Ashiq Ali , Urooj Azmat , Aisha Khatoon , Kaynaat Akbar , Bilal Murtaza , Ziyi Ji , Urooj Irshad , Zhongjing Su
{"title":"From gene editing to tumor eradication: The CRISPR revolution in cancer therapy","authors":"Ashiq Ali , Urooj Azmat , Aisha Khatoon , Kaynaat Akbar , Bilal Murtaza , Ziyi Ji , Urooj Irshad , Zhongjing Su","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.04.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.04.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cancer continues to be a significant worldwide health concern, characterized by high rates of occurrence and death. Unfortunately, existing treatments frequently fall short of delivering satisfying therapeutic outcomes. Immunotherapy has ushered in a new era in the treatment of solid tumors, yet its effectiveness is still constrained and comes with unwanted side effects. The advancement of cutting-edge technology, propelled by gene analysis and manipulation at the molecular scale, shows potential for enhancing these therapies. The advent of genome editing technologies, including CRISPR-Cas9, can greatly augment the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. This review explores the mechanism of CRISPR-Cas9-mediated genome editing and its wide range of tools. The study focuses on analyzing the effects of CRISPR-induced double-strand breaks (DSBs) on cancer immunotherapy, specifically by gene knockdown or knockin. In addition, the study emphasizes the utilization of CRISPR-Cas9-based genome-wide screening to identify targets, the potential of spatial CRISPR genomics, and the extensive applications and difficulties of CRISPR-Cas9 in fundamental research, translational medicine, and clinical environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 114-131"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143854382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yeying Teng , Haiping Xue , Xiaoliang Deng , Yanqun Luo , Tao Wu
{"title":"The role of phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) family in various diseases: Mechanisms and therapeutic potential","authors":"Yeying Teng , Haiping Xue , Xiaoliang Deng , Yanqun Luo , Tao Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.04.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.04.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This article focuses on the phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP) family proteins, detailing PEBP1 and PEBP4 due to limited information on PEBP2 and PEBP3, in cellular signaling pathways and research in a spectrum of pathologies, including diverse cancers, metabolic disorders, immunological diseases and a subset of organ-specific diseases. It outlines the mechanisms through which PEBP1 and PEBP4 regulate essential signaling pathways that are critical for cellular processes such as proliferation, apoptosis, and metastasis. Recent advancements have shown further understanding of these proteins' roles in pathophysiology and their potential as future therapeutic targets. The findings suggest that the impact of PEBP1 and PEBP4 on the course of different diseases has underscored their potential for more in-depth medical research and novel clinically targeted therapies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 102-113"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143828482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jia Zhang , Runting Yin , Yongwang Xue , Rong Qin , Xuequan Wang , Shuming Wu , Jun Zhu , Yan-Shuang Li , Cai Zhang , Yuan Wei
{"title":"Advances in the study of epithelial mesenchymal transition in cancer progression: Role of miRNAs","authors":"Jia Zhang , Runting Yin , Yongwang Xue , Rong Qin , Xuequan Wang , Shuming Wu , Jun Zhu , Yan-Shuang Li , Cai Zhang , Yuan Wei","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.04.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.04.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been extensively studied for its roles in tumor metastasis, the generation and maintenance of cancer stem cells and treatment resistance. Epithelial mesenchymal plasticity allows cells to switch between various states within the epithelial-mesenchymal spectrum, resulting in a mixed epithelial/mesenchymal phenotypic profile. This plasticity underlies the acquisition of multiple malignant features during cancer progression and poses challenges for EMT in tumors. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in the microenvironment affect numerous signaling processes through diverse mechanisms, influencing physiological activities. This paper reviews recent advances in EMT, the role of different hybrid states in tumor progression, and the important role of miRNAs in EMT. Furthermore, it explores the relationship between miRNA-based EMT therapies and their implications for clinical practice, discussing how ongoing developments may enhance therapeutic outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 69-90"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143789327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Alessandro Maria Morelli , Ann Saada , Felix Scholkmann
{"title":"Myelin: A possible proton capacitor for energy storage during sleep and energy supply during wakefulness","authors":"Alessandro Maria Morelli , Ann Saada , Felix Scholkmann","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.03.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.03.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>There are several physiological reasons why biological organisms sleep. One key one concerns brain metabolism. In our article we discuss the role of metabolism in myelin, based on the recent discovery that myelin contains mitochondrial components that enable the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) via oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). These mitochondrial components in myelin probably originate from vesiculation of the mitochondrial membranes in form from mitochondrial derived vesicles (MDVs). We hypothesize that myelin acts as a proton capacitor, accumulating energy in the form of protons during sleep and converting it to ATP via OXPHOS during wakefulness. Empirical evidence supporting our hypothesis is discussed, including data on myelin metabolic activity, MDVs, and allometric scaling between white matter volume and sleep duration in mammals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 91-101"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143744519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Polina Vertegel , Pavel Milkin , Anton Murashko , Mikhail Parker , Kristina Peranidze , Natalia Emashova , Sergiy Minko , Vladimir Reukov
{"title":"Cell detachment: A review of techniques, challenges, and opportunities for advancing biomedical research and applications","authors":"Polina Vertegel , Pavel Milkin , Anton Murashko , Mikhail Parker , Kristina Peranidze , Natalia Emashova , Sergiy Minko , Vladimir Reukov","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Culturing living cells outside the body is a complex process involving various techniques. Despite advances, harvesting cells remains challenging, especially in light of new emerging and scaled-up cell culture technologies. Enzymatic adherent cell harvesting is the most used and robust technology but can harm cells. Non-enzymatic detachment methods offer advantages but also present challenges. Thermo-responsive polymers require precise control of the molecular characteristics and thickness of the thermoresponsive films, which makes this method less robust and more expensive. This review highlights the importance of controlling harvested cell quality and its relationship to cell binding and detachment mechanisms. Many alternative methods have not been extensively analyzed, and their impact on cell quality beyond standard viability assays is not yet known. Developing robust cell harvesting methods for bioreactor microcarriers is a rapidly growing challenge as the cell manufacturing industry expands. Microcarriers with stimuli-responsive coatings face challenges similar to those observed for laboratory-scale cell dishes and bring an additional aspect of the need for microbead recycling consideration. All that together underlines the importance of the research in biomaterials and biotechnology for cell manufacturing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 50-68"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143537855","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Advancing targeted therapies in pancreatic cancer: Leveraging molecular abberrations for therapeutic success","authors":"Tanvi Gupta , Mohd Murtaza","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.003","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly with poor prognosis and overall survival rate due to the dense stroma in the tumors which often is challenging for the delivery of drug to penetrate deep inside the tumor bed and usually results in the progression of cancer. The conventional treatment such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery shows a minimal benefit in the survival due to the drug resistance, poor penetration, less radiosensitivity or recurrence of tumor. There is an urgent demand to develop molecular-level targeted therapies to achieve therapeutic efficacy in the pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) patients. The precision oncology focuses on the unique attributes of the patient such as epigenome, proteome, genome, microbiome, lifestyle and diet habits which contributes to promote oncogenesis. The targeted therapy helps to target the mutated proteins responsible for controlling growth, division and metastasis of tumor in the cancer cells. It is very important to consider all the attributes of the patient to provide the suitable personalized treatment to avoid any severe side effects. In this review, we have laid emphasis on the precision medicine; the utmost priority is to improve the survival of cancer patients by targeting molecular mutations through transmembrane proteins, inhibitors, signaling pathways, immunotherapy, gene therapy or the use of nanocarriers for the delivery at the tumor site. It will become beneficial therapeutic window to be considered for the advanced stage pancreatic cancer patients to prolong their survival rate.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 19-32"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143484597","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Skeletogenesis and acupuncture points","authors":"Evgeniy Andreyev, Volodymyr Krasnoholovets","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.001","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The formation of the embryo begins with a “calcium wave” that contributes to the creation of heterogeneities, and then some of them solidify. The further development and a collective information architecture of the embryo is controlled by the so-called morphogenetic field, whose nature is mainly associated with a physical inerton field that is a substructure of the quantum mechanical matter waves, which plays the role of information field in biological systems. The inerton field takes on the function of organising the geometry and topology of the developing system, which we associate with the concept of positional information. Hence, any extended element or system in the body can be specified by certain relative coordinates, or radius vectors drawn from the origin to a given point. Such special points we associate with the patterns of formation of the musculoskeletal system. This work demonstrates an unequivocal correspondence between the functional formations that exist within the bony structures of the skeleton, which we can name ossification centres, or points, and classical acupuncture areas, which involve a number of nerves, muscles, vessels, and tendons. Histologically, there are various kinds of endings around the acupoints and their complexity is responsible for the acupuncture sensation in these places. It is shown that each ossification centre can be associated with a multiple of two number of acupuncture areas located in the immediate vicinity of the ossification centre. With this approach, all 1112 generally recognised acupuncture points find their ossification centres on the tubular bones and axial skeleton.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 33-49"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143470252","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Cellular senescence as a key player in chronic heart failure pathogenesis: Unraveling mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities","authors":"Shuqing Zhao , Yu Zhang , Ying Zhao , Xiaohui Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.02.002","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Chronic heart failure (CHF) is the final stage of heart disease and is caused by various factors. Unfortunately, CHF has a poor prognosis and a high mortality rate. Recent studies have found that aging is a significant risk factor for the development of CHF and that cellular senescence plays a vital role in its development. This article reviews different types of cellular senescence, mitochondrial dysfunction in senescent cells, autophagy in senescent cells, and senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), and epigenetic regulation, to provide new perspectives on the research and treatment of CHF.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 8-18"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143442812","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jie Zhou , Yuan-Kun Gou , Dong Guo , Ming-Yi Wang , Peng Liu
{"title":"Roles of gastric cancer-derived exosomes in the occurrence of metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma","authors":"Jie Zhou , Yuan-Kun Gou , Dong Guo , Ming-Yi Wang , Peng Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.01.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.01.005","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Gastric cancer (GC), particularly in East Asia, is among the most prevalent cancers with high mortality rates. According to recent epidemiological data, patients with GC account for over a quarter of all cancer incidences and approximately one third of cancer-related deaths in East Asia. Liver metastasis (LM) is not only a common form of GC distant metastasis but also poses a major challenge to the prognosis and treatment of patients with advanced GC. Increasing evidence has shown that the gut-liver axis plays a pivotal role in maintaining the stomach-liver-gut homeostasis. Exosomes are small secreted vesicles enriched with specific proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. These vesicles exhibit significant activities in signal transmission to adjacent or distant cells in the gut-liver axis, as well as in remodeling the tumor microenvironment. Some research have pointed out that exosomes promote LM of various cancers. However, there still lack of complete and systematic review on how exosomes affect GC-LM. In this article, we present a comprehensive description to explore the role of GC-derived exosomes in the occurrence and development of metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"196 ","pages":"Pages 1-7"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143069543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jiqiang Li , Weiming Wang , Zipeng Lin , Zhenyu Liu , Ruilin Zhang , Runwen Li , Jie Zhang , Youkun Zheng , Dalian Qin , Ya Wu , Yong Liu
{"title":"Vinculin: A new target for the diagnosis and treatment of disease","authors":"Jiqiang Li , Weiming Wang , Zipeng Lin , Zhenyu Liu , Ruilin Zhang , Runwen Li , Jie Zhang , Youkun Zheng , Dalian Qin , Ya Wu , Yong Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.01.004","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2025.01.004","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Vinculin, a crucial adhesion plaque protein, plays a significant role in cell morphology and tissue development. Dysregulation of focal adhesion proteins has been linked to numerous diseases, including cardiovascular conditions, gastrointestinal disorders, and cancer. Recent studies increasingly highlight vinculin's involvement in the progression of these diseases; however, a comprehensive review remains lacking. Therefore, an in-depth and timely review is essential to consolidate the latest findings on vinculin's role in disease mechanisms. This study aims to examine how vinculin coordinates a complex network of signaling pathways across various pathological contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54554,"journal":{"name":"Progress in Biophysics & Molecular Biology","volume":"195 ","pages":"Pages 157-166"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143043360","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}