Personalized Medicine Journal
Volume:9 Issue: 32, Winter 2024

Recent research has pinpointed cancer as the primary cause of death on a global scale. Various traditional medications and cytotoxic immunotherapies have been established and are now accessible on the market. Given the intricate nature of tumor activity and the multitude of genetic and cellular elements implicated in the development and spread of cancers, it is imperative to create a highly effective immunotherapy that can specifically target tumors at both the cellular and genetic levels. In the clinical context, cancer immunotherapy is growing more and more significant, particularly for tumors that are resistant to traditional chemotherapy and targeted treatments. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy is a new method of modifying T cells taken from a patient's blood in a laboratory setting. These modified T cells are created to express artificial receptors that specifically target a particular tumor antigen. These specifically recognize the tumor antigen without the participation of the major histocompatibility complex. The use of CAR therapy has the promise of providing a prompt and more secure treatment regimen for both non-solid and solid malignancies. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the benefits and progress made in CAR immunotherapy.

Chancroid is an STI characterized by the Gram-negative bacteria Haemophilus ducreyi. Controlling chancroid is challenging, and the primary treatment accessible is antimicrobial therapy. However, drug resistance has been seen in places where the disease is common. Due to recent global outbreaks of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), it is crucial to continue researchi ng innovative treatment options and prevention measures. We used reverse vaccinology and subtraction genomic methods to determine potential vaccination and therapeutic targets against H. ducreyi in silico. We found 56 Secreted proteins, with 159 membrane molecules and 515 cytoplasmic proteins. We assessed their need, operation, and ability to cause disease. We identified 6 potential vaccination targets and three pharmacological targets inside pathogenicity islands. The discovered targets may be utilized in future initiatives to manage chancroid globally.

Oxidative stress is one of the main factors has been implicated in pathophysiology of cataracts. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) can prepare the first line of defense versus detrimental reactive oxygen species (ROS) and Sirtuin (SIRT) confers protection against oxidative stress and retinal degeneration. Correlation of SOD1-50bp ins/del and SIRT1-rs7895833 polymorphisms with risk of cataracts is not studied currently. Therefore, we aimed to explore possible relationship between SOD1 (50bp ins/del) and SIRT1 (rs7895833) polymorphisms with the risk of cataracts in Iranian population.  Our study design consisted of 200 patients with age-related cataracts and 200 healthy individuals as a control group. After DNA extraction, the identification of polymorphisms was conducted using PCR-based methods and data analysis was done by SPSS software.  A significant difference in SOD1 DD genotype distribution was observed between studied groups (OR: 3.42, P:0.037), the D allele was more frequent in patients in comparison with controls (OR: 1.68, P:0.009). Also, in the dominant genetic model for the D allele (comparison between ID+DD vs. II), ID+DD genotypes increased the risk of cataracts (OR: 1.62, P: 034). The association between SIRT1-rs7895833 polymorphism and cataract was significant in the AG genotype (OR: 2.37, P<0.001) and G allele (OR: 1.97, P<0.001). The SIRT1-1 polymorphism increased the risk of cataracts in the dominant tested inheritance model (OR: 2.34, P<0.001). In the combined analysis of two polymorphisms, there is an additive effect of the high-risk putative alleles about the risk of cataracts. Risk estimation according to the number of high-risk alleles showed that χ2 for linear trend for 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 putative high-risk alleles is equal to 20.10 (P<0.001).  The results showed that for the first time, SIRT1 rs7895833 and SOD1-50bp ins/del gene variations had additive effects on the risk of cataracts.

Variability in medication reactions and illness susceptibility among individuals is often seen in clinical settings. Personalized medicine is now highly esteemed for its focus on prescribing the appropriate medication to each patient. Metabolomics is a developing field that thoroughly assesses all metabolite and low-molecular-weight compounds in a biological sample. Metabolic profiling offers a quick overview of a cell's physiology, making the technique a direct indicator of an organism's physiological condition. Quantifiable correlations exist between the metabolome and other cellular components such as the genome, transcriptome, proteome, and lipidome. These correlations can be utilized to forecast metabolite levels in biological samples based on mRNA levels. One of the key problems in systems biology is to incorporate metabolomics with other -omics data to enhance comprehension of cellular biology. Metabolomics is used to assess the effectiveness of clinical substances by analyzing the metabolic characteristics of patients before treatment to predict their responses (pharmacometabolomic) and to identify individuals at risk of developing diseases (patient stratification). The rapid progress in metabolomics technique highlights its significant potential for use in customized treatment. We reviewed the unique benefits of metabolomics, including instances in assessing medication treatment and individual stratification, and emphasized metabolomics' promise in personalized medicine.

Drug resistance in cancer is a major challenge to properly treating malignancy. Therapies aimed at proteins involved in cancer development may become less effective due to acquired resistance to medications, often resulting from mutations as well as heightened expression of the targeted proteins. Posttranslational modifications (PTMs) like as phosphorylation, methylation, ubiquitination, and acetylation are crucial for regulating protein expression levels. PROTACs are engineered to selectively degrade a specific protein of interest (POI) by ubiquitination, resulting in a regulated decrease in the POI’s expression. PROTACs show great potential in targeting hitherto untargetable proteins, such as various transcription factors. PROTACs enhance antitumor immune therapy by specifically modifying certain proteins. Although molecular therapies have advanced, lung cancer remains a major contributor to cancer-related mortality. The management of those with lung cancer is now limited by a lack of targeted therapy choices and the development of acquired drug resistance. Using the intracellular ubiquitin-proteasome system for directed protein breakdown might enhance individualized treatment for lung cancer patients. This study explores the rationale for using PROTAC therapy as an innovative specific therapy and the current advancements in PROTAC development for lung tumors.

Free radicals are naturally produced in the body and are inhibited by the body’s antioxidants. The excessive production of free radicals and the inability of the body to remove them lead to oxidative stress in the body, which can lead to many diseases, including cancer. Nanoparticles are compounds that have been given much attention to cancer prevention and treatment, due to their specific biological characteristics and their small size. This study aimed to evaluate the cytotoxic and antioxidant potential of serum oxide nanoparticles synthesized using aqueous extract of Hyssopus officinalis.To perform the MTT assay, first, the MDA-MB231 cancerous cells were cultured, seeded and then treated for 24, 48 and 72 hours. Subsequently, MTT was performed and finally, absorption at 517 nm was recorded. The antioxidant potential of the CeO-NPs was evaluated by estimating the amount of ABTS and DPPH free radicals inhibiting in different concentrations of nanoparticles.The results showed that the CeO-NPs were able to inhibit the ABTS and DPPH free radicals with a mean concentration (IC50) of about 62 and 31.2 μg / ml. Also, the CeO-NPs inhibited cancer cells with IC50 of about 400 µg/ml, 48 hours after exposure. According to the antioxidant results obtained from this paper, it is suggested that by performing further experiments, this nanoparticle can be used as an antioxidant supplement.