Curcumin is a natural compound of Curcuma longa L. and has shown many pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant in both preclinical and clinical studies. Moreover, curcumin has hepatoprotective, neuroprotective activities and protects against myocardial infarction. Particularly, curcumin has also demonstrated favorite anticancer efficacy. But limiting factors such as its extremely low oral bioavailability hampers its application as therapeutic agent. Therefore, many technologies have been developed and applied to overcome this limitation. This review described the main physicochemical properties of curcumin and summarized the recent studies in the design and development of oral delivery systems for curcumin to enhance the solubility and oral bioavailability, including liposomes, nanoparticles and polymeric micelles, phospholipid complexes, and microemulsions.

Ailanthone (AIL) is a quassinoid isolated from the traditional Chinese medicinal herb . The antitumor activities of AIL have been reported in several cancers. The purpose of the present study was to explore the effect of AIL on vestibular schwannomas (VSs). Various concentrations of AIL (0-1 μM) were used to treat human primary VS cells, and then cell viability, proliferation, apoptosis, and autophagy were assessed. Expression of miR-21 in VS cells was altered by miRNA transfection. The functional actions of AIL on miR-21 dysregulated cells were also assessed. AIL significantly reduced the viability of VS cells, and the IC value was 0.48 ± 0.023 μM. In response to 0.6 μM AIL, BrdU cell rate and cyclin D1 expression were reduced, apoptotic cell rate was increased, caspase 3 and caspase 9 were cleaved, Beclin-1 and LC3-II were accumulated, and p62 was downregulated. miR-21 was lowly expressed in AIL-treated cells, and AIL-induced apoptosis and autophagy were attenuated by miR-21 overexpression. In addition, AIL downregulated Ras and Raf and deactivated MEK, ERK, mTOR, and p70S6K, while the downregulation and deactivation induced by AIL were reversed by miR-21 overexpression. To conclude, AIL inhibited VS cell proliferation and induced apoptosis and autophagy. The antitumor activities of AIL in VS cells were realized possibly via downregulation of miR-21 and blocking the Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and mTOR pathways.

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These findings provide the reference to a preferable choice of the curcumin formulation and contribute to therapeutic application in clinical research.

Background: Thyroid cancer (TC) is an endocrine disease, and its progression is regulated by many factors, including circular RNAs (circRNAs). However, as a new circRNA, the role of circ_0058124 in TC is worth further exploration. Methods: The expression levels of circ_0058124, microRNA-940 (miR-940) and mitogen-activated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1) were assessed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR). The circular characteristic of circ_0058124 was identified by oligo (dT) 18 primers, Ribonuclease R (RNase R) and Actinomycin D (ActD), and its localization was determined by nuclear-cytoplasmic separation assay. Also, cell proliferation was detected by colony formation assay, and cell migration and invasion were assessed by transwell assay. Further, Seahorse XF Extracellular Flux Analyzer was used to measure the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) of cells. Besides, dual-luciferase reporter, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) and RNA pull-down assays were used to identify the mechanism of circ_0058124. Western blot (WB) analysis was used to test the MAPK1 protein level. In addition, mice xenograft models were constructed to test the effect of circ_0058124 on TC tumor growth in vivo. Results: Circ_0058124 was highly expressed in TC and is a stable cyclic transcript, mainly located in the cytoplasm. Circ_0058124 knockdown suppressed proliferation, migration, invasion and metabolic abilities in TC cells. MiR-940 could be absorbed by circ_0058124, and the inhibition effect of its overexpression on TC progression could be reversed by overexpressed-circ_0058124. MAPK1 was a target of miR-940, and the suppression effect of its silencing on TC progression could be inverted by miR-940 inhibitor. Besides, MAPK1 expression was regulated by circ_0058124 and miR-940. Interference of circ_0058124 also reduced TC tumor growth in vivo. Conclusion: Circ_0058124 might play a carcinogenic role in TC progression by regulating the miR-940/MAPK1 axis, which might provide a new idea for the treatment of TC.