell adhesion, stemness, metastasis, angiogenesis, and drug resistance, and as a diagnosis biomarker, are discussed. The role of ITGA6 differs based on several features, such as cell background, cancer type, and post-transcriptional alterations. In addition, exosomal ITGA6 also implies metastatic organotropism. The importance of ITGA6 in the progression of a number of cancers, including hematological malignancies, suggests its potential usage as a novel prognostic or diagnostic marker and useful therapeutic target for better clinical outcomes.

Indirubin can be applied as an anti-cancer drug for inhibition of brain tumors. However, its performance is reduced due to hydrophobicity. In this study, we synthesized cationic human serum albumin (CHSA) nanoparticle by a new hybrid approach for improvement the surface chemistry of albumin and investigate the amount of indirubin loaded CHSA nanoparticle. In this study, the generated mechanical force from a high-pressure homogenizer (HPH) was used to make nanoparticles with a certain size with narrow polydispersity. The results indicated that the size of indirubin loaded CHSA nanoparticles were 130 nm and their zeta potential were +9. Besides, the encapsulation efficiency and drug loading capacity were found to be 85% and 5.8 %, respectively. To the best to our knowledge, this is the first time that indirubin has been used in albumin nanoparticles. In this study, indirubin loaded CHSA nanoparticles was shown can be a potential candidate for drug delivery in the treatment of glioblastoma. Moreover, the cationized form allows the chemical agent to be transmitted to the brain.