Targeted Therapy of B7 Family Checkpoints as an Innovative Approach to Overcome Cancer Therapy Resistance: A Review from Chemotherapy to Immunotherapy

It is estimated that there were 18.1 million cancer cases worldwide in 2018, with about 9 million deaths. Proper diagnosis of cancer is essential for its effective treatment because each type of cancer requires a specific treatment procedure. Cancer therapy includes one or more approaches such as surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy. In recent years, immunotherapy has received much attention and immune checkpoint molecules have been used to treat several cancers. These molecules are involved in regulating the activity of T lymphocytes. Accumulated evidence shows that targeting immune checkpoint regulators like PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 are significantly useful in treating cancers. According to studies, these molecules also have pivotal roles in the chemoresistance of cancer cells. Considering these findings, the combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy can help to treat cancer with a more efficient approach. Among immune checkpoint molecules, the B7 family checkpoints have been studied in various cancer types such as breast cancer, myeloma, and lymphoma. In these cancers, they cause the cells to become resistant to the chemotherapeutic agents. Discovering the exact signaling pathways and selective targeting of these checkpoint molecules may provide a promising avenue to overcome cancer development and therapy resistance. Highlights: (1) The development of resistance to cancer chemotherapy or immunotherapy is the main obstacle to improving the outcome of these anti-cancer therapies. (2) Recent investigations have described the involvement of immune checkpoint molecules in the development of cancer therapy resistance. (3) In the present study, the molecular participation of the B7 immune checkpoint family in anticancer therapies has been highlighted. (4) Targeting these immune checkpoint molecules may be considered an efficient approach to overcoming this obstacle.     

ZrOCl2·8H2O on montmorillonite K10 accelerated conjugate addition of amines to α,β-unsaturated alkenes under solvent-free conditions

At room temperature, ZrOCl₂·8H₂O on montmorillonite K10 efficiently catalyzes conjugate addition of amines to a variety of conjugated alkenes such as α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, carboxylic esters, nitriles and amides under solvent-free conditions. The catalyst can be recycled for subsequent reactions without any appreciable loss of efficiency.     

Synthesis,crystallographic and spectroscopic studies,evaluation as antimicrobial and cytotoxic agents of a novel mixed-ligand nickel(II) complex

A new mononuclear mixed-ligand complex of Ni(II) has been synthesized and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction as [Ni(4-Cl-pydc)(apym)(H₂O)₂], where 4-Cl-pydc and apym are 4-chloropyridine-26-dicarboxylate and 2-aminopyrimidine, respectively. Spectroscopic studies such as FT-IR, UV-vis, ¹H-NMR, and thermal analysis (TGA/DTA) were carried out. The fluorescence properties were studied in solvents with different dipole moments. Antimicrobial activities of 4-chloropyridine-26-dicarboxylic acid (1), 2-aminopyrimidine (2), complex (3), and nickel(II) nitrate hexahydrate (4) were investigated by disk diffusion and broth microdilution methods against three Gram-positive bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus epidermidis and three Gram-negative bacteria, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, S. marcescens; also antifungal effect was evaluated on Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae in vitro. The highest antibacterial activity of complex was observed nearly equal to gentamicin as a standard drug toward S. epidermids with IZD of 18 mm. The in vitro antiproliferative activity of 1–4 on H1299 (a human non-small cell lung carcinoma), HepG2 (a human liver hepatocellular carcinoma), and β-TC3 (a mouse beta pancreatic) cell lines was evaluated by MTT (3-(45-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-25-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide) assay and, effect of complex on depolarization of mitochondrial membrane (MMP) of all three cell lines was measured by rhodamine 123. The highest cytotoxic effect of complex was exhibited toward H1299 cell line with IC₅₀ value equal to 10 μM.     

Aromatization of Hantzsch Ester 1,4‐Dihydropyridines with Iodine under Normal Conditions and Ultrasound Irradiation

A variety of Hantzsch ester 1,4‐dihydropyridines are efficiently oxidized to their corresponding pyridine compounds with iodine under normal conditions and ultrasound irradiation. The reactions were carried out in refluxing CH₃CN.     

A Novel Electrochemiluminesence Sensor Based on Silver Prussian Blue Analogue/Carboxylated Sulfur-doped Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanocomposite for Determination of Lamotrigine

In this study, for the first time an electrochemiluminescence sensor for ultra-trace monitoring of lamotrigine is reported. The sensing probe was fabricated using silver prussian blue analogue as a new effective co-reaction accelerator and carboxylated sulfur-doped graphitic carbon nitride nanocomposite as a new green luminophore. Also potassium peroxydisulfate was utilized as a strong co-reactant. The proposed ECL sensor exhibited excellent wide linear range (3.45×10⁻¹⁵ to 2.98×10⁻⁸ M), low detection limit (4.89×10⁻¹⁶ M), the relative standard deviation of 1.07 %, outstanding reproducibility and superior long-term stability. The prominent advantages of the sensor showed that it can be used to determine LMT in clinical samples.     

Response surface analysis for understanding the effects of synthesis parameters on the microstructure of hyperbranched polyesters

Synthesis parameters including the time of condensation reaction, the monomer-to-core ratio (2, 2-bis (hydroxymethyl) propionic acid) (pseudo-generation) and the type of catalyst were changed methodically to investigate their effects on the microstructure of resulting hyperbranched polyesters (HBPEs). Response surface methodology (RSM) was utilized to uncover the relationship between changing variables and the number of terminal hydroxyl groups of HBPSs by which the individual and interactive effects of the aforementioned synthesis parameters were explored. The degree of branching and molecular weight of the HBPEs were evaluated by titration of hydroxyl number and gel permeation chromatography, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance analyses confirmed attachment of functional groups to the molecules. Interpretations based on RSM showed that increase of the number of the core molecules, which is equivalent To reduction of the pseudo-generation, narrows the molecular weight distribution of the prepared hyperbranched polyester; so that the lowest molecular weight distribution is obtained for the first pseudo-generation HBPEs with the monomer-to-core ratio of 3:1 and the average number of the terminal hydroxyl groups in between 6 and 8. The samples prepared by the sulfuric acid catalyst had the highest average number of terminal hydroxyl groups, at the same time narrowest molecular weight distribution.     

From Oncogenic Signaling Pathways to Single-Cell Sequencing of Immune Cells: Changing the Landscape of Cancer Immunotherapy

Over the past decade, there have been remarkable advances in understanding the signaling pathways involved in cancer development. It is well-established that cancer is caused by the dysregulation of cellular pathways involved in proliferation, cell cycle, apoptosis, cell metabolism, migration, cell polarity, and differentiation. Besides, growing evidence indicates that extracellular matrix signaling, cell surface proteoglycans, and angiogenesis can contribute to cancer development. Given the genetic instability and vast intra-tumoral heterogeneity revealed by the single-cell sequencing of tumoral cells, the current approaches cannot eliminate the mutating cancer cells. Besides, the polyclonal expansion of tumor-infiltrated lymphocytes in response to tumoral neoantigens cannot elicit anti-tumoral immune responses due to the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment. Nevertheless, the data from the single-cell sequencing of immune cells can provide valuable insights regarding the expression of inhibitory immune checkpoints/related signaling factors in immune cells, which can be used to select immune checkpoint inhibitors and adjust their dosage. Indeed, the integration of the data obtained from the single-cell sequencing of immune cells with immune checkpoint inhibitors can increase the response rate of immune checkpoint inhibitors, decrease the immune-related adverse events, and facilitate tumoral cell elimination. This study aims to review key pathways involved in tumor development and shed light on single-cell sequencing. It also intends to address the shortcomings of immune checkpoint inhibitors, i.e., their varied response rates among cancer patients and increased risk of autoimmunity development, via applying the data from the single-cell sequencing of immune cells.     

Investigation of cross-linked PVA/starch biocomposites reinforced by cellulose nanofibrils isolated from aspen wood sawdust

In this study, a bio-based composite prepared from cross-linked polyvinyl alcohol/starch/cellulose nanofibril (CNF) was developed for film packaging applications. For this purpose, CNF, as reinforcing phase, was initially isolated from aspen wood sawdust (AWS) using chemo-mechanical treatments, and during these treatments, hydrolysis conditions were optimized by experimental design. Morphological and chemical characterizations of AWS fibers were studied by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Kappa number, and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, as well as National Renewable Energy Laboratory and ASTM procedures. Morphological images showed that the diameter of the AWS fibers was dramatically decreased during the chemo-mechanical treatments, proving the successful isolation of CNF. Moreover, chemical composition results indicated the successful isolation of cellulose, and Kappa number analysis demonstrated a dramatic reduction in lignin content. Mechanical, morphological, biodegradability, and barrier properties of biocomposites were also investigated to find out the influence of CNF on the prepared biocomposite properties. The mechanical results obtained from tensile analysis revealed that Young’s modulus and ultimate tensile strength of biocomposite films were enhanced with increasing CNF concentration, while a significant decrease was observed in elongation at break at the same concentration of CNF. Furthermore, with adding CNF, barrier properties and resistance to biodegradability were increased in films, whereas film transparency gradually declined.