**7. References**


drug–polymer complexes combined with gene therapy for cancer treatments. Taken together, our findings suggest that the combination of 5-FU treatment and as-miR-21 might

Furthermore, the miR-21 inhibitor could enhance the chemo-sensitivity of human glioblastoma cells to taxol via PAMAM dendrimer. A combination of miR-21 inhibitor and taxol could be an effective therapeutic strategy for controlling. The above data suggested that in both the PTEN mutant U251 cell line and the PTEN wild-type LN229 cells, miR-21 blockage could increase the chemosensitivity to taxol. It is worth noting that the miR-21 inhibitor additively interacted with taxol on U251cells and synergistically on LN229 cells. Thus, the miR-21 inhibitor might interrupt the activity of EGFR pathways, independently of PTEN status. The miR-21 inhibitor enhanced the chemo-sensitivity of human glioblastoma cells to taxol and combination of the miR-21 inhibitor and taxol could be an effective

This work was financially supported by the China National Natural Scientific Fund (51073118 and 30971136), the Tianjin Science and Technology Committee (09JCZDJC17600, 10JCYBJC12500), and a Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (NCET-07-

Minniti G, et al. (2009). Chemotherapy for glioblastoma: current treatment and future

Santos-Rebouças CB,et al (2010). MicroRNAs: macro challenges on understanding human

Kaneda Y. (2010). Update on non-viral delivery methods for cancer therapy: possibilities of a

He L, Hannon GJ. (2004) MicroRNAs: small RNAs with a big role in gene regulation. *Nat* 

Bartel DP. (2004). MicroRNAs: genomics, biogenesis, mechanism, and function. *Cell.* Vol.

Akbergenov R, et al (2006). Molecular characterization of geminivirus-derived small RNAs

Valeri N, et al (2009). Epigenetics, miRNAs, and human cancer: a new chapter in human

Selcuklu SD, Donoghue MT, Spillane C (2009). miR-21 as a key regulator of oncogenic

*Rev Genet.* Vol. 5, No. 7, (2004 Jul), pp: 522-31 , ISSN: 1471-0056

116, No. 2, (2004 Jan), pp: 281-97, ISSN: 2155-1790

perspectives for cytotoxic and targeted agents. *Anticancer Res*, Vol.29, No.12, (2009

biological functions and neurological diseases. *Curr Mol Med*. Vol.10, No.8, (2010

drug delivery system with anticancer activities beyond delivery as a new therapeutic tool. *Expert Opin Drug Deliv.* Vol.7, No.9, (2010 Sep), pp: 1079-93, ISSN:

in different plant species. *Nucleic Acids Res*, Vol.34, (2006 Jan) pp: 462–471, ISSN:

gene regulation. *Mamm Genome*, Vol. 20, No. 9-10, (2009 Sep-Oct), pp: 573-80 , ISSN:

processes. *Biochem Soc Trans*. Vol. 37, No. 4, (2009 Aug), pp: 918-25, ISSN: 0300-5127

be a potential clinical strategy for cancer chemotherapy.

therapeutic strategy for suppressing the growth of GBM.

Dec) pp: 5171-84, ISSN: 0250-7005

Nov) pp: 692-704, ISSN: 1566-5240

**6. Acknowledgements** 

1742-5247.

0305-1048

0938-8990

0615).

**7. References** 

the growth of GBM by inhibiting STAT3 expression and phosphorylation.


**22** 

*Canada* 

**Nanomedicine Based Approaches to** 

Roderick A. Slavcev, Shawn Wettig and Tranum Kaur

Pharmaceutical nanoparticles were first described in 1970s, and the term "nanotechnology" is now commonly used to refer to the fabrication of new materials with nanoscale dimensions between 1 and 100 nm (Thrall 2004). Several types of nanometer scale systems such as nanoparticles, nanospheres, nanotubes, nanogels and molecular conjugates are being investigated (Lemieux et al. 2000;Liu et al. 2007;Ravi et al. 2004). The field of nanomedicine aims to use the properties and physical characteristics of nanomaterials which have been extensively investigated as novel intravascular or cellular probes for both diagnostic (imaging) and therapeutic purposes (drug/gene delivery). The sub-micron size of nanoparticle delivery systems confers distinct advantages as compared to large sized systems including targeted delivery, higher and deeper tissue penetrability, greater cellular uptake and greater ability to cross the blood-brain barrier (Kreuter et al. 1995;Vinogradov et al. 2002;Vogt et al. 2006). Therapeutic transgene(s) encoded by plasmid or chemically modified DNA can be dissolved, entrapped, chemically conjugated, encapsulated or adsorbed to the surface of nanoparticles. There are, broadly, two main types of nanosized particles with different inner structures: A. Nanoparticle/Nanosphere: Matrix composed of entangled oligomer or polymer units; and B. Nanocapsule: Reservoir consisting of a hydrophobic core surrounded by a polymer wall. Lipids can also be used to generate liposomes or micelles (discussed in detail later). These nanodevices can confer protection to the DNA against a variety of degradative and destabilizing factors, and enhance delivery

Nanoparticles are expected to play a critical role in the innovation and development of future cancer treatment modalities. Recent research has developed functional nanoparticles that are covalently linked to biological molecules such as peptides, proteins, nucleic acids, or small-molecule ligands (Alivisatos 2004;Chan et al. 2002;Michalet et al. 2005). Medical applications have also appeared, such as the use of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles as a contrast agent in the detection of lymph node prostate cancer (Harisinghani et al. 2003) and the use of polymeric nanoparticles for targeted gene delivery to tumor vasculatures (Hood et al. 2002). Target-specific drug/gene delivery and early diagnosis is currently a high priority R&D area, and one in which nanomedicine will inevitably make critical contributions. Current modalities of diagnosis and treatment of various diseases, especially cancer, have major limitations such as poor sensitivity or

efficiency to the cells while minimizing the toxic effects.

**1. Introduction** 

**Cancer Diagonsis and Therapy** 

*School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Ontario* 

Ren Y, et al (2010). MicroRNA-21 inhibitor sensitizes human glioblastoma cells U251 (PTENmutant) and LN229 (PTEN-wild type) to taxol. *BMC Cancer*. Vol. 10 , (2010 Jan) pp: 27, ISSN: 1471-2407
