Chapters authored
Biochemical Toxicology: Heavy Metals and Nanomaterials
The synthesis and application of nanoparticles have been actively studied in the modern era as it holds promises for effective and targeted strategies to deliver drugs inside the human body. Nanoparticles (NPs) play a big role in cancer diagnosis and have various advantages over other conventional chemotherapeutic drug delivery systems. But, the application of emerging engineered NPs to heavy toxic metals such as zinc, cobalt, and iron has resulted in a major source of toxicity. The toxicity of nanomaterials is majorly determined by their physical and chemical properties such as size, charge, and surface area. Also, the mechanism of nanotoxicity is majorly via the production of reactive oxygen species that create oxidative stress, thereby activating inflammatory cytokines and the mechanism of DNA damage that ultimately results in the cell death. So, mechanistic study needs to be done on nanomaterials to elucidate the mechanism involved in nanotoxicity and to generate less toxic and efficient nanomaterials.
Part of the book: Biochemical Toxicology
Role of Macrophages in Solid Tumor Metabolism
Cancer cells undergo several complex processes to grow and evolve. For their survival, they manipulate the entire system and acquire the ability to gain all the energy demands from the host system itself. Tumor associated macrophages (TAMs) are macrophages abundantly present in the tumor micro environment (TME) and essentially plays a critical role in coordination with the tumor cells helping them to progress and metastasize. One of the key hallmarks in tumor cells is elevated metabolic processes such as glycolysis, fatty acid oxidation, mitochondrial oxidation, and amino acid metabolism. Macrophages help cancer cells to achieve this metabolic demand through a series of signaling events including mTOR, Akt, and PI3K pathways. The M2-like phenotype of macrophages leads to the tumorous macrophage phenotype along with the tumor cells to support tumor growth through metabolic dysregulation. Focusing upon the area of macrophage-mediated tumor metabolism in solid tumors has been a new area that provides new effective targets to treat cancer. This chapter discusses the role of macrophages in tumor metabolism and cancer progression. Targeting TAMs in tumor microenvironment through metabolic axis could be a potential therapeutic option to control the solid tumor growth and propagation.
Part of the book: Macrophages