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These results suggest that HER2-mediated endocytosis is involved in the PILs formulation. The ability of the PILs formulation to efficiently and specifically deliver paclitaxel to the HER2-overexpressing cancer cells implies that it is a promising strategy for tumor-specific therapy for HER2-overexpressing breast cancers.

Despite its strong antitumor activity, paclitaxel (Taxol R ) has limited clinical applications due to its low aqueous solubility and hypersensitivity caused by Cremophor R EL and ethanol which is the vehicle used in the current commercial product. In an attempt to develop a pharmaceutically acceptable formulation that could replace Taxol R , a paclitaxel incorporated liposome has been constructed to improve solubility and physicochemical stability. The effect of various components of the liposome, including cholesterol and lipid, on the solubility and entrapment efficiency (EE) of paclitaxel was systematically investigated. The results showed that 5% (v/v) of polyethylene glycol 400 in the hydration medium of liposome significantly increased the solubility (up to 3.39 mg/mL) as well as the EE and the paclitaxel content in the liposome formulation composed of 10% (w/v) of S 100 PC with cholesterol (cholesterolto-lipid molar ratio = 10:90). When sucrose (sugar-to-lipid molar ratio = 2.3) was added as a lyoprotectant during the freeze-drying of the liposome, physicochemical stability of liposome was significantly improved. Moreover, the cytotoxicity of the final liposome formulation against MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cell line was not significantly different from that of Taxol R . The enhanced aqueous solubility as well as the physicochemical stability of paclitaxel in the liposome formulation developed in this study could be a safer and effective alternative to the Cremophor R EL and ethanol formulation.

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Ganoderma lucidum has high commercial value because it produces many active compounds, such as ganoderic acids (GAs). Salicylic acid (SA) was previously reported to induce the biosynthesis of GA in G. lucidum. In this study, we found that SA induces GA biosynthesis by increasing ROS production, and further research found that NADPH oxidase-silenced strains exhibited a partial reduction in the response to SA, resulting in the induction of increased ROS production. Furthermore, the localization of ROS shows that mitochondria are sources of ROS production in response to SA treatment. An additional analysis focused on the relationship between SA-induced ROS production and mitochondrial functions, and the results showed that inhibitors of mitochondrial complexes I and II exert approximately 40–50% superimposed inhibitory effects on the respiration rate and H2O2 content when co-administered with SA. However, no obvious superimposed inhibition effects were observed in the sample co-treated with mitochondrial complex III inhibitor and SA, implying that the inhibitor of mitochondrial complex III and SA might act on the same site in mitochondria. Additional experiments revealed that complex III activity was decreased 51%, 62% and 75% after treatment with 100, 200, and 400 µM SA, respectively. Our results highlight the finding that SA inhibits mitochondrial complex III activity to increase ROS generation. In addition, inhibition of mitochondrial complex III caused ROS accumulation, which plays an essential role in SA-mediated GA biosynthesis in G. lucidum. This conclusion was also demonstrated in complex III-silenced strains. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first demonstration that SA inhibits complex III activity to increase the ROS levels and thereby regulate secondary metabolite biosynthesis.

We previously reported that high temperature impacts ganoderic acid (GA) biosynthesis in () via Ca Therefore, to further understand the signal regulating network of the organism's response to heat stress (HS), we examined the role of nitric oxide (NO) under HS. After HS treatment, the NO level was significantly increased by 120% compared with that under the control conditions. The application of a NO scavenger resulted in a 25% increase in GA compared with that found in the sample treated only with HS. Additionally, application of a NO donor to increase NO resulted in a 30% lower GA content than that in the sample treated only with HS. These results show that the increase in NO alleviates HS-induced GA accumulation. Subsequently, we aimed to detect the effects of the interaction between NO and Ca on GA biosynthesis under HS in Our pharmacological approaches revealed that the NO and Ca signals promoted each other in response to HS. We further constructed the silenced strain of nitrate reductase (NR) and calmodulin (CaM), and the results are in good agreement with the silenced strain and pharmacological experiment. The cross-promotion between NO and Ca signals is involved in the regulation of HS-induced GA biosynthesis in , and this finding is supported by studies with NRi and CaMi strains. However, Ca may have a more direct and significant effects on the HS-induced GA increase than NO. These data indicate that NO functions in signaling and has a close relationship with Ca in HS-induced GA biosynthesis. HS is an important environmental stress affecting the growth and development of organisms. We previously reported that HS modulates GA biosynthesis in via Ca However, the signal regulating network of the organism's response to HS has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we found that NO relieved HS-induced GA accumulation, and NO and Ca could exert promoting effects on each other in response to HS. Further research on the effect of NO and Ca on the production of GAs in response to HS indicated that Ca has a notably more direct and significant effect on the HS-induced GA increase than NO. Our results improve our understanding of the mechanism of HS signal transduction in fungi. A greater understanding of the regulation of secondary metabolism in response to environmental stimuli will provide clues regarding the role of these products in fungal biology.

The aim of this study was to investigate and assess the effects of propolis flavonoids liposome imposed on the immune system by comparing it to propolis flavonoids and blank liposome. In vitro, the effects of the above drugs on macrophages were assessed by measuring the phagocytic function and cytokine production. In vivo, the immunological adjuvant activity of propolis flavonoids liposome was compared with those of propolis flavonoids and blank liposome. The results showed that in vitro propolis flavonoids liposome can significantly enhance the phagocytic function of macrophages and the release of IL-1β, IL-6, and IFN-γ. In addition, subcutaneous administration of propolis flavonoids liposome with ovalbumin to mice could effectively activate the cellular and humoral immune response, including inducing higher level concentrations of IgG, IL-4, and IFN-γ in serum and the proliferation rates of splenic lymphocytes. These findings provided valuable information regarding the immune modulatory function of propolis flavonoids liposome and indicated the possibility of use of propolis flavonoids liposome as a potential adjuvant.