Combination of Dll4/Notch and Ephrin-B2/EphB4 targeted therapy is highly effective in disrupting tumor angiogenesis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dll4/Notch and Ephrin-B2/EphB4 pathways play critical roles in tumor vessel development and maturation. This study evaluates the efficacy of the inhibition of both signaling pathways, alone and in combination, in reducing the growth of an autochthonous mouse tumor and assesses potential adverse effects.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used the transgenic RIP1-Tag2 tumor model to study the effects of 1) inhibition of Dll4/Notch by either <it>Dll4 </it>allelic deletion or use of a soluble extracellular Dll4 (sDll4), 2) inhibition of Ephrin-B2/EphB4 signaling by a soluble extracellular EphB4 fused to albumin (sEphB4-Alb), and 3) inhibition of both pathways by sEphB4-Alb combined with either <it>Dll4 </it>allelic deletion or sDll4. To investigate adverse effects, we used inducible endothelial-specific <it>Dll4 </it>knock-out mice, treated with sEphB4-Alb, and carried out histopathological analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>Dll4 </it>allele deletion or soluble Dll4 treatment resulted in increased tumor vessel density, reduced mural cell recruitment and vessel perfusion which resulted in reduced tumor size. The soluble EphB4 instead reduced vessel density and vessel perfusion, leading to reduction of tumor size. Greater efficacy was observed when sEphB4-Alb was combined with either <it>Dll4 </it>allele deletion or sDll4 in regards to tumor size, vessel perfusion and mural cell recruitment. Induced endothelial specific <it>Dll4 </it>loss-of-function caused hepatic vascular alterations, which were prevented by concomitant sEphB4-Alb treatment.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Combination targeting of Dll4/Notch and Ephrin-B2/EphB4 has potential for clinical investigation, providing cumulative efficacy and increased safety over Dll4/Notch inhibition alone.</p

The trans-ancestral genomic architecture of glycemic traits

Glycemic traits are used to diagnose and monitor type 2 diabetes and cardiometabolic health. To date, most genetic studies of glycemic traits have focused on individuals of European ancestry. Here we aggregated genome-wide association studies comprising up to 281,416 individuals without diabetes (30% non-European ancestry) for whom fasting glucose, 2-h glucose after an oral glucose challenge, glycated hemoglobin and fasting insulin data were available. Trans-ancestry and single-ancestry meta-analyses identified 242 loci (99 novel; P < 5 x 10(-8)), 80% of which had no significant evidence of between-ancestry heterogeneity. Analyses restricted to individuals of European ancestry with equivalent sample size would have led to 24 fewer new loci. Compared with single-ancestry analyses, equivalent-sized trans-ancestry fine-mapping reduced the number of estimated variants in 99% credible sets by a median of 37.5%. Genomic-feature, gene-expression and gene-set analyses revealed distinct biological signatures for each trait, highlighting different underlying biological pathways. Our results increase our understanding of diabetes pathophysiology by using trans-ancestry studies for improved power and resolution. A trans-ancestry meta-analysis of GWAS of glycemic traits in up to 281,416 individuals identifies 99 novel loci, of which one quarter was found due to the multi-ancestry approach, which also improves fine-mapping of credible variant sets.Peer reviewe

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

PDMS based microfluidic chips and their application in material synthesis

Microfluidics is a highly interdisciplinary science which is to deal with the behavior, control and manipulation of fluids that are constrained to sub-milimeter scale. It incorporates the knowledge and technique intersecting physics, chemistry, mechanics, nanoscience and biotechnology, with practical applications to the design of systems in which small volumes of fluids will be used In this thesis, we started our research from GER fluid synthesis which then is applied to designing different functions of microfluidic devices, valve, pump, and mixer. We built a way to correlate mechanical signal with electric signal by soft matter. The mechanical devices based GER fluid had good operating stability and mechanical performance. We studied how to improve the performance of GER fluid by increasing the yield stress while avoiding the sendimentation of nanoparticles in GER suspension. The meaning of this work is to enhance the stability and mechanical strength of GER fluid when it is applyed to the microfluidc channels. We tried different oils and studied the particle size for the GER effect. The largest yield stress which amounts to 300 kPa is achievable compared to previous GER fluid with 100 kPa. Microfluidic reactor, directing the flow of microliter volumes along microscale channels, offers the advantages of precise control of reagent loading, fast mixing and an enhanced reaction rate, cessation of the reaction at specific stages, and more. Basically, there are two microfluidic flow regimes, continuous flow and segmented flow (suspended droplets, channel-spanning slug, and wall-wetting films). Both flow regimes offer chemical reaction applications, e.g., continuous flow formation of polymer nanospheres and inorganic nanoparticles, size- and shape-control synthesis by segmented flow, and precipitate-forming reactions in droplets, wherein the segmented flow has gained more popularity in that area. The compartmentalization of segmented flow offers advantages to chemical reactions. Here, we report the microfluidic fabrication of magnetically responsive microsphere, macroporous polymer microspheres and hollow titania microspheres. To prepare magnetically responsive microsphere, we introduced magnetic particles into liquid shell and drug into liquid core. After cross-linking reaction of the shell, we studied the magnetic contraction and extention behavior which induced the drug release efficiency. To prepare porous polymer, the H2O2 solution was encapsulated in polymer precursor, after which we investigated its decomposition under UV irradiation, which simultaneously induces the polymerization of the encapsulating shell. Because the H2O2 decomposition leads to the release of oxygen, porous microspheres were obtained from a combined H2O2-decomposition/polymer precursor polymerization reaction. To prepare hollow titanium gel microspheres, water droplets were first formed by the flow focusing geometry in microfluidic chip and used as a soft template. Then hydrolysis and gelation of titanium alkoxide on the droplet’s surface were induced in following serpentine channels, controlled by interface water diffusion. The water diffusion process can be controlled by the amount of the “dewetting” reagent butanol, by which the surface morphology of the titania microspheres can be tuned

Microfluidic Fabrication of Porous Polymer Microspheres: Dual Reactions in Single Droplets

We report the microfluidic fabrication of macroporous polymer microspheres via the simultaneous reactions within single droplets, induced by UV irradiation. The aqueous phase of the reaction is the decomposition of H2O2 to yield oxygen, whereas the organic phase is the polymerization of NOA 61, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), and tri(propylene glycol) diacrylate (TPGDA) precursors. We first used a liquid polymer precursor to encapsulate a multiple number of magnetic Fe3O4 colloidal suspension (MCS) droplets in a core-shell structure, for the purpose of studying the number of such encapsulated droplets that can be reliably controlled through the variation of flow rates. It was found that the formation of one shell with one, two, three, or more encapsulated droplets is possible. Subsequently, the H2O2 solution was encapsulated in the same way, after which we investigated its decomposition under UV irradiation, which simultaneously induces the polymerization of the encapsulating shell. Because the H2O2 decomposition leads to the release of oxygen, porous microspheres were obtained from a combined H2O2 decomposition/polymer precursor polymerization reaction. The multiplicity of the initially encapsulated H2O2 droplets ensures the homogeneous distribution of the pores. The pores inside the micrometer-sized spheres range from several micrometers to tens of micrometers, and the maximum internal void volume fraction can attain 70\%, similar to that of high polymerized high internal phase emulsion (polyHIPE)

Copolymer solution-based "smart window"

The authors report the design of a prototype smart window based on the phenomenon of the thermally induced aggregation of triblock copolymer poly (ethyleneoxide)-poly (propylene oxide)-poly (ethylene oxide) (EPE). Fluorescein isothiocyanate was used to label EPE and study aggregation phenomenon at different temperatures. The cloud point could be tuned by mixing EPE with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and varying the concentration of the latter. The light transmittance at different temperatures was studied as a function of SDS concentration. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3276289

Design and fabrication of magnetically functionalised core/shell microspheres for smart drug delivery

The fabrication of magnetically functionalized core/shell microspheres by using the microfluidic flow-focusing (MFF) approach is reported. The shell of each microsphere is embedded with magnetic nanoparticles, thereby enabling the microspheres to deform under an applied magnetic field. By encapsulating a drug, for example, aspirin, inside the microspheres, the drug release of the microspheres is enhanced under the compression–extension oscillations that are induced by an AC magnetic field. This active pumping mode of drug release can be controlled by varying the frequency and magnitude of the applied magnetic field as well as the time profile of the magnetic field. UV absorption measurements of cumulative aspirin release are carried out to determine the influence of these factors. The drug release behavior is found to be significantly different depending on whether the applied field varies sinusoidally or in a step-function manner with time