The dangers of mass drug administration of albendazole in Nepal, a Neurocysticercosis-endemic region
TROPICAL DISEASES TRAVEL MEDICINE AND VACCINES
Authors: Nepal, Gaurav; Kharel, Ghanshyam; Shing, Yow Ka; Ojha, Rajeev; Jamarkattel, Sujan; Yadav, Jayant Kumar; Vyas, Himani; Poudyal, Dhiraj; Sah, Ranjit
Abstract
The majority of cases of Neurocysticercosis (NCC) are asymptomatic. Injudicious use of antihelmintics like albendazole (ALB) can cause cyst degeneration and perilesional inflammation, thus rendering asymptomatic individuals symptomatic with seizures, headache, vascular events, or cerebral edema. Mass drug administration (MDA) using ALB is a very common practice in developing countries like Nepal to contain transmission of soil-transmitted helminths (STH) and lymphatic filariasis (LF). Although the benefits of ALB-based MDA in the general population cannot be undermined, there can be severe consequences in certain groups, especially those with latent NCC. In this commentary, we discuss the effect it may have on such patients, and suggest potential solutions.
Application of a 3D Bioprinted Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Model in Antitumor Drug Research
FRONTIERS IN ONCOLOGY
Authors: Sun, Lejia; Yang, Huayu; Wang, Yanan; Zhang, Xinyu; Jin, Bao; Xie, Feihu; Jin, Yukai; Pang, Yuan; Zhao, Haitao; Lu, Xin; Sang, Xinting; Zhang, Hongbing; Lin, Feng; Sun, Wei; Huang, Pengyu; Mao, Yilei
Abstract
The existingin vitromodels for antitumor drug screening have great limitations. Many compounds that inhibit 2D cultured cells do not exhibit the same pharmacological effectsin vivo, thereby wasting human and material resources as well as time during drug development. Therefore, developing new models is critical. The 3D bioprinting technology has greater advantages in constructing human tissue compared with sandwich culture and organoid construction. Here, we used 3D bioprinting technology to construct a 3D model with HepG2 cells (3DP-HepG2). The biological activities of the model were evaluated by immunofluorescence, real-time quantitative PCR, and transcriptome sequencing. Compared with the traditional 2D cultured tumor cells (2D-HepG2), 3DP-HepG2 showed significantly improved expression of tumor-related genes, including ALB, AFP, CD133, IL-8, EpCAM, CD24, and beta-TGF genes. Transcriptome sequencing analysis revealed large differences in gene expression between 3DP-HepG2 and 2D-HepG2, especially genes related to hepatocyte function and tumor. We also compared the effects of antitumor drugs in 3DP-HepG2 and 2D-HepG2, and found that the large differences in drug resistance genes between the models may cause differences in the drugs' pharmacodynamics.
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