Recent clinical studies have shown that mutation of phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN) gene in cancer cells may be associated with immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) and poor response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy. Therefore, efficiently restoring PTEN gene expression in cancer cells is critical to improving the responding rate to ICB therapy. Here, we screened an adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid for efficient PTEN gene delivery into B16F10 tumor cells. We demonstrated that intratumorally injected AAV6-PTEN successfully restored the tumor cell PTEN gene expression and effectively inhibited tumor progression by inducing tumor cell immunogenic cell death (ICD) and increasing immune cell infiltration. Moreover, we developed an anti-PD-1 loaded phospholipid-based phase separation gel (PPSG), which formed an in situ depot and sustainably release anti-PD-1 drugs within 42 days in vivo. In order to effectively inhibit the recurrence of melanoma, we further applied a triple therapy based on AAV6-PTEN, PPSG^@anti-PD-1 and CpG, and showed that this triple therapy strategy enhanced the synergistic antitumor immune effect and also induced robust immune memory, which completely rejected tumor recurrence. We anticipate that this triple therapy could be used as a new tumor combination therapy with stronger immune activation capacity and tumor inhibition efficacy.

OX40 is a costimulatory receptor that is expressed primarily on activated CD4⁺, CD8⁺, and regulatory T cells. The ligation of OX40 to its sole ligand OX40L potentiates T cell expansion, differentiation, and activation and also promotes dendritic cells to mature to enhance their cytokine production. Therefore, the use of agonistic anti-OX40 antibodies for cancer immunotherapy has gained great interest. However, most of the agonistic anti-OX40 antibodies in the clinic are OX40L-competitive and show limited efficacy. Here, we discovered that BGB-A445, a non-ligand-competitive agonistic anti-OX40 antibody currently under clinical investigation, induced optimal T cell activation without impairing dendritic cell function. In addition, BGB-A445 dose-dependently and significantly depleted regulatory T cells in vitro and in vivo via antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity. In the MC38 syngeneic model established in humanized OX40 knock-in mice, BGB-A445 demonstrated robust and dose-dependent antitumor efficacy, whereas the ligand-competitive anti-OX40 antibody showed antitumor efficacy characterized by a hook effect. Furthermore, BGB-A445 demonstrated a strong combination antitumor effect with an anti-PD-1 antibody. Taken together, our findings show that BGB-A445, which does not block OX40-OX40L interaction in contrast to clinical-stage anti-OX40 antibodies, shows superior immune-stimulating effects and antitumor efficacy and thus warrants further clinical investigation.
Mice ; Animals ; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor/physiology* ; Receptors, OX40 ; Membrane Glycoproteins ; Ligands ; Antibodies, Monoclonal/pharmacology* ; Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology*

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of the cases of COVID-19 epidemic clusters, and explore the influence of family factors and social factors such as group activities on the spread of the disease. Methods The data of cases of COVID-19 epidemic clusters from 19 January, 2020 to 25 February, 2020 were collected from the official platforms of 36 cities in 6 provinces in China. Descriptive statistical methods, χ 2 test and curve fitting were used to analyze the epidemiological characteristics of the clustered cases. Results By 25 February, 2020, the data of 1 052 cases in 366 epidemic clusters were collected. In these clustered cases, 86.9%(914/1 050) occurred in families. Among the 1 046 cases with gender information, 513 were males (49.0%) and 533 were females (51.0%). The cases were mainly young adults between 18 and 59 years old, accounting for 68.5% (711/1 038). In the 366 epidemic clusters , the clusters in which the first confirmed cases with the history of sojourn in Wuhan or Hubei accounted for 47.0%(172/366). From 19 January to 3 February, 2020, the first confirmed cases with Wuhan or Hubei sojourn history accounted for 66.5%. From 4 to 25 February, the first confirmed cases who had Wuhan or Hubei sojourn history accounted for only 18.2%. The median of interval between the first generation case onset and the second generation case onset was 5 (2-8) days. The median of onset- diagnosis interval of the initial cases was 6 (3-9) days, and the median of onset-diagnosis interval of the secondary cases was 5 (3-8) days. Conclusions Epidemic clusters of COVID-19 were common in many cities outside Wuhan and Hubei. Close contact in family was one of the main causes for the spread of household transmission of the virus. After 4 February, the epidemic clusters were mainly caused by the first generation or second generation cases in local areas, and the time for diagnosis became shorter.

We used the epidemic data of COVID-19 published on the official website of the municipal health commission in Anhui province. We mapped the spatiotemporal changes of confirmed cases, fitted the epidemic situation by the population growth curve at different stages and took statistical description and analysis of the epidemic situation in Anhui province. It was found that the cumulative incidence of COVID-19 was 156/100 000 by February 18, 2020 and the trend of COVID-19 epidemic declined after February 7, changing from J curve to S curve. The actual number of new cases began to decrease from February 2 to February 4 due to the time of case report and actual onset delayed by 3 to 5 days.

Due to the critical correlation between inflammation and carcinogenesis, a therapeutic candidate with anti-inflammatory activity may find application in cancer therapy. Here, we report the therapeutic efficacy of celastrol as a promising candidate compound for treatment of pancreatic carcinoma naïve neutrophil membrane-coated poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether--poly(lactic--glycolic acid) (PEG-PLGA) nanoparticles. Neutrophil membrane-coated nanoparticles (NNPs) are well demonstrated to overcome the blood pancreas barrier to achieve pancreas-specific drug delivery . Using tumor-bearing mice xenograft model, NNPs showed selective accumulations at the tumor site following systemic administration as compared to nanoparticles without neutrophil membrane coating. In both orthotopic and ectopic tumor models, celastrol-loaded NNPs demonstrated greatly enhanced tumor inhibition which significantly prolonged the survival of tumor bearing mice and minimizing liver metastases. Overall, these results suggest that celastrol-loaded NNPs represent a viable and effective treatment option for pancreatic carcinoma.

A phospholipid-based injectable gel was developed for the sustained delivery of leuprolide acetate (LA). The gel system was prepared using biocompatible materials (SPME), including soya phosphatidyl choline (SPC), medium chain triglyceride (MCT) and ethanol. The system displayed a sol state with low viscosity in vitro and underwent in situ gelation in vivo after subcutaneous injection. An in vitro release study was performed using a dialysis setup with different release media containing different percentages of ethanol. The stability of LA in the SPME system was investigated under different temperatures and in the presence of various antioxidants. In vivo studies in male rats were performed to elucidate the pharmacokinetic profiles and pharmacodynamic efficacy. A sustained release of LA for 28 days was observed without obvious initial burst in vivo. The pharmacodynamic study showed that once-a-month injection of LA-loaded SPME (SPME-LA) led to comparable suppression effects on the serum testosterone level as observed in LA solution except for the onset time. These findings demonstrate excellent potential for this novel SPME system as a sustained release delivery system for LA.

Objective To prepare and characterize salinomycin sodium‐loaded nano liposomes(SLN) .Methods The nano liposomes were prepared by a thin‐film dispersion method .The formula of SLN was optimized by regulating the cholesterol ratio of the nano liposomes ,using the encapsulation efficacy (EE) of SLN as the primary outcome measure .Results Transmission e‐lectron microscope (TEM) showed that SLN was round and had a good dispersion .Dynamic laser scatter (DLS) showed that SLN was of a desired size of 99 nm ,and zeta potential of -33 .5 mV .EE of SLN was 85 .7% and drug loading of 6 .7% .Ac‐cording to the formulation of nano liposomes ,the concentration of salinomycin sodium in water was greatly improved by 15 folds .Additionally ,the nano liposomes were observed to exhibit sustained release characteristics .Conclusion Salinomycin sodi‐um‐loaded nanoliposomes of a desired size of about 100 nm were obtained ,which were well dispersion ,and high EE and drug loading .Solid pharmaceutics foundation for the activity examination of SLN was provided in this research .

Objective To investigate the synergic ratio of sorafenib (SO) and sulforaphane (SF) against the hepatocellu‐lar carcinoma cell line HepG2 in vitro .Methods The synergic effect of SO combined with SF against HepG2 cells was deter‐mined by the CCK8 assay (the synergic effect was determined by combination index (CI) value:CI>1 .1 ,antagonistic;0 .91 .1) ,whereas 20∶1 ,5∶1 and 1∶5 ratio resul‐ted in synergistic activity (CI<0 .9) .Furthermore ,10∶1 ratio acted as an additive effective (0 .9

OBJECTIVETo prepare and identify the capsaicin-hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (capsaicin-HP-beta-CD) inclusion compound the mol ratio between capsaicin and HP-beta-CD and the thermodynamic constants in inclusion were studied simultaneously.

METHODThe capsaicin-HP-beta-CD inclusion compound was prepared with the method of saturation aqueous solution. Meanwhile, the inclusion compound was identified by differential scanning calorimetry methods (DSC), infrared spectrometry (IR), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The mol ratio between host and guest molecular and the thermodynamic constants during the inclusion process were also researched by phase solubility method.

RESULTAn 1 : 1 molar ratio inclusion compound of capsaicin with HP-beta-CD could form at 25, 35 and 45 degrees C. The phase diagram was A(L) type.

CONCLUSIONThe solubility of capsaicin-HP-beta-CD inclusion compound can be increased obviously.

2-Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin ; Calorimetry, Differential Scanning ; Capsaicin ; chemistry ; Drug Compounding ; Drug Stability ; Solubility ; Spectrophotometry, Infrared ; Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared ; Technology, Pharmaceutical ; methods ; Thermodynamics ; X-Ray Diffraction ; X-Rays ; beta-Cyclodextrins ; chemistry

It is the intent of these studies to synthesize acylated prodrugs of tacrine hydrochloride for improving the penetrating ability across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Prodrugs of tacrine were prepared by benzoylation of the 9 amino group of THA. The structures of the synthesized prodrugs were determined by IR, 1H NMR, MS and UV. Their physical-chemical properties and stability under different conditions were investigated. The function of prodrugs targeting for brain were evaluated in vitro by biopartition micellar chromatography (BMC). The results showed that prodrugs were stable in different environments. Ethyl acetate/water partition coefficient indicated that the lipophilicity of prodrugs was increased, compared with THA. BMC predicted that prodrugs could improve the infiltration ability across BBB of parent-drug. It was suggested that this kind of prodrugs be a promising brain-targeting delivery system.
Animals ; Blood-Brain Barrier ; metabolism ; Brain ; metabolism ; Drug Stability ; Mice ; Prodrugs ; chemical synthesis ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics ; Solubility ; Tacrine ; analogs & derivatives ; chemistry ; pharmacokinetics