Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an endogenous biologically active gas produced in mammalian tissues. It plays a very critical role in many pathophysiological processes in the body. It can be endogenously produced through many enzymes analogous to the cysteine family, while the exogenous source may involve inorganic sulfide salts. H2S has recently been well investigated with regard to the onset of various carcinogenic diseases such as lung, breast, ovaries, colon cancer, and neurodegenerative disorders. H2S is considered an oncogenic gas, and a potential therapeutic target for treating and diagnosing cancers, due to its role in mediating the development of tumorigenesis. Here in this review, an in-detail up-to-date explanation of the potential role of H2S in different malignancies has been reported. The study summarizes the synthesis of H2S, its roles, signaling routes, expressions, and H2S release in various malignancies. Considering the critical importance of this active biological molecule, we believe this review in this esteemed journal will highlight the oncogenic role of H2S in the scientific community.

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Hydrogen Sulfide Biology and Its Role in Cancer

Bacterial infection has received substantial attention and poses a serious threat to human health. Although antibiotics can effectively fight against bacterial infection, the occurrence of antibiotic resistance has become increasingly serious in recent years, which tremendously hinders its clinical application. Consequently, it is urgent to explore novel strategies to achieve efficacious treatment of bacterial diagnosis and detection. Manganese dioxide (MnO2) nanomaterial has been extensively reported in tumor therapy. Nevertheless, there are few antibacterial reviews of MnO2. Herein, we will discuss the applications of MnO2 in the detection and treatment of bacterial infection, including photodynamic therapy, immunotherapy, improvement of hypoxia, dual-modal combination therapy, reactive oxygen species scavenging, magnetic resonance imaging, optical application of acoustic imaging, and so forth. This review is expected to provide meaningful guidance on further research of MnO2 nanomaterial for antibacterial applications.

Manganese oxide nanomaterials for bacterial infection detection and therapy.

Radiotherapy (RT), including external beam RT and internal radiation therapy, uses high-energy ionizing radiation to kill tumor cells. However, ionizing radiation inevitably damages the surrounding normal tissues. Therefore, it is imperative to develop precision RT for improving the treatment outcome and reducing the adverse effects. Recent breakthroughs in nanotechnology have provided a variety of strategies by which RT can precisely and efficiently eradicate local tumors. In this review, we would like to summarize a series of nanotechnology-mediated strategies to achieve precision RT, including tumor-targeted delivery, image-guided precision radiotherapy, and exo/endogenous stimuli-responsive nanomedicines for enhanced tumor accumulation/penetration. In addition, this review will also discuss two representative featured applications of precision RT: RT-induced immunotherapy against cancer metastasis and radioprotection of the surrounding healthy tissues. Since RT is usually thought to be only effective for treating local tumors, this review will interpret the unusual mechanisms of RT-mediated systemic antitumor immunity for eliminating distant cancer metastasis as well as the abscopal effects of RT in combination with other treatments (e.g., photodynamic therapy (PDT), chemodynamic therapy (CDT), etc.). Furthermore, this review will discuss nanotechnology-mediated radioprotection strategies for shielding healthy tissues from radiation damage. Finally, the current challenges and future prospects of precision RT are also elucidated with the intention to accelerate its clinical translation.

/pdf/development-of-nanotechnology-mediated-precision-2p082ulb.pdf

Development of nanotechnology-mediated precision radiotherapy for anti-metastasis and radioprotection.

Tumor development and metastasis are intimately associated with the tumor microenvironment (TME), and it is difficult for vector-restricted drugs to act on the TME for long-term cancer immunotherapy. Virus-like particles (VLPs) are nanocage structures self-assembled from nucleic acid free viral proteins. Most VLPs range from 20–200 nm in diameter and can naturally drain into lymph nodes to induce robust humoral immunity. As natural nucleic acid nanocarriers, their surfaces can also be genetically or chemically modified to achieve functions such as TME targeting. This review focuses on the design ideas of VLP as nanocarriers and the progress of their research in regulating TME.

/pdf/virus-like-particles-for-tem-regulation-and-antitumor-c6gyrav7.pdf

Junfeng Zheng

Papers

Multifaceted roles of a bioengineered nanoreactor in repressing radiation-induced lung injury.

In Situ biomimetic Nanoformulation for metastatic cancer immunotherapy.