Thrombin-derived peptides potentiate the activity of Gram-positive-specific antibiotics against Gram-negative bacteria

Microbial Biotechnolog

Detection and localization of early- and late-stage cancers using platelet RNA

Cancer patients benefit from early tumor detection since treatment outcomes are more favorable for less advanced cancers. Platelets are involved in cancer progression and are considered a promising biosource for cancer detection, as they alter their RNA content upon local and systemic cues. We show that tumor-educated platelet (TEP) RNA-based blood tests enable the detection of 18 cancer types. With 99% specificity in asymptomatic controls, thromboSeq correctly detected the presence of cancer in two-thirds of 1,096 blood samples from stage I–IV cancer patients and in half of 352 stage I–III tumors. Symptomatic controls, including inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases, and benign tumors had increased false-positive test results with an average specificity of 78%. Moreover, thromboSeq determined the tumor site of origin in five different tumor types correctly in over 80% of the cancer patients. These results highlight the potential properties of TEP-derived RNA panels to supplement current approaches for blood-based cancer screening

Disulfide-containing poly(β-amino ester)s for gene delivery

A group of new disulfide-containing poly(β-amino ester)s was synthesized and evaluated as non-viral gene delivery vectors. These linear polymers were obtained by Michael addition of a number of selected amines to bis(2-acryloyloxyethyl) disulfide. It was shown that the disulfide-containing poly(β-amino ester)s can condense plasmid DNA into nanoscaled and positively charged polyplexes, which could be rapidly destabilized in an intracellular reductive environment. Polyplexes of the polymer of histamine and bis(2-acryloyloxyethyl) disulfide show efficient transfection of COS-7 cells along with a relatively low cytotoxicity

Disulfide-containing poly(Beta-amino ester)s for gene delivery

A group of new disulfide-containing poly(β-amino ester)s was synthesized and evaluated as non-viral gene delivery vectors. These linear polymers were obtained by Michael addition of a number of selected amines to bis(2-acryloyloxyethyl) disulfide. It was shown that the disulfide-containing poly(β-amino ester)s can condense plasmid DNA into nanoscaled and positively charged polyplexes, which could be rapidly destabilized in an intracellular reductive environment. Polyplexes of the polymer of histamine and bis(2-acryloyloxyethyl) disulfide show efficient transfection of COS-7 cells along with a relatively low cytotoxicity