Aspirin

In recent years, the antiviral effects of aspirin to prevent and treat the symptoms of influenza have received more attention, and in addition, the potential of aspirin in the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection has been the subject of much discussion. Aspirin acts on host cell signaling, particularly through NF-κB inhibition, and blocks replication of RNA viruses and DNA viruses, exerting its antiviral activity. Aspirin's triple action against COVID-19 appears to work synergistically to: ① inhibit virus-induced activation of NF-κB, dampening cytokine storms, ② antagonize platelet aggregation, relieving hypercoagulability and microthrombosis, and ③ inhibit neutrophil extracellular traps (NETosis), alleviating endothelial damage. The combined antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antithrombotic effects of this may potentially improve the clinical outcomes of severe COVID-19 infection, although this has yet to be confirmed in large-scale clinical trials.

Fig. 1 Host cell response to SARS-CoV-2 and the role of aspirin in SARS-CoV-2 infection. (Werz O.; et al. 2024)

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among females worldwide. Over one million women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and newer modalities of treatment are required to improve upon current conventional therapies that include chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy, which are associated with marked systemic toxicity and adverse effects. The growing field of nanotechnology has a significant role to play.
Fariha Kanwal et al. review the drug delivery potential of mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MNPs) as a vehicle for aspirin, a drug with documented antiproliferative properties, including the ability to arrest cell cycle progression and induce apoptosis in cancer cells, but which can cause unwanted gastrointestinal irritation. They synthesised aspirin-loaded MNPs coated with polydopamine (PD) and conjugated with folic acid (FA) for enhanced targeting of folate receptors overexpressed on cancer cells (MNP-Asp-PD-PG-F). In vitro, they were able to achieve pH-sensitive drug release and demonstrate markedly enhanced cytotoxicity to MCF-7 breast cancer cells as compared to free aspirin or non-targeted NPs. This FA-decorated, PD-modified nanoparticle platform represents a new targeted strategy for safer and more effective breast cancer treatment.

Fig. 2 Synthesis of aspirin-loaded NPs (MNP-Asp@PD-PG-F), delivery mechanism of NPs, and in-vitro toxicity assays. (Kanwal F.; et al. 2022)