Xiaozhi Xi , Yanqing Wang , Guiqi An , Shitao Feng , Qiumei Zhu , Zhongqiu Wu , Jin Chen , Zhicheng Zuo , Qiang Wang , Ming-Wei Wang , Yuchao Gu
{"title":"A novel shark VNAR antibody-based immunotoxin targeting TROP-2 for cancer therapy","authors":"Xiaozhi Xi , Yanqing Wang , Guiqi An , Shitao Feng , Qiumei Zhu , Zhongqiu Wu , Jin Chen , Zhicheng Zuo , Qiang Wang , Ming-Wei Wang , Yuchao Gu","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.08.023","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.08.023","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>TROP-2, a tumor-associated antigen, has been implicated in the progression of various epithelial tumors. Due to its favorable expression profile, TROP-2 has emerged as a promising target for antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) based anti-tumor therapies. Although ADCs have shown efficacy in cancer treatment, their application in solid tumors is hindered by their high molecular weight, poor tumor penetration, and release of cytotoxic molecules. Therefore, a recombinant immunotoxin was developed based on a shark-derived variable domain of immunoglobulin new antigen receptor (VNAR) antibody. VNARs are only one-tenth the size of IgG antibodies and possess remarkable tissue penetration capabilities and high stability. In this study, a shark VNAR phage display library was created, leading to the identification of shark VNAR-5G8 that targets TROP-2. VNAR-5G8 exhibited a high affinity and cellular internalization ability towards cells expressing high levels of TROP-2. Epitope analysis revealed that VNAR-5G8 recognizes a hidden epitope consisting of CRD and TY-1 on TROP-2. Subsequently, VNAR-5G8 was fused with a truncated form of <em>Pseudomonas exotoxin</em> (PE38) to create the recombinant immunotoxin (5G8-PE38), which exhibited significant anti-tumor activity <em>in vitro</em> and <em>in vivo</em>. Overall, this study highlights the promise of 5G8-PE38 as a valuable candidate for cancer therapy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"14 11","pages":"Pages 4806-4818"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142187073","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yongnian Zeng , Chenyuan Wang , Jiapeng Lei , Xue Jiang , Kai Lei , Yinli Jin , Tianshu Hao , Wen Zhang , Jianying Huang , Wei Li
{"title":"Spatiotemporally responsive cascade bilayer microneedles integrating local glucose depletion and sustained nitric oxide release for accelerated diabetic wound healing","authors":"Yongnian Zeng , Chenyuan Wang , Jiapeng Lei , Xue Jiang , Kai Lei , Yinli Jin , Tianshu Hao , Wen Zhang , Jianying Huang , Wei Li","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.06.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.06.014","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>High glucose level, bacterial infection, and persistent inflammation within the microenvironment are key factors contributing to the delay of diabetic ulcers healing, while traditional therapeutic methods generally fail to address these issues simultaneously. Here, we present a spatiotemporally responsive cascade bilayer microneedle (MN) patch for accelerating diabetic wound healing <em>via</em> local glucose depletion and sustained nitric oxide (NO) release for long-term antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. The MN patch (G/AZ-MNs) possesses a degradable tip layer loading glucose oxidase (GOx), as well as a dissolvable base layer encapsulating <span>l</span>-arginine (Arg)-loaded nanoparticles (NPs). After wound administration, the base part rapidly dissolved, resulting in prompt separation of the MN tip within the wound tissue, which subsequently responded to the overexpressed matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in diabetic lesions, leading to the responsive release of GOx. The released enzyme catalyzed glucose into gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>), which not only reduced glucose level within the diabetic wound, but also initiated the cascade reaction between H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> with the Arg that was released from NPs, thereby achieving continuous production of NO for 7 days. Our findings demonstrate that a single administration of the MN patch could effectively heal non-infected or biofilm-infected diabetic wounds with the multifunctional properties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"14 11","pages":"Pages 5037-5052"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141528645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bing Xie , Yaping Liu , Xiaotong Li , Pei Yang , Wei He
{"title":"Solubilization techniques used for poorly water-soluble drugs","authors":"Bing Xie , Yaping Liu , Xiaotong Li , Pei Yang , Wei He","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.08.027","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.08.027","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>About 40% of approved drugs and nearly 90% of drug candidates are poorly water-soluble drugs. Low solubility reduces the drugability. Effectively improving the solubility and bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs is a critical issue that needs to be urgently addressed in drug development and application. This review briefly introduces the conventional solubilization techniques such as solubilizers, hydrotropes, cosolvents, prodrugs, salt modification, micronization, cyclodextrin inclusion, solid dispersions, and details the crystallization strategies, ionic liquids, and polymer-based, lipid-based, and inorganic-based carriers in improving solubility and bioavailability. Some of the most commonly used approved carrier materials for solubilization techniques are presented. Several approved poorly water-soluble drugs using solubilization techniques are summarized. Furthermore, this review summarizes the solubilization mechanism of each solubilization technique, reviews the latest research advances and challenges, and evaluates the potential for clinical translation. This review could guide the selection of a solubilization approach, dosage form, and administration route for poorly water-soluble drugs. Moreover, we discuss several promising solubilization techniques attracting increasing attention worldwide.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"14 11","pages":"Pages 4683-4716"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142187066","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ercan Wu , Juan Guan , Yifei Yu , Shiqi Lin , Tianhao Ding , Yuxiu Chu , Feng Pan , Mengyuan Liu , Yang Yang , Zui Zhang , Jian Zhang , Changyou Zhan , Jun Qian
{"title":"Exemplifying interspecies variation of liposome in vivo fate by the effects of anti-PEG antibodies","authors":"Ercan Wu , Juan Guan , Yifei Yu , Shiqi Lin , Tianhao Ding , Yuxiu Chu , Feng Pan , Mengyuan Liu , Yang Yang , Zui Zhang , Jian Zhang , Changyou Zhan , Jun Qian","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.07.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.07.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The different fate of liposomes among species has been discovered and mentioned in many studies, but the underlying mechanisms have not been explored. In the present work, we concentrated on the <em>in vivo</em> fate of PEGylated liposomes (sLip) in three commonly used species (mice, rats, and dogs). It was exhibited that the accelerated blood clearance (ABC) phenomenon and hypersensitivity in large animals (beagle dogs) were much more significant than that in rodents. We demonstrated that anti-PEG IgM (partially) and complement (mostly) determined the elimination of sLip and linked the distinct interspecies performances with the diverse complement capacity among species. Based on the data from animals and clinical patients, it was revealed that the fate of sLip in large animals was closer to that in humans, for the sufficient complement capacity could expose the potential adverse reactions caused by anti-PEG antibodies. Our results suggested that the distinctive interspecies performances of sLip were highly related to the physiological variabilities among species, which should not be overlooked in the innovation and translation of nanomedicines.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"14 11","pages":"Pages 4994-5007"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141945623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chao Huang , Yang Jin , Panpan Fu , Kongying Hu , Mengxue Wang , Wenjing Zai , Ting Hua , Xinluo Song , Jianyu Ye , Yiqing Zhang , Gan Luo , Haiyu Wang , Jiangxia Liu , Jieliang Chen , Xuwen Li , Zhenghong Yuan
{"title":"Discovery of novel small molecules targeting hepatitis B virus core protein from marine natural products with HiBiT-based high-throughput screening","authors":"Chao Huang , Yang Jin , Panpan Fu , Kongying Hu , Mengxue Wang , Wenjing Zai , Ting Hua , Xinluo Song , Jianyu Ye , Yiqing Zhang , Gan Luo , Haiyu Wang , Jiangxia Liu , Jieliang Chen , Xuwen Li , Zhenghong Yuan","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.07.019","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.07.019","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Due to the limitations of current anti-HBV therapies, the HBV core (HBc or HBcAg) protein assembly modulators (CpAMs) are believed to be potential anti-HBV agents. Therefore, discovering safe and efficient CpAMs is of great value. In this study, we established a HiBiT-based high-throughput screening system targeting HBc and screened novel CpAMs from an in-house marine chemicals library. A novel lead compound <strong>8a</strong>, a derivative of the marine natural product naamidine J, has been successfully screened for potential anti-HBV activity. Bioactivity-driven synthesis was then conducted, and the structure‒activity relationship was analyzed, resulting in the discovery of the most effective compound <strong>11a</strong> (IC<sub>50</sub> = 0.24 μmol/L). Furthermore, <strong>11a</strong> was found to significantly inhibit HBV replication in multiple cell models and exhibit a synergistic effect with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and IFNa2 <em>in vitro</em> for anti-HBV activity. Treatment with <strong>11a</strong> in a hydrodynamic-injection mouse model demonstrated significant anti-HBV activity without apparent hepatotoxicity. These findings suggest that the naamidine J derivative <strong>11a</strong> could be used as the HBV core protein assembly modulator to develop safe and effective anti-HBV therapies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"14 11","pages":"Pages 4914-4933"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141945670","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Targeting toll-like receptor 7 as a therapeutic development strategy for systemic lupus erythematosus","authors":"Meng Wang , Hekai Chen , Tuan Zhang , Zhikuan Zhang , Xuwen Xiang , Meng Gao , Yilan Guo , Shuangshuang Jiang , Kejun Yin , Mintao Chen , Jian Huang , Xincheng Zhong , Umeharu Ohto , Jing Li , Toshiyuki Shimizu , Hang Yin","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.08.016","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.08.016","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Endosomal TLRs (TLR3/7/8/9) are highly analogous innate immunity sensors for various viral or bacterial RNA/DNA molecular patterns. Among them, TLR7, in particular, has been suggested to be a target for various inflammatory disorders and autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); but few small-molecule inhibitors with elaborated mechanism have been reported in literature. Here, we reported a well-characterized human TLR7-specific small-molecule inhibitor, TH-407b, with promising potency and negligible cytotoxicity through a novel binding mechanism. Notably, TH-407b not only effectively inhibited TLR7-mediated pro-inflammatory signaling in a variety of cultured cell lines but also demonstrated potent inflammation suppressing activities in primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) derived from SLE patients. Furthermore, TH-407b showed prominent efficacy <em>in vivo</em>, improved survival rate and ameliorated symptoms of SLE model mice. To obtain molecular insights into the TH-407b derivatives’ inhibition mechanism, we performed the structural analysis of TLR7/TH-407b complex using cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) method. As an atomistic resolution cryo-EM structure of the TLR family, it not only of value to facilitate structure-based drug design, but also shed light to methodology development of small proteins using EM. Significantly, TH-407b has unveiled an inhibition strategy for TLR7 <em>via</em> stabilizing its resting/inactivated state. Such a resting state could be generally applicable to all TLRs, rendering a useful method for targeting this group of important immunological receptors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"14 11","pages":"Pages 4899-4913"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142187074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Dong Liang, Chen Yu, Zhao Ma, Xingye Yang, Zhenzhen Li, Xuhui Dong, Xiaojun Qin, Lupei Du, Minyong Li
{"title":"Author correction to “Identification of anthelmintic parbendazole as a therapeutic molecule for HNSCC through connectivity map-based drug repositioning” [Acta Pharm Sin B 12 (2022) 2429–2442]","authors":"Dong Liang, Chen Yu, Zhao Ma, Xingye Yang, Zhenzhen Li, Xuhui Dong, Xiaojun Qin, Lupei Du, Minyong Li","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.09.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.09.006","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"14 11","pages":"Pages 5089-5090"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142263509","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hongyan Zhang , Yujie Li , Jingyi Huang , Limei Shen , Yang Xiong
{"title":"Precise targeting of lipid metabolism in the era of immuno-oncology and the latest advances in nano-based drug delivery systems for cancer therapy","authors":"Hongyan Zhang , Yujie Li , Jingyi Huang , Limei Shen , Yang Xiong","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.07.021","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.07.021","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the past decade, research has increasingly identified unique dysregulations in lipid metabolism within the tumor microenvironment (TME). Lipids, diverse biomolecules, not only constitute biological membranes but also function as signaling molecules and energy sources. Enhanced synthesis or uptake of lipids in the TME significantly promotes tumorigenesis and proliferation. Moreover, lipids secreted into the TME influence tumor-resident immune cells (TRICs), thereby aiding tumor survival against chemotherapy and immunotherapy. This review aims to highlight recent advancements in understanding lipid metabolism in both tumor cells and TRICs, with a particular emphasis on exogenous lipid uptake and endogenous lipid <em>de novo</em> synthesis. Targeting lipid metabolism for intervention in anticancer therapies offers a promising therapeutic avenue for cancer treatment. Nano-drug delivery systems (NDDSs) have emerged as a means to maximize anti-tumor effects by rewiring tumor metabolism. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent literature on the development of NDDSs targeting tumor lipid metabolism, particularly in the context of tumor immunotherapy. It covers four key aspects: reprogramming lipid uptake, reprogramming lipolysis, reshaping fatty acid oxidation (FAO), and reshuffling lipid composition on the cell membrane. The review concludes with a discussion of future prospects and challenges in this burgeoning field of research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"14 11","pages":"Pages 4717-4737"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141839184","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Zhenwei Su , Hamza Boucetta , Jiahui Shao , Jinling Huang , Ran Wang , Aining Shen , Wei He , Zhi Ping Xu , Lingxiao Zhang
{"title":"Next-generation aluminum adjuvants: Immunomodulatory layered double hydroxide NanoAlum reengineered from first-line drugs","authors":"Zhenwei Su , Hamza Boucetta , Jiahui Shao , Jinling Huang , Ran Wang , Aining Shen , Wei He , Zhi Ping Xu , Lingxiao Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.09.012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.apsb.2024.09.012","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Aluminum adjuvants (Alum), approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, have been extensively used in vaccines containing recombinant antigens, subunits of pathogens, or toxins for almost a century. While Alums typically elicit strong humoral immune responses, their ability to induce cellular and mucosal immunity is limited. As an alternative, layered double hydroxide (LDH), a widely used antacid, has emerged as a novel class of potent nano-aluminum adjuvants (NanoAlum), demonstrating advantageous physicochemical properties, biocompatibility and adjuvanticity in both humoral and cellular immune responses. In this review, we summarize and compare the advantages and disadvantages of Alum and NanoAlum in these properties and their performance as adjuvants. Moreover, we propose the key features for ideal adjuvants and demonstrate that LDH NanoAlum is a promising candidate by summarizing its current progress in immunotherapeutic cancer treatments. Finally, we conclude the review by offering our integrated perspectives about the remaining challenges and future directions for NanoAlum's application in preclinical/clinical settings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":6906,"journal":{"name":"Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica. B","volume":"14 11","pages":"Pages 4665-4682"},"PeriodicalIF":14.7,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142707011","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}