Explore the vast range of titles available.

Immunotherapy has emerged as an effective strategy for the prevention and treatment of a variety of diseases, including cancer, infectious diseases, inflammatory diseases, and autoimmune diseases. Immunomodulatory nanosystems can readily improve the therapeutic effects and simultaneously overcome many obstacles facing the treatment method, such as inadequate immune stimulation, off‐target side effects, and bioactivity loss of immune agents during circulation. In recent years, researchers have continuously developed nanomaterials with new structures, properties, and functions. This Review provides the most recent advances of nanotechnology for immunostimulation and immunosuppression. In cancer immunotherapy, nanosystems play an essential role in immune cell activation and tumor microenvironment modulation, as well as combination with other antitumor approaches. In infectious diseases, many encouraging outcomes from using nanomaterial vaccines against viral and bacterial infections have been reported. In addition, nanoparticles also potentiate the effects of immunosuppressive immune cells for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Finally, the challenges and prospects of applying nanotechnology to modulate immunotherapy are discussed. Immunomodulatory nanosystems exhibit the function of immunostimulation or immunosuppression. Through immunostimulation, the immunonanosystems effectively suppress tumor progression and metastasis, and prevent virus and bacterial infections. By inducing immunosuppression, the immunonanosystems alleviate inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. It is a promising area to explore the advanced immunomodulatory nanosystems to achieve the prevention and treatment of various diseases.

[...]their ability to form microscopic and macroscopic assemblies in response to external targets or signals gives them unique physiochemical properties (e.g., a large surface-to-volume ratio, variable composition and size, dynamic association, and reversible phase separation) and tailored functionalities (e.g., enhanced sensitivity and specificity, extraordinary target binding affinity, and tunable surface chemistry), which are absent in small molecules [9,10]. Chen et al. synthesized an amphiphilic polyurea consisting of cyclohexyl-tert-butyl polyurea and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) for the encapsulation of chemotherapeutic drug paclitaxel (PTX) [11]. Han and co-workers synthesized a series of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)−poly(L-alanine) thermosensitive hydrogels with different degrees of polymerization (DPs) [21].

In recent years, polyureas with dynamic hindered urea bonds (HUBs), a class of promising biomedical polymers, have attracted wide attention as a result of their controlled hydrolytic properties. The effect of the chemical structures on the properties of polyureas and their assemblies has rarely been reported. In this study, four kinds of polyureas with different chemical groups have been synthesized, and the polyureas from cyclohexyl diisocyanate and tert-butyl diamine showed the fastest hydrolytic rate. The amphiphilic polyurea composed of hydrophobic cyclohexyl-tert-butyl polyurea and hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) was synthesized for the controlled delivery of the antitumor drug paclitaxel (PTX). The PTX-loaded PEGylated polyurea micelle more effectively entered into the murine breast cancer 4T1 cells and inhibited the corresponding tumor growth in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, the PEGylated polyurea with adjustable degradation might be a promising polymer matrix for drug delivery.

Background Cancer is a complex systemic disease. As a key component of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is a clinically proven medical treatment for many diseases, and it also has preventative effects as it balances the body, allowing it to self-regulate. For cancer patients, acupuncture is widely used as complementary therapy to boost the immune system and reduce the side effects of radiotherapy and chemotherapy. However, few studies have determined how acupuncture against cancer, especially in regulating the intestinal flora of the tumor-burdened mice. Methods We treated osteosarcoma tumor-burdened mice by using needling on different acupoints and acupoints combination, thereafter determined the effects of acupuncture on tumor growth by using imaging technology in vitro. In addition, intestinal bacteria were analyzed for further understanding the holistic and systemic treatment effects of acupuncture in osteosarcoma tumor-burdened mice. Results Acupuncture treatment can delay tumor growth and changes of intestinal bacteria in osteosarcoma tumor-burdened mice. In detail, the loss of body weight and the development of tumor volume of mice have been postposed by needling specific acupoints. In addition, acupuncture treatment has delayed the changes of the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes , Firmicutes and Candidatus Saccharibacteria at the phylum level. Moreover, the relative abundance of many bacteria (e.g., Catabacter , Acetatifactor and Aestuariispira ) has been regulated by using acupuncture treatment, and the trend of structural changes of these bacteria at the genus level has also been postposed compared to that of the tumor-burdened mice model group. Conclusion Our results suggest that acupuncture may provide a systemic treatment for cancer. Our findings encourage new and extensive research into the effects of acupuncture on changes of the intestinal microbiome associated with the development of cancer.

Thermosensitive gels are commonly used as drug carriers in medical fields, mainly due to their convenient processing and easy functionalization. However, their overall performance has been severely affected by their unsatisfying biocompatibility and biodegradability. To this end, we synthesized poly(l-alanine) (PLAla)-based thermosensitive hydrogels with different degrees of polymerization by ring-opening polymerization. The obtained mPEG45−PLAla copolymers showed distinct transition temperatures and degradation abilities. It was found that slight changes in the length of hydrophobic side groups had a decisive effect on the gelation behavior of the polypeptide hydrogel. Longer hydrophobic ends led to a lower gelation temperature of gel at the same concentration, which implied better gelation capability. The hydrogels showed rapid gelling, enhanced biocompatibility, and better degradability. Therefore, this thermosensitive hydrogel is a promising material for biomedical application.

Immunotherapy is a promising strategy to inhibit cancer progression via activation of the immune system. In immunotherapy, adjuvants as immunologic stimulants or delivery systems play a critical role in inducing the antitumor immune response and decreasing the side effects of immune stimulants. Polymer nanoparticles have attracted increasing attention as an indispensable component of immunotherapy, owing to their favorable properties, such as excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability, flexible size, high activity as immune stimulants, large surface area for binding multivalent immune ligands, and high loading capacity for immune-related components. In cancer immunotherapy, polymer nanoparticles can protect cargo from the surrounding milieu, deliver the antigens and immunostimulatory molecules to antigen-presenting cells, or stimulate robust T cell response. This review summarizes the current advancements in polymer nanoparticle adjuvants for cancer immunotherapy and predicts their prospects in fundamental and clinical studies.

The physicochemical characteristics of nanoparticles are closely related to their drug delivery performances in vitro and in vivo . A well-designed nanocarrier can prolong the drug half-life in the blood circulation, upregulate the drug accumulation at the target site, and enhance the treatment efficacy. To elucidate the impact of physicochemical properties on the fate of nanogel as a nanocarrier of chemotherapeutics, three methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly( L -phenylalanine- co-L -cystine) (mPEG-P(LP- co -LC)) nanogels with different L -cystine proportions were developed, namely mPEG-P(LP 10 - co -LC 5 ) (NG 10-5 ), mPEG-P(LP 10 - co -LC 10 ) (NG 10-10 ), and mPEG-P(LP 10 - co -LC 15 ) (NG 10–15 ). The three nanogels shared similar surface charge and reduction-responsive behavior, but they had distinct diameters and different drug release profiles. Among them, NG 10-5 , which has the smallest diameter, was preferentially internalized by tumor cells in vitro and showed rapid migration to the tumor site in vivo . Using doxorubicin (DOX) as a model chemotherapeutic agent, NG 10-5 /DOX had the most prolonged blood circulation period and highest tumor accumulation after intravenous administration. NG 10-5 /DOX also had the most potent antitumor effect of all three drug-loaded nanogels. Accordingly, adjusting physicochemical characteristics by changing the amino acid composition might improve the therapeutic efficacies of nanogels and enhance their potential for clinical application.

Tolerogenic immunotherapy aims to blunt pathogenic inflammation without affecting systemic immunity. However, the anti-inflammatory drugs and immunosuppressive biologics that are used in the clinic usually result in nonspecific immune cell suppression and off-target toxicity. For this reason, strategies have been developed to induce antigen-specific immune tolerance through the delivery of disease-relevant antigens by nanocarriers as a benefit of their preferential internalization by antigen-presenting cells. Herein, we discuss the recent advances in the nanotechnology-based antigen-specific tolerance approaches. Some of these designs are based on nanoparticles delivering antigens and immunoregulatory agents to modulate antigen-presenting pathways, while others directly target T cells via nanoparticle-based artificial antigen-presenting cells. These antigen-specific therapies are hoped to replace systemic immune suppression and provide long-term disease remission.

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are a widespread and serious global public health burden, particularly among the older population. At present, effective therapies do not exist, despite the increasing understanding of the different mechanisms of NDs. In recent years, some drugs, such as galantamine, entacapone, riluzole, and edaravone, have been proposed for the treatment of different NDs; however, they mainly concentrate on symptom management and confer undesirable side effects and adverse reactions. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find novel drugs with fewer disadvantages and higher efficacy for the treatment of NDs. Mushroom polysaccharides are macromolecular complexes with multi-targeting bioactivities, low toxicity, and high safety. Some have been demonstrated to exhibit neuroprotective effects via their antioxidant, anti-amyloidogenic, anti-neuroinflammatory, anticholinesterase, anti-apoptotic, and anti-neurotoxicity activities, which have potential in the treatment of NDs. This review focuses on the different processes involved in ND development and progression, highlighting the neuroprotective activities and potential role of mushroom polysaccharides and summarizing the limitations and future perspectives of mushroom polysaccharides in the prevention and treatment of NDs.

Hepatoma is one of the most severe malignancies usually with poor prognosis, and many patients are insensitive to the existing therapeutic agents, including the drugs for chemotherapy and molecular targeted therapy. Currently, researchers are committed to developing the advanced formulations with controlled drug delivery to improve the efficacy of hepatoma therapy. Numerous inoculated, induced, and genetically engineered hepatoma rodent models are now available for formulation screening. However, animal models of hepatoma cannot accurately represent human hepatoma in terms of histological characteristics, metastatic pathways, and post-treatment responses. Therefore, advanced animal hepatoma models with comparable pathogenesis and pathological features are in urgent need in the further studies. Moreover, the development of nanomedicines has renewed hope for chemotherapy and molecular targeted therapy of advanced hepatoma. As one kind of advanced formulations, the polymer-based nanoformulated drugs have many advantages over the traditional ones, such as improved tumor selectivity and treatment efficacy, and reduced systemic side effects. In this article, the construction of rodent hepatoma model and much information about the current development of polymer nanomedicines were reviewed in order to provide a basis for the development of advanced formulations with clinical therapeutic potential for hepatoma.