CHIWEN BU^1,2, LIGANG ZHAO¹, LISHAN WANG¹, ZEQIAN YU¹, JIAHUA ZHOU^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.4, pp. 495-503, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.029309

Abstract Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive cancers with a median survival time of less than 5 months, and conventional chemotherapeutics are the main treatment strategy. Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors have been recently approved for BRCA1/2-mutant pancreatic cancer, opening a new era for targeted therapy for this disease. However, most pancreatic cancer patients carry wild-type BRCA1/2 with resistance to PARP inhibitors. Here, we reported that mammalian target of rapamycin complex 2 (mTORC2) kinase is overexpressed in pancreatic cancer tissues and promotes pancreatic cancer cell growth and invasion. Moreover, we found that knockdown of the mTORC2 obligate subunit Rictor sensitized… More > Graphic Abstract

DHANYA K. NAMBIAR¹, DEEPALI MISHRA², RANA P. SINGH^2,3,*

Oncology Research, Vol.31, No.4, pp. 405-421, 2023, DOI:10.32604/or.2023.028310

Abstract Ionizing radiation is frequently used to treat solid tumors, as it causes DNA damage and kill cancer cells. However, damaged DNA is repaired involving poly-(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) causing resistance to radiation therapy. Thus, PARP-1 represents an important target in multiple cancer types, including prostate cancer. PARP is a nuclear enzyme essential for single-strand DNA breaks repair. Inhibiting PARP-1 is lethal in a wide range of cancer cells that lack the homologous recombination repair (HR) pathway. This article provides a concise and simplified overview of the development of PARP inhibitors in the laboratory and their clinical applications. We focused on the… More > Graphic Abstract

XINGBO WU, DAN PAN, SHOUYI TANG, YINGQIANG SHEN^*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.7, pp. 1459-1472, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028790

Abstract The term “undruggable” is to describe molecules that are not targetable or at least hard to target pharmacologically. Unfortunately, some targets with potent oncogenic activity fall into this category, and currently little is known about how to solve this problem, which largely hampered drug research on human cancers. Ras, as one of the most common oncogenes, was previously considered “undruggable”, but in recent years, a few small molecules like Sotorasib (AMG-510) have emerged and proved their targeted anti-cancer effects. Further, myc, as one of the most studied oncogenes, and tp53, being the most common tumor suppressor genes, are both considered… More >

KAIMIN FAN, JUNWEI WENG^*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.6, pp. 1199-1211, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.028516

Abstract Immunotherapy targets the dysfunctional immune system to induce cancer cell killing by CD8-positive T cells. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), specifically anti-PD-1 antibodies, anti-PD-L1 antibodies, and anti-CTLA4 antibodies, have revolutionized the management of many malignancies due to their significant role in generating a durable clinical response. However, clinical data suggest that response rates to ICI monotherapy are low due to the immunologically silent characteristics of breast cancer (BC). Chemotherapy, surgery, radiotherapy, and targeted therapy were recently reported to alter the tumor microenvironment and enhance the ICI response. Some clinical studies supported that ICIs, in combination with other treatment strategies, show superior… More >

Xuyang Yao^1,*, Kecheng Liu¹, Zenan Zhou¹, Jun Zhou¹, Xianbin Huang², Tiemei Lu¹, Yongsheng Yu¹, He Li²

FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.19, No.7, pp. 1775-1787, 2023, DOI:10.32604/fdmp.2023.025843

Abstract Water-based drilling fluids can cause hydration of the wellbore rocks, thereby leading to instability. This study aimed to synthesize a hydrophobic small-molecule polymer (HLMP) as an inhibitor to suppress mud shale hydration. An infrared spectral method and a thermogravimetric technique were used to characterize the chemical composition of the HLMP and evaluate its heat stability. Experiments were conducted to measure the linear swelling, rolling recovery rate, and bentonite inhibition rate and evaluate accordingly the inhibition performance of the HLMP. Moreover, the HLMP was characterized through measurements of the zeta potential, particle size distribution, contact angles, and interlayer space testing. As… More > Graphic Abstract

SUCHITRA NISHAL¹, VIKAS JHAWAT^1,*, SUMEET GUPTA², PARMITA PHAUGAT¹

Oncology Research, Vol.30, No.5, pp. 221-230, 2022, DOI:10.32604/or.2022.027549

Abstract Kinase inhibitors are a significant and continuously developing division of target therapeutics. The drug discovery and improvement efforts have examined numerous attempts to target the signaling pathway of kinases. The Kinase inhibitors have been heralded as a game-changer in cancer treatment. For developing kinase inhibitors as a treatment for various non-malignant disorders like auto-immune diseases, is currently undergoing extensive research. It may be beneficial to investigate whether cell-specific kinase inhibitor administration enhances therapeutic efficacy and decreases adverse effects. The goal of the current review is to gain insight into the role of kinase inhibitors in facilitating effective target drug delivery… More >

ASPASIA MANTA¹, SPYRIDON KAZANAS², STEFANOS KARAMAROUDIS³, HELEN GOGAS², DIMITRIOS C. ZIOGAS^2,*

Oncology Research, Vol.30, No.5, pp. 211-219, 2022, DOI:10.32604/or.2022.026913

Abstract Epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation and histone modifications (e.g., acetylation and deacetylation), are strongly implicated in the carcinogenesis of various malignancies. During transcription, the expression and functionality of coding gene products are altered following the histone acetylation and deacetylation. These processes are regulated by histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs), respectively. HDAC inhibitors (HDACis) have been developed as promising therapeutic agents, to limit exposure to traditional and toxic chemotherapies and offer more alternatives for some specific malignant diseases with limited options. Mechanistically, these agents affect many intracellular pathways, including cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and differentiation, and their mechanism… More >

AHMED M. ELSHAZLY^1,2, TUONG VI V. NGUYEN¹, DAVID A. GEWIRTZ^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.30, No.1, pp. 1-12, 2022, DOI:10.32604/or.2022.026459

Abstract PARP inhibitors have proven to be effective in conjunction with conventional therapeutics in the treatment of various solid as well as hematologic malignancies, particularly when the tumors are deficient in DNA repair pathways. However, as the case with other chemotherapeutic agents, their effectiveness is often compromised by the development of resistance. PARP inhibitors have consistently been reported to promote autophagy, a process that maintains cellular homeostasis and acts as an energy source by the degradation and reutilization of damaged subcellular organelles and proteins. Autophagy can exhibit different functional properties, the most prominent being cytoprotective. In addition, both cytotoxic and non-protective… More >

QIANG WANG^#, GUO ZHAO^#, LONGXIANG XIE^#, XUAN LI, XIXI YU, QIONGSHAN LI, BAOPING ZHENG, ZULIPINUER WUSIMAN, XIANGQIAN GUO^*

BIOCELL, Vol.47, No.2, pp. 367-371, 2023, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2023.025310

Abstract Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pathogen of the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. Here, by centralizing published cell-based experiments, clinical trials, and virtual drug screening data from the NCBI PubMed database, we developed a database of SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors for COVID-19, dbSCI, which includes 234 SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors collected from publications based on cell-based experiments, 81 drugs of COVID-19 in clinical trials and 1305 potential SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors from bioinformatics analyses. dbSCI provides four major functions: (1) search the drug target or its inhibitor for SARS-CoV-2, (2) browse target/inhibitor information collected from cell experiments, clinical trials, and… More >

MOTAWA E. EL-HOUSEINI¹, MOSTAFA S. ARAFAT², AHMED M. EL-HUSSEINY³, ISLAM M. KASEM², MAHMOUD M. KAMEL⁴, AHMED H. EL-HABASHY⁵, MEDHAT M. KHAFAGY⁶, ENAS M. RADWAN⁴, MAHA H. HELAL⁷, MONA S. ABDELLATEIF^1,*

Oncology Research, Vol.29, No.5, pp. 319-329, 2021, DOI:10.32604/or.2022.025249

Abstract Immunotherapy becomes a promising line of treatment for breast cancer (BC) however, its success rate is still limited. Methods: The study was designed to optimize the condition for producing an effective dendritic cell (DCs) based immunotherapy by using DCs and T lymphocytes together with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and tumor-infiltrating DCs (TIDCs), treated with anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA4 monoclonal antibodies. This mixture of immune cells was co-cultured with autologous breast cancer cells (BCCs) isolated from 26 BC females. Results: There was a significant upregulation of CD86 and CD83 on DCs (P = 0.001 and 0.017, respectively), similarly upregulation of CD8, CD4 and… More >