Oral pyroptosis nanoinhibitor for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)is an autoimmune gastrointestinal disease characterized by chronic relapsing inflammation of the intestine.Excessive pyroptosis that exists in the inflamed intestine can activate damage signals and aggravate local inflammation in IBD.Here,we designed an oral pyroptosis nanoinhibitor,DXMS@CuM@PPADT@PSS(DCMP),which can target intestinal lesions,and respond to reactive oxygen species(ROS)to release active sites and drugs at the lesion.DCMP can inhibit the activation of the nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat family pyrin domain containing 3(NLRP3)inflammasomes by scavenging ROS,resulting in the down-regulation of gasdermin D(GSDMD)cleavage thus inhibiting pyroptosis.It also improved intestinal barrier function,decreased inflammatory cytokine levels,and increased the diversity of gut microbiota in mice with colitis.This work is believed to expand the biomedical application of nanomaterials for innate immunity modulation.

Emerging trends in organ-on-a-chip systems for drug screening

New drug discovery is under growing pressure to satisfy the demand from a wide range of domains, especially from the pharmaceutical industry and healthcare services. Assessment of drug efficacy and safety prior to human clinical trials is a crucial part of drug development, which deserves greater emphasis to reduce the cost and time in drug discovery. Recent advances in microfabrication and tissue engineering have given rise to organ-on-a-chip, an in vitro model capable of recapitulating human organ functions in vivo and providing insight into disease pathophysiology, which offers a potential alternative to animal models for more efficient pre-clinical screening of drug candidates. In this review, we first give a snapshot of general considerations for organ-on-a-chip device design. Then, we comprehensively review the recent advances in organ-on-a-chip for drug screening. Finally, we summarize some key challenges of the progress in this field and discuss future prospects of organ-on-a-chip development. Overall,this review highlights the new avenue that organ-on-a-chip opens for drug development, therapeutic innovation, and precision medicine.