Gold nanoclusters have become promising radiosensitizers due to their ultrasmall size and robust ability to adsorb, scatter, and re-emit radiation. However, most of the previously reported gold nanocluster radiosensitizers do not have a precise atomic structure, causing difficulties in understanding the structure–activity relationship. In this study, a structurally defined gold–levonorgestrel nanocluster consisting of Au8(C21H27O2)8 (Au8NC) with bright luminescence (58.7% quantum yield) and satisfactory biocompatibility was demonstrated as a nanoradiosensitizer. When the Au8NCs were irradiated with X-rays, they produced reactive oxygen species (ROS), resulting in irreversible cell apoptosis. As indicated by in vivo tumor formation experiments, tumorigenicity was significantly suppressed after one radiotherapy treatment with the Au8NCs. In addition, compared with tumors treated with X-rays (4 Gy) alone, tumors treated with the nanosensitizer exhibited an inhibition rate of 74.2%. This study contributes to the development of atomically precise gold nanoclusters as efficient radiosensitizers.

Dihydroartemisinin (DHA) is an active metabolite of artemisinin and its derivatives (ARTs), and it is an effective clinical drug widely used to treat malaria. Recently, the anticancer activity of DHA has attracted increasing attention. Nevertheless, there is no systematic summary on the anticancer effects of DHA. Notably, studies have shown that DHA exerts anticancer effects through various molecular mechanisms, such as inhibiting proliferation, inducing apoptosis, inhibiting tumor metastasis and angiogenesis, promoting immune function, inducing autophagy and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. In this review, we comprehensively summarized the latest progress regarding the anticancer activities of DHA in cancer. Importantly, the underlying anticancer molecular mechanisms and pharmacological effects of DHA in vitro and in vivo are the focus of our attention. Interestingly, new methods to improve the solubility and bioavailability of DHA are discussed, which greatly enhance its anticancer efficacy. Remarkably, DHA has synergistic anti-tumor effects with a variety of clinical drugs, and preclinical and clinical studies provide stronger evidence of its anticancer potential. Moreover, this article also gives suggestions for further research on the anticancer effects of DHA. Thus, we hope to provide a strong theoretical support for DHA as an anticancer drug.

Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) is the principal component of plasma membrane caveolae that negatively regulates a number of cellular signaling events including canonical Wnt signaling. Activation of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway is essential for dorsal organizer formation and specification in early vertebrate embryos, but it remains not well understood what controls dorsal activity of maternal beta-catenin and how Cav-1 functions in zebrafish embryogenesis. Here, we report that Cav-1 is required for proper dorsoventral patterning in zebrafish. Both Wnt and BMP signals act coordinately to negatively control transcriptional expression of cav-1 during embryonic development. Ectopic expression of Cav-1alpha or -1beta resulted in formation of typical ventralized embryos, whereas Cav-1 knockdown led to abnormal embryos with expanded expression of dorsal genes. Cav-1 overexpression disrupts the nuclear translocation of beta-catenin through the interaction of its scaffolding domain with Cav-1 binding motif of beta-catenin. This reciprocal interaction is necessary for the ventralizing activity of Cav-1. We have further demonstrated that human Cav-1 proteins have conserved ventralizing activity in zebrafish embryogenesis. Thus, maternally expressed zebrafish Cav-1 regulates dorsoventral patterning by limiting nuclear translocation of active beta-catenin.

Recent reports showed that regulator of Cullins-1 (ROC1) play an important role in tumor progression in a tumor-specific manner. However, the role and mechanism of ROC1 in esophageal cancer remains elusive. Here we demonstrated that ROC1 was overexpressed in esophageal squamous cell carcinomas, which was positive associated with poor prognosis of esophageal cancer patients. ROC1 knockdown significantly inhibited the growth of esophageal cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, ROC1 silencing induced G2 cell cycle arrest and triggered apoptosis by accumulating the pro-apoptotic protein NOXA. Consistently, the downregulation of NOXA expression via siRNA substantially attenuated apoptosis induced by ROC1 silencing. These findings suggest that ROC1 is an appealing drug target for esophageal cancer.