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Morrone, C.

Publications and source records attributed to Morrone, C..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

Organ-restricted vascular delivery of nanoparticles for lung cancer therapy

Nanomedicines hold immense promise for a number of devastating diseases due to the ability to custom-design both the carrier and cargo. However, their clinical implementation has been hampered by physicochemical and biological barriers and off-target deposition which impair cell specific targeting, especially in internal organs. This study reports a new delivery approach using organ-restricted vascular delivery to allow for direct administration and recirculation of stimuli-responsive nanoparticles to promote cellular uptake into an organ of interest. Using this technique, nanoparticles reach the interior of dense tumors and are selectively taken up by lung cancer cells. Importantly, this surgical approach is essential as the same nanoparticles do not reach lung tumor cells upon systemic or intratracheal administration. Organ-restricted vascular delivery thus opens up new avenues for optimized nanotherapies for cancer and other diseases.

pharmacology and toxicology

Modulation of bacterial multicellularity via spatiotemporal polysaccharide secretion

AO_SCPLOWBSTRACTC_SCPLOWThe development of multicellularity is a key evolutionary transition allowing for differentiation of physiological functions across a cell population that confers survival benefits; among unicellular bacteria, this can lead to complex developmental behaviours and the formation of higher-order community structures. Herein, we demonstrate that in the social {delta}-proteobacterium Myxococcus xanthus, the secretion of a novel secreted biosurfactant polysaccharide (BPS) is temporally and spatially modulated within communities, mediating swarm migration as well as the formation of multicellular swarm biofilms and fruiting bodies. BPS is a type IV pilus-inhibited acidic polymer built of randomly-acetylated {beta}-linked tetrasaccharide repeats. Both BPS and the "shared good" EPS are produced by dedicated Wzx/Wzy-dependent polysaccharide assembly pathways distinct from that responsible for spore coat assembly. To our knowledge, such pathways have never-before been explicitly shown to synthesize a biosurfactant. Together, these data reveal the central role of secreted polysaccharides in the intricate behaviours coordinating bacterial multicellularity.

microbiology