Interaction of G-quadruplex Forming DNA Aptamers with PAMAM Dendrimers Studied by Dynamic Light Scattering and UV-VIS Spectrophotometry**

The complexes of G-quadruplex forming DNA thrombin binding aptamers (TBA) and polyamidoamine dendrimers (PAMAM) were studied with the aim to form a model targeted drug delivery system. Hydrodynamic diameter, zeta potential and melting temperature (T_m) were investigated by dynamic light scattering and UV-VIS spectrophotometry. Non-covalent adsorption by means of electrostatic interaction between positively charged amino groups of dendrimers (+) and negatively charged phosphate groups of aptamers (−) has driven the formation of aggregates. The size of complexes was in the range of 0.2–2 μm and depended on the type of dispersant, charge ratio (+/−) and temperature. Raising the temperature increased the polydispersity, new smaller size distributions were observed indicating the G-quadruplex unfolding. The melting transition temperature of TBA aptamer was affected by the presence of amino-terminated PAMAM rather than carboxylated succinic acid PAMAM−SAH dendrimer, thus supporting the electrostatic nature of interaction that disturbed denaturation of target-specific quadruplex aptamer structure.     

Insights into the metabolite profiles of Rubus chingii Hu at different developmental stages of fruit

The fruits of Rubus chingii Hu have high medicinal and nutritional values. However, the metabolite profiles of R. chingii, especially the alterations during different development stages of fruit, have not been comprehensively analyzed, hindering the effective utilization of the unique species. In this study, we comprehensively analyzed the metabolites of R. chingii fruit at four developmental stages using systematic untargeted and targeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolomics analysis and identified 682 metabolites. Significant changes were observed in metabolite accumulation and composition in fruits during the different developmental stages. The contents of the index components, kaempferol-3-O-rutinoside and ellagic acid, were the highest in immature fruit. The analysis identified 64 differentially expressed flavonoids and 39 differentially expressed phenolic acids; the accumulation of most of these differentially expressed metabolites decreased with the developmental stages of fruit from immaturity to maturity. These results confirmed that the developmental stages of fruit are a critical factor in determining its secondary metabolite compositions. This study elucidated the metabolic profile of R. chingii fruit at different stages of development to understand the dynamic changes in metabolites.     

基于单克隆抗体G250修饰的肿瘤细胞靶向基因载体研究

用宫颈癌细胞Hela表面高表达G250抗原的单克隆抗体G250修饰非病毒基因载体, 获得肿瘤靶向基因载体. 通过注射G250杂交瘤细胞于小鼠腹腔, 制备富含G250mAb的腹水, 用正辛酸-硫酸铵沉淀法和Protein A Agarose分离纯化, 获得高纯度的G250mAb. 通过二硫键将PEI与G250mAb偶联, 得到修饰的基因载体G250mAb-PEI, 研究其转基因靶向性. 结果表明, G250mAb-PEI对Hela细胞的基因转染具有显著的靶向性, 对Hela细胞的转基因效率是肝癌细胞HepG2(G250阴性)的2倍; 而对正常血管平滑肌细胞(SMC)的基因转染效率比Hela低近20倍, G250mAb修饰与否对SMC没有靶向性; 对3T3细胞的毒性显著低于未修饰的PEI, 表明G250mAb-PEI是一种高效、低毒和具有靶向性的基因载体.     

荧光成像及手性特异性生物识别

癌症是威胁人类健康的重大疾病之一,实现早查早治是降低癌症死亡率的重要手段。目前在癌症的众多识别方式中,荧光检测凭借无创伤、检测快和可视化等优点受到了持续关注。文章对荧光探针靶向识别肿瘤的研究新进展进行了综述;对赋予荧光探针靶向性的叶酸(FA)和叶酸受体(FR)介导研究进展进行了介绍和深入分析。叶酸受体是癌细胞表面过量表达的特有物质,利用叶酸和叶酸受体特异性结合的特点,叶酸对荧光探针分子进行修饰可赋予荧光探针识别癌细胞的靶向性。叶酸受体有4种亚型（FRα,FRβ,FRγ和FRδ）,前两者FRα和FRβ因分别在癌细胞和炎症巨噬细胞表面过量表达而备受关注,FRα和FRβ约有70%的同源性,两者均具有能与叶酸结合的特性,造成了荧光探针分子在生物识别过程中难以区分癌细胞和炎症巨噬细胞的弱势;针对叶酸修饰荧光探针难以区分叶酸受体亚型造成癌细胞和炎症巨噬细胞混淆问题的结构性缺陷,分析了两种叶酸受体亚型结构具有的手性区别特征：FRα和FRβ主要区别位于三个末端未翻译区,有三种不同手性特征的氨基酸形成一个用来包结叶酸分子的三角空腔,分别固定在氨基酸堆积体节点上的三种氨基酸形成了不同手性特性的区域性“手性空间”。FRα和FRβ本身的结构对不同的配体表现出立体差异性。讨论了基于叶酸受体亚型存在的“手性空间”差异性,构建叶酸受体亚型荧光及手性识别探针的可能性;有望借助光谱成像,通过手性荧光探针分子对氨基酸的识别区分叶酸受体两种亚型,实现可视化区分肿瘤细胞和炎症巨噬细胞的识别难题,进而提高癌细胞识别的准确性;文章介绍了手性荧光探针识别氨基酸原理及结构优化设计进展;近年来手性量子点对氨基酸不同对映体的研究备受关注。对无机手性量子点手性产生的本质特征和氨基酸对映体的识别特性进行了总结分析。最后对荧光探针及手性识别领域进行了展望。     

肝靶向海藻酸钠载药纳米粒的细胞毒性研究

本研究将具有肝靶向性分子甘草次酸（GA）偶联在具有生物相容性和生物可降解性的天然高分子海藻酸钠（ALG）上,合成了甘草次酸改性的海藻酸钠（GA—ALG）;对广谱抗癌药物阿霉素（DOX）进行包封,制备了肝靶向载药纳米粒,并考察了GA—ALG载药纳米粒的体外释药性能和对肝癌细胞的抑制作用．利用核磁、红外和元素分析技术对GA—ALG结构和GA取代度进行了表征;对GA—ALG载药纳米粒的形貌、粒径、表面Zeta电位等进行了测定,结果显示纳米粒具有较规则球形结构,其水合粒径为（214±11）nm．GA—ALG载药纳米粒在模拟生理条件下（pH7．4）可持续释药长达20天;MTT结果显示GA-ALG载药纳米粒对7703肝癌细胞的具有明显的杀伤作用．     

Evaluation of Cocaine Effect on Endogenous Metabolites of HepG2 Cells Using Targeted Metabolomics

Cocaine toxicity has been a subject of study because cocaine is one of the most common and potent drugs of abuse. In the current study the effect of cocaine on human liver cancer cell line (HepG2) was assessed. Cocaine toxicity (IC50) on HepG2 cells was experimentally calculated using an XTT assay at 2.428 mM. The metabolic profile of HepG2 cells was further evaluated to investigate the cytotoxic activity of cocaine at 2 mM at three different time points. Cell medium and intracellular material samples were analyzed with a validated HILIC-MS/MS method for targeted metabolomics on an ACQUITY Amide column in gradient mode with detection on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer in multiple reaction monitoring. About 106 hydrophilic metabolites from different metabolic pathways were monitored. Multivariate analysis clearly separated the studied groups (cocaine-treated and control samples) and revealed potential biomarkers in the extracellular and intracellular samples. A predominant effect of cocaine administration on alanine, aspartate, and glutamate metabolic pathway was observed. Moreover, taurine and hypotaurine metabolism were found to be affected in cocaine-treated cells. Targeted metabolomics managed to reveal metabolic changes upon cocaine administration, however deciphering the exact cocaine cytotoxic mechanism is still challenging.     

Accumulation Pattern of Flavonoids during Fruit Development of Lonicera maackii Determined by Metabolomics

Lonicera maackii (Caprifoliaceae) is a large, upright shrub with fruits that contain many bioactive compounds. Flavonoids are common active substances in L. maackii. However, there is a dearth of information about the accumulation of these flavonoids and their possible medicinal value. We used targeted metabolomics analysis based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) to analyze five developmental stages of L. maackii fruit. A total of 438 metabolites were identified in the five developmental stages, including 81 flavonoids and derivatives. The 81 flavonoids included 25 flavones and derivatives, 35 flavonols and derivatives, two isoflavones, three cyanidins and derivatives, eight procyanidins, and eight flavanones. In addition, we outlined the putative flavonoid biosynthesis pathway and screened their upstream metabolites. More importantly, we analyzed the accumulation patterns of several typical flavones and flavonols. The results reported here improved our understanding of the dynamic changes in flavonoids during fruit development and contributed to making full use of the medicinal value of L. maackii fruit.     

Mipsagargin: The Beginning—Not the End—of Thapsigargin Prodrug-Based Cancer Therapeutics

Søren Brøgger Christensen isolated and characterized the cell-penetrant sesquiterpene lactone Thapsigargin (TG) from the fruit Thapsia garganica. In the late 1980s/early 1990s, TG was supplied to multiple independent and collaborative groups. Using this TG, studies documented with a large variety of mammalian cell types that TG rapidly (i.e., within seconds to a minute) penetrates cells, resulting in an essentially irreversible binding and inhibiting (IC₅₀~10 nM) of SERCA 2b calcium uptake pumps. If exposure to 50–100 nM TG is sustained for >24–48 h, prostate cancer cells undergo apoptotic death. TG-induced death requires changes in the cytoplasmic Ca²⁺, initiating a calmodulin/calcineurin/calpain-dependent signaling cascade that involves BAD-dependent opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP); this releases cytochrome C into the cytoplasm, activating caspases and nucleases. Chemically unmodified TG has no therapeutic index and is poorly water soluble. A TG analog, in which the 8-acyl groups is replaced with the 12-aminododecanoyl group, afforded 12-ADT, retaining an EC₅₀ for killing of <100 nM. Conjugation of 12-ADT to a series of 5–8 amino acid peptides was engineered so that they are efficiently hydrolyzed by only one of a series of proteases [e.g., KLK3 (also known as Prostate Specific Antigen); KLK2 (also known as hK2); Fibroblast Activation Protein Protease (FAP); or Folh1 (also known as Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen)]. The obtained conjugates have increased water solubility for systemic delivery in the blood and prevent cell penetrance and, thus, killing until the TG-prodrug is hydrolyzed by the targeting protease in the vicinity of the cancer cells. We summarize the preclinical validation of each of these TG-prodrugs with special attention to the PSMA TG-prodrug, Mipsagargin, which is in phase II clinical testing.     

Folate Functionalized and Evodiamine-Loaded Pluronic Nanomicelles for Augmented Cervical Cancer Cell Killing

Evodiamine (Evo) is a natural, biologically active plant alkaloid with wide range of pharmacological activities. In the present study Evo-loaded folate-conjugated Pluronic F108 nano-micelles (ENM) is synthesized to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of Evo against cervical cancer. ENM are synthesized, physicochemically characterized and in vitro anticancer activity is performed. The study demonstrates that ENM have nanoscale size (50.33 ± 3.09 nm), monodispersity of 0.122 ± 0.072, with high drug encapsulation efficiency (71.30 ± 3.76%) and controlled drug release at the tumor microenvironment. ENM showed dose-dependent and time-dependent cytotoxicity against HeLa human cervical cancer cells. The results of in vitro anticancer studies demonstrated that ENM have significant anticancer effects and greatly induce apoptosis as compared to pure Evo. The cellular uptake study suggests that increased anticancer activity of ENM is due to the improved intracellular delivery of Evo through overexpressed folate receptors. Overall, the designed ENM can be a potential targeted delivery system for hydrophobic anticancer bioactive compound like Evo.