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For the last years scientific community has witnessed a rapid development of novel types of biomaterials, which properties made them applicable in numerous fields of medicine. Although nanosilver, well-known for its antimicrobial, anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities, as well as hyaluronic acid, a natural polysaccharide playing a vital role in the modulation of tissue repair, signal transduction, angiogenesis, cell motility and cancer metastasis, are both thoroughly described in the literature, their complexes are still a novel topic. In this review we introduce the most recent research about the synthesis, properties, and potential applications of HA-nanosilver composites. We also make an attempt to explain the variety of mechanisms involved in their action. Finally, we present biocompatible and biodegradable complexes with bactericidal activity and low cytotoxicity, which properties suggest their suitability for the prophylaxis and therapy of chronic wounds, as well as analgetic therapies, anticancer strategies and the detection of chemical substances and malignant cells. Cited studies reveal that the usage of hyaluronic acid-silver nanocomposites appears to be efficient and safe in clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reciprocal interactions between cancer cells and the quiescent fibroblasts leading to the activation of cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) serve an important role in cancer progression. Here, we investigated the activation of transcription factors (TFs) in prostate fibroblasts (WPMY cell line) co-cultured with normal prostate or tumorous cells (RWPE1 and RWPE2 cell lines, respectively). After indirect co-cultures, we performed mRNA-seq and predicted TF activity using mRNA expression profiles with the Systems EPigenomics Inference of Regulatory Activity (SEPIRA) package and the GTEx and mRNA-seq data of 483 cultured fibroblasts. The initial differential expression analysis between time points and experimental conditions showed that co-culture with normal epithelial cells mainly promotes an inflammatory response in fibroblasts, whereas with the cancerous epithelial, it stimulates transformation by changing the expression of the genes associated with microfilaments. TF activity analysis revealed only one positively regulated TF in the RWPE1 co-culture alone, while we observed dysregulation of 45 TFs (7 decreased activity and 38 increased activity) uniquely in co-culture with RWPE2. Pathway analysis showed that these 45 dysregulated TFs in fibroblasts co-cultured with RWPE2 cells may be associated with the RUNX1 and PTEN pathways. Moreover, we showed that observed dysregulation could be associated with FER1L4 expression. We conclude that phenotypic changes in fibroblast responses to co-culturing with cancer epithelium result from orchestrated dysregulation of signaling pathways that favor their transformation and motility rather than proinflammatory status. This dysregulation can be observed both at the TF and transcriptome levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The role of sulfur in prostate cancer progression may be significant for understanding the process of carcinogenesis. This work, based on X-ray Absorption Near Edge Structure (XANES) spectroscopy, is focused on determination of sulfur chemical species occurring in prostate cancer cell lines. The experimental material consisted of four commercially available cell lines: three from metastasized prostate cancer (PC3, LNCaP, and DU145) and one, used as a control, from the non-tumourigenic peripheral zone of the prostate (PZ-HPV-7). The experiment was performed at the SUL-X beamline of the synchrotron radiation source ANKA, Karlsruhe (Germany). The K-edge XANES spectra of sulfur were analyzed by deconvolution in order to establish sulfur species that occur in prostate cancer cells and to find out whether there are any differences in their content between various cell lines. Experimental spectra were fitted in two ways: with two Gaussian peaks and one arctangent step function, and additionally by a Linear Combination Fit with spectra of reference compounds in order to obtain quantitative chemical information. All fitting procedures were performed with the Athena code (Ravel and Newville, 2005) and the results of deconvolution were used to determine the fraction of each sulfur form. The results of data analysis showed that cell lines from different metastasis had different ratio of reduced to oxidized sulfur species. The LCF analysis demonstrated that the highest content of GSH, one of the most important sulfur-bearing compounds in cells, was observed in DU145 cells. These findings may confirm the hypothesis of changes in redox balance in case of cancer initiation and progression. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Currently, cancer diagnosis relies mostly on morphological examination of exfoliated, aspirated cells or surgically removed tissue. As long as standard diagnosis is concerned, this classical approach seems to be satisfactory. In the recent years, cancer progression has been shown to be accompanied by alterations in mechanical properties of cells. This offers the detection of otherwise unnoticed cancer cell disregarded by histological analysis due to insignificant manifestations. One of techniques, sensitive to changes in mechanical properties, is the atomic force microscopy, which detects cancer cells through their elastic properties. Such measurements were applied to tissue sections collected from patients suffering from various cancers. Despite of heterogeneity and complexity of cancer cell sections, the use of the Young’s modulus as an indicator of cell elasticity allow for detection of cancer cells in tissue slices. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]