Dual upregulation of miRNA-143 and miRNA-506 in non-small cell lung cancer inhibits proliferation, motility, migration, and tumor growth

Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide and is primarily treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The role of microRNAs (miRs) is increasingly studied in cancer therapeutics, as miRs can regulate multiple cancer-related pathways simultaneously. While numerous miRs are individually explored for LC therapy, research on therapeutic miR combinations is limited. Our work here evaluates the stable deregulation of two miRs, miR-143-3p, and miR-506-3p, individually and in combination, to elucidate their roles upon prolonged exposure in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cell lines. Following stable transductions using lentiviruses in A549 and H1975 cells, we evaluated cell cycle distribution, proliferation, migration, and in vivo tumor growth. Sustained combined upregulation of miR-143-3p and miR-506-3p demonstrated a miR-expression dependent response, with advantageous responses for regulating tumor progression. The dual miR upregulation increased the G2 phase cell population and decreased cell proliferation, motility, migration, and colony formation. Furthermore, the dual upregulation significantly inhibited tumor growth in vivo compared to the respective dual downregulation, in contrast to the individual miR deregulations. Our study highlights the advantages of investigating combinatorial miRs for cancer treatment, particularly miR-143/506 against LC

A Media Analysis of Changes in International Human Trafficking Routes from Nepal

This study examined the media portrayal of different actors involved in human trafficking from Nepal to understand the reported changes in international routes of human trafficking from Nepal after 2015. The findings of the study are based on content analysis of 480 news articles published in six national newspapers in Nepal in a five-year period from 2016 to 2020, along with existing literature and interviews with newspaper reporters and editors.</jats:p

The Synthesis of BODIPY-TKI Conjugates and Investigation of Their Ability to Target the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor

A near-IR BODIPY was covalently conjugated via its isothiocyanate groups to one or two Erlotinib molecules, a known tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), via triethylene glycol spacers, to produce two novel BODIPY-monoTKI and BODIPY-diTKI conjugates. The ability of these conjugates to target the intracellular domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was investigated using molecular modeling, surface plasma resonance (SPR), EGFR kinase binding assay, time-dependent cellular uptake, and fluorescence microscopy. While both the BODIPY-monoTKI and the BODIPY-diTKI conjugates were shown to bind to the EGFR kinase by SPR and accumulated more efficiently within human HEp2 cells that over-express EGFR than BODIPY alone, only the BODIPY-monoTKI exhibited kinase inhibition activity. This is due to the high hydrophobic character and aggregation behavior of the BODIPY-diTKI in aqueous solutions, as shown by fluorescence quenching. Furthermore, the competition of the two Erlotinibs in the diTKI conjugate for the active site of the kinase, as suggested by computational modeling, might lead to a decrease in binding relative to the monoTKI conjugate. Nevertheless, the efficient cellular uptake and intracellular localization of both conjugates with no observed cytotoxicity suggest that both could be used as near-IR fluorescent markers for cells that over-express EGFR