Browsing by Author "Ankur Kumari"

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Organoid Technology: A Reliable Developmental Biology Tool for Organ-Specific Nanotoxicity Evaluation
(Frontiers Media S.A., 2021) Minakshi Prasad; Rajesh Kumar; Lukumoni Buragohain; Ankur Kumari; Mayukh Ghosh
Engineered nanomaterials are bestowed with certain inherent physicochemical properties unlike their parent materials, rendering them suitable for the multifaceted needs of state-of-the-art biomedical, and pharmaceutical applications. The log-phase development of nano-science along with improved “bench to beside” conversion carries an enhanced probability of human exposure with numerous nanoparticles. Thus, toxicity assessment of these novel nanoscale materials holds a key to ensuring the safety aspects or else the global biome will certainly face a debacle. The toxicity may span from health hazards due to direct exposure to indirect means through food chain contamination or environmental pollution, even causing genotoxicity. Multiple ways of nanotoxicity evaluation include several in vitro and in vivo methods, with in vitro methods occupying the bulk of the “experimental space.” The underlying reason may be multiple, but ethical constraints in in vivo animal experiments are a significant one. Two-dimensional (2D) monoculture is undoubtedly the most exploited in vitro method providing advantages in terms of cost-effectiveness, high throughput, and reproducibility. However, it often fails to mimic a tissue or organ which possesses a defined three-dimensional structure (3D) along with intercellular communication machinery. Instead, microtissues such as spheroids or organoids having a precise 3D architecture and proximate in vivo tissue-like behavior can provide a more realistic evaluation than 2D monocultures. Recent developments in microfluidics and bioreactor-based organoid synthesis have eased the difficulties to prosper nano-toxicological analysis in organoid models surpassing the obstacle of ethical issues. The present review will enlighten applications of organoids in nanotoxicological evaluation, their advantages, and prospects toward securing commonplace nano-interventions. © Copyright © 2021 Prasad, Kumar, Buragohain, Kumari and Ghosh.
Wnt Signaling in Cancer
(Springer Nature, 2022) Minakshi Prasad; Mayukh Ghosh; Rajesh Kumar; Lukumoni Buragohain; Ankur Kumari; Gaya Prasad
Stringent regulation of the Wnt pathways components and modulators is indispensable for the restoration of tissue homeostasis and development. The Wnt/β-catenin-dependent canonical pathway is the most comprehensively introspected Wnt signaling pathway which relies upon Frizzled receptor activation and cytosolic β-catenin stabilization followed by their nuclear transport and subsequent transcriptional activation of multiple target genes to influence multiple cellular processes. The β-catenin-independent noncanonical pathway is the alternative Wnt signaling pathway which operates through either planar cell polarity [PCP] or calcium-signaling mechanism to modulate gene regulation. These pathways are highly branched and interconnected to modulate downstream mechanisms individually or in a concerted fashion. Aberrant Wnt signaling induced by genetic or epigenetic impetus leads to carcinogenesis and metastasis; evidently, several cancer types have depicted alterations in multiple Wnt pathway components to render them as potential targets for anticancer chemotherapy. Several small molecules and biologicals antagonizing the Wnt signaling are currently undergoing through different stages of clinical trial for customizing efficacious as well as safe anticancer therapeutics. However, the healthy cells are also susceptible to blockage of Wnt signaling pathways as potential side effects that pose inherent challenge to the strategy which needs to be dealt with utmost precaution. Cancer-specific Wnt markers and combination of multiple therapeutic strategies can overcome the limitation which lies at the focus of the ongoing oncotherapeutic introspections. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022.