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J Exp Clin Cancer Res 2021 Feb 10;40(1):63. Epub 2021 Feb 10.

CNR - National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, Rome, Italy.

Background: Ferritin receptor (CD71) is an example of a very attractive cancer target, since it is highly expressed in virtually all tumor types, including metastatic loci. However, this target can be considered to be inaccessible to conventional target therapies, due to its presence in many healthy tissues. Here, we describe the preclinical evaluation of a tumor proteases-activatable human ferritin (HFt)-based drug carrier (The-0504) that is able to selectively deliver the wide-spectrum topoisomerase I inhibitor Genz-644282 to CD71-expressing tumors, preventing the limiting toxic effects associated with CD71-targeting therapies. Read More

Pharmaceutics 2020 Oct 20;12(10). Epub 2020 Oct 20.

CNR-National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, 00185 Rome, Italy.

Gastrointestinal tumors, including pancreatic and colorectal cancers, represent one of the greatest public health issues worldwide, leading to a million global deaths. Recent research demonstrated that the human heavy chain ferritin (HFt) can encapsulate different types of drugs in its cavity and can bind to its receptor, CD71, in several solid and hematological tumors, thus highlighting the potential use of ferritin for tumor-targeting therapies. Here, we describe the development and characterization of a novel nanomedicine based on the HFt that is named The-0504. Read More

FASEB J 2020 06 14;34(6):7311-7329. Epub 2020 Apr 14.

Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.

Clinical studies suggest that pregnant women with elevated iron levels are more vulnerable to develop gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), but the causes and underlying mechanisms are unknown. We hypothesized that hyperglycemia induces cellular stress responses leading to dysregulated placental iron homeostasis. Hence, we compared the expression of genes/proteins involved in iron homeostasis in placentae from GDM and healthy pregnancies (n = 11 each). Read More

Sci Rep 2020 02 17;10(1):2725. Epub 2020 Feb 17.

Center for Advanced Technology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 10, 61-614, Poznan, Poland.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) have been investigated for wide variety of applications. Their unique properties render them highly applicable as MRI contrast agents, in magnetic hyperthermia or targeted drug delivery. SPIONs surface properties affect a whole array of parameters such as: solubility, toxicity, stability, biodistribution etc. Read More

Cell Death Dis 2020 02 5;11(2):92. Epub 2020 Feb 5.

Key Laboratory Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Division of Gastrointestinal Cancer Translational Research Laboratory, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China.

H-ferritin (HFn) nanocarrier is emerging as a promising theranostic platform for tumor diagnosis and therapy, which can specifically target tumor cells via binding transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1). This led us to investigate the therapeutic function of TfR1 in GC. The clinical significance of TfR1 was assessed in 178 GC tissues by using a magneto-HFn nanoparticle-based immunohistochemistry method. Read More