by Keyword: Glioma
Selt, F, Sigaud, R, Valinciute, G, Sievers, P, Zaman, J, Alco, C, Schmid, S, Peterziel, H, Tsai, JW, Guiho, R, Martínez-Barbera, JP, Pusch, S, Deng, J, Zhai, YF, van Tilburg, CM, Schuhman, MU, Damaty, AEL, Bandopadhayay, P, Herold-Mende, C, von Deimling, A, Pfister, SM, Montero, J, Capper, D, Oehme, I, Sahm, F, Jones, DTW, Witt, O, Milde, T, (2023). BH3 mimetics targeting BCL-XL impact the senescent compartment of pilocytic astrocytoma Neuro-Oncology 25, 735-747 
Background Pilocytic astrocytoma (PA) is the most common pediatric brain tumor and a mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-driven disease. Oncogenic MAPK-signaling drives the majority of cells into oncogene-induced senescence (OIS). While OIS induces resistance to antiproliferative therapies, it represents a potential vulnerability exploitable by senolytic agents. Methods We established new patient-derived PA cell lines that preserve molecular features of the primary tumors and can be studied in OIS and proliferation depending on expression or repression of the SV40 large T antigen. We determined expression of anti-apoptotic BCL-2 members in these models and primary PA. Dependence of senescent PA cells on anti-apoptotic BCL-2 members was investigated using a comprehensive set of BH3 mimetics. Results Senescent PA cells upregulate BCL-XL upon senescence induction and show dependency on BCL-XL for survival. BH3 mimetics with high affinity for BCL-XL (BCL-XLi) reduce metabolic activity and induce mitochondrial apoptosis in senescent PA cells at nano-molar concentrations. In contrast, BH3 mimetics without BCL-XLi activity, conventional chemotherapy, and MEK inhibitors show no effect. Conclusions Our data demonstrate that BCL-XL is critical for survival of senescent PA tumor cells and provides proof-of-principle for the use of clinically available BCL-XL-dependent senolytics.
JTD Keywords: bcl-xl, bh3 mimetics, oncogene-induced senescence, Bcl-xl, Bh3 mimetics, Expression, Family, Inhibitor, Low-grade glioma, Navitoclax, Oncogene-induced senescence, Pilocytic astrocytoma, Stem-cells
Murar, M, Albertazzi, L, Pujals, S, (2022). Advanced Optical Imaging-Guided Nanotheranostics toward Personalized Cancer Drug Delivery Nanomaterials 12, 399
Nanomedicine involves the use of nanotechnology for clinical applications and holds promise to improve treatments. Recent developments offer new hope for cancer detection, prevention and treatment; however, being a heterogenous disorder, cancer calls for a more targeted treatment approach. Personalized Medicine (PM) aims to revolutionize cancer therapy by matching the most effective treatment to individual patients. Nanotheranostics comprise a combination of therapy and diagnostic imaging incorporated in a nanosystem and are developed to fulfill the promise of PM by helping in the selection of treatments, the objective monitoring of response and the planning of follow-up therapy. Although well-established imaging techniques, such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT), Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT), are primarily used in the development of theranostics, Optical Imaging (OI) offers some advantages, such as high sensitivity, spatial and temporal resolution and less invasiveness. Additionally, it allows for multiplexing, using multi-color imaging and DNA barcoding, which further aids in the development of personalized treatments. Recent advances have also given rise to techniques permitting better penetration, opening new doors for OI-guided nanotheranostics. In this review, we describe in detail these recent advances that may be used to design and develop efficient and specific nanotheranostics for personalized cancer drug delivery. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
JTD Keywords: 5-aminolevulinic acid, cancer, contrast agents, in-vivo, malignant gliomas, multifunctional nanoparticles, nanomedicine, optical imaging, ovarian-cancer, personalized medicine, quantum dots, silica nanoparticles, targeted probes, theranostics, Cancer, Nanomedicine, Optical imaging, Personalized medicine, Superparamagnetic iron-oxide, Theranostics
Duro-Castano, A., Moreira Leite, D., Forth, J., Deng, Y., Matias, D., Noble Jesus, C., Battaglia, G., (2020). Designing peptide nanoparticles for efficient brain delivery Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews 160, 52-77
The targeted delivery of therapeutic compounds to the brain is arguably the most significant open problem in drug delivery today. Nanoparticles (NPs) based on peptides and designed using the emerging principles of molecular engineering show enormous promise in overcoming many of the barriers to brain delivery faced by NPs made of more traditional materials. However, shortcomings in our understanding of peptide self-assembly and blood–brain barrier (BBB) transport mechanisms pose significant obstacles to progress in this area. In this review, we discuss recent work in engineering peptide nanocarriers for the delivery of therapeutic compounds to the brain: from synthesis, to self-assembly, to in vivo studies, as well as discussing in detail the biological hurdles that a nanoparticle must overcome to reach the brain.
JTD Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, Blood-brain barrier, Drug delivery, Glioma, Parkinson's disease, Peptides, Self-assembly, Transcytosis
