Nanotechnology is the understanding and control of matter generally in the 1-100 nm dimension range. The application of nanotechnology to medicine, known as nanomedicine, concerns the use of precisely engineered materials at this length scale to develop novel therapeutic and diagnostic modalities. Nanomaterials have unique physicochemical properties, such as ultra small size, large surface area to mass ratio, and high reactivity, which are different from bulk materials of the same composition. These properties can be used to overcome some of the limitations found in traditional therapeutic and diagnostic agents.

Nanoparticles in Medicine: Therapeutic Applications and Developments

Methods are provided for inhibiting stenosis following vascular trauma or disease in a mammalian host, comprising administering to the host a therapeutically effective dosage of a therapeutic conjugate containing a vascular smooth muscle binding protein that associates in a specific manner with a cell surface of the vascular smooth muscle cell, coupled to a therapeutic agent dosage form that inhibits a cellular activity of the muscle cell. Methods are also provided for the direct and/or targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to vascular smooth muscle cells that cause a dilation and fixation of the vascular lumen by inhibiting smooth muscle cell contraction, thereby constituting a biological stent.

Therapeutic inhibitor of vascular smooth muscle cells

Importance of the field: Metal oxide nanoparticles, including zinc oxide, are versatile platforms for biomedical applications and therapeutic intervention. There is an urgent need to develop new classes of anticancer agents, and recent studies demonstrate that ZnO nanomaterials hold considerable promise.Areas covered in this review: This review analyzes the biomedical applications of metal oxide and ZnO nanomaterials under development at the experimental, preclinical and clinical levels. A discussion regarding the advantages, approaches and limitations surrounding the use of metal oxide nanoparticles for cancer applications and drug delivery is presented. The scope of this article is focused on ZnO, and other metal oxide nanomaterial systems, and their proposed mechanisms of cytotoxic action, as well as current approaches to improve their targeting and cytotoxicity against cancer cells.What the reader will gain: This review aims to give an overview of ZnO nanomaterials in biomedical applications.Take home...

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Zinc oxide nanoparticles for selective destruction of tumor cells and potential for drug delivery applications.

https://instruct.uwo.ca/biology/410g/Images/peter.pdf

Nutrient-Sensitive Mitochondrial NAD+ Levels Dictate Cell Survival

Nanotechnology refers to the interactions of cellular and molecular components and engineered materials-typically, clusters of atoms, molecules, and molecular fragments into incredibly small particles-between 1 and 100 nm. Nanometer-sized particles have novel optical, electronic, and structural properties that are not available either in individual molecules or bulk solids. The concept of nanoscale devices has led to the development of biodegradable self-assembled nanoparticles, which are being engineered for the targeted delivery of anticancer drugs and imaging contrast agents. Nanoconstructs such as these should serve as customizable, targeted drug delivery vehicles capable of ferrying large doses of chemotherapeutic agents or therapeutic genes into malignant cells while sparing healthy cells. Such "smart" multifunctional nanodevices hold out the possibility of radically changing the practice of oncology, allowing easy detection and then followed by effective targeted therapeutics at the earliest stages of the disease. In this article, we briefly discuss the use of bioconjugated nanoparticles for the delivery and targeting of anticancer drugs.

https://mct.aacrjournals.org/content/molcanther/5/8/1909.full.pdf

Nanotechnology in cancer therapeutics: bioconjugated nanoparticles for drug delivery

To avoid systemic toxicity of the cytotoxic drug methotrexate (MTX) and to improve tumor selectivity, MTX was bound to human serum albumin (HSA) as a drug carrier. To understand more about the mechanism of action of MTX conjugated to HSA (MTX-HSA), the uptake of MTX-HSA into the cell was determined as well as the effect of MTX-HSA on thymidylate synthase (TS), cell cycle distribution, and cell proliferation. Different uptake kinetics were observed for [(3)H]MTX and [(3)H]MTX-HSA. However, similar uptake kinetics were measured for (125)I-HSA and (125)I-MTX-HSA (2.1 and 1.8 pmol/10(7) cells/h when cells were treated with 10 micro M (125)I-HSA and (125)I-MTX-HSA, respectively), suggesting that MTX-HSA enters the cells by albumin-mediated endocytosis. We observed no effect of MTX-HSA on TS when folate receptor-expressing KB cells were treated for 4 h (IC(50), >50 micro M). However, 24 h after incubation, MTX-HSA inhibited TS with an IC(50) of 6.9 micro M. In addition, we found that MTX-HSA had a delayed effect on the cell cycle compared with MTX and that this effect could be inhibited with the lysosomal inhibitor methylamine, suggesting that MTX-HSA activity is dependent on lysosomal processes. The proliferation of different wild-type and MTX-resistant tumor cell lines was inhibited at IC(50) concentrations between 2 and 78 micro M, respectively. MTX-HSA accumulates in vivo in the tumor tissue. Local concentrations of 18-29 micro M were measured, which are effective antiproliferative concentrations as determined in vitro. We also investigated the antitumor activity of MTX-HSA in vivo in different human tumor xenografts grown s.c. in nude mice. Fourteen tumors from eight different tissues were tested. Nine of 14 tumors (64%) showed a clear response with tumor inhibition, stasis, or regression; 5 of 14 (36%) gave a moderate response with tumor growth delay or no response. In conclusion, MTX-HSA is effectively taken up by the cells via albumin receptor- or folate receptor-mediated endocytosis and time-dependently released as an active compound into the cytosol to exert an inhibiting effect on TS and to induce cell cycle alterations. In vivo, effective concentrations of MTX-HSA were reached in tumor tissue to exhibit antitumor activity.

https://clincancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/clincanres/9/5/1917.full.pdf

In vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of methotrexate conjugated to human serum albumin in human cancer cells

FK866/K22.175 (FK-866), developed as an anticancer agent, interferes with the NAD+ biosynthesis and therefore might have characteristics distinct from conventional chemotherapeutic agents. We investigated FK-866 in a murine renal cell carcinoma model (RENCA) to assess its antitumor, antimetastatic and antiangiogenic potency. FK-866 was administered twice daily on days 10 to 15 after intrarenal inoculation of RENCA cells in syngenic Balb/c mice at oral doses of 6, 10, 14 and 18 mg/kg to define the optimal dose related to toxicity. For efficacy studies, FK-866 was administered orally twice daily at doses of 6 and 10 mg/kg or twice daily at doses of 3 and 5 mg/kg on days 14 to 19 after tumor cell inoculation. Animals in the positive control group received 30 mg/kg TNP 470 subcutaneously on every other day beginning on day 1. On day 17, all animals were examined for blood flow in the left renal artery by color Doppler imaging (CDI). The animals were sacrificed on day 21 and analyzed for primary tumor weight and volume, number of metastases to the lung and abdominal lymph nodes and vessel density in tumor tissues. Doses of up to 6 mg/kg FK-866 were less toxic than treatment with TNP-470. Significant antitumor efficacy was observed for doses of > or = 10 mg/kg FK-866 only. In contrast, a significant decrease of vessel density in tumor tissues by up to 70% could be detected for all dose groups. Changes in blood flow in the tumor feeding renal artery could not be detected because of the profound strong tumor reduction. FK-866 has antitumoral and antimetastatic activity in RENCA mice. Furthermore, this is the first report to describe a strong antiangiogenic potency of FK-866.

Antiangiogenic potency of FK866/K22.175, a new inhibitor of intracellular NAD biosynthesis, in murine renal cell carcinoma.

Polyethylene glycol conjugates of methotrexate varying in their molecular weight from MW 750 to MW 40000: synthesis, characterization, and structure-activity relationships in vitro and in vivo

We recently developed a class of novel antitumor agents that elicit a potent growth-inhibitory response in many tumor cells cultured in vitro. WK175, a member of this class, was chosen as a model compound that showed strong in vitro efficacy. WK175 interferes with the intracellular steady-state level of NAD(+), resulting in a decreased cellular NAD(+) concentration. We found that WK175 induces apoptotic cell death without any DNA-damaging effect. The apoptotic death signaling pathway initiated by WK175 was examined in detail: mitochondrial membrane potential, cytochrome c release, caspase 3 activation, caspase 3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage, and the appearance of a sub-G(1) cell cycle population were determined in time course studies in THP-1 (a human monocytic leukemia cell line) cells. We found activation of this cascade after 24 h of treatment with 10 nM WK175. Induction of apoptosis was prevented by bongkrekic acid, Z-Asp-Glu-Val-Asp-fluoromethylketone, and Z-Leu-Glu-His-Asp-fluoromethylketone, inhibitors of the mitochondrial permeability transition and of caspase 3 and 9, respectively, but not by Ac-Tyr-Val-Ala-Asp-CHO, a specific caspase 1 inhibitor, suggesting the involvement of the permeability transition pore, caspase 3, and caspase 9 in the WK175-induced apoptotic cascade. These results imply that decreased NAD(+) concentration initiates the apoptotic cascade, resulting in the antitumor effect of WK175.

https://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/canres/62/4/1057.full.pdf

WK175, a Novel Antitumor Agent, Decreases the Intracellular Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Concentration and Induces the Apoptotic Cascade in Human Leukemia Cells

Roland Löser

Papers

In vitro and in vivo antitumor activity of methotrexate conjugated to human serum albumin in human cancer cells

Antiangiogenic potency of FK866/K22.175, a new inhibitor of intracellular NAD biosynthesis, in murine renal cell carcinoma.

Polyethylene glycol conjugates of methotrexate varying in their molecular weight from MW 750 to MW 40000: synthesis, characterization, and structure-activity relationships in vitro and in vivo

WK175, a Novel Antitumor Agent, Decreases the Intracellular Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Concentration and Induces the Apoptotic Cascade in Human Leukemia Cells

Preclinical data for Droloxifene