scholarly journals Nanocatalytic activity of clean-surfaced, faceted nanocrystalline gold enhances remyelination in animal models of multiple sclerosis

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Robinson ◽  
Joanne Zhongyan Zhang ◽  
Haley E. Titus ◽  
Molly Karl ◽  
Mikhail Merzliakov ◽  
...  

AbstractDevelopment of pharmacotherapies that promote remyelination are a high priority for multiple sclerosis (MS) due to their potential for neuroprotection and restoration of function through repair of demyelinated lesions. A novel preparation of clean-surfaced, faceted gold nanocrystals demonstrated robust remyelinating activity in response to demyelinating agents in both chronic cuprizone and acute lysolecithin rodent animal models. Furthermore, oral delivery of gold nanocrystals improved motor functions of cuprizone-treated mice in both open field and kinematic gait studies. Gold nanocrystal treatment of oligodendrocyte precursor cells in culture resulted in oligodendrocyte maturation and expression of key myelin differentiation markers. Additional in vitro data demonstrated that these gold nanocrystals act via a novel energy metabolism pathway involving the enhancement of key indicators of aerobic glycolysis. In response to gold nanocrystals, co-cultured central nervous system cells exhibited elevated levels of the redox coenzyme nicotine adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), elevated total ATP levels, elevated extracellular lactate levels, and upregulation of myelin-synthesis related genes, collectively resulting in functional myelin generation. Based on these preclinical studies, clean-surfaced, faceted gold nanocrystals represent a novel remyelinating therapeutic for multiple sclerosis.One Sentence SummaryNanocatalytic activity of clean-surfaced, faceted gold nanocrystals results in robust remyelinating activity in demyelination animal models of multiple sclerosis.

Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 966
Author(s):  
Florencia Cascardo ◽  
Nicolás Anselmino ◽  
Alejandra Páez ◽  
Estefanía Labanca ◽  
Pablo Sanchis ◽  
...  

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most diagnosed malignancy and the fifth leading cause of cancer associated death in men worldwide. Dysregulation of cellular energetics has become a hallmark of cancer, evidenced by numerous connections between signaling pathways that include oncoproteins and key metabolic enzymes. We previously showed that heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1), a cellular homeostatic regulator counteracting oxidative and inflammatory damage, exhibits anti-tumoral activity in PCa cells, inhibiting cell proliferation, migration, tumor growth and angiogenesis. The aim of this study was to assess the role of HO-1 on the metabolic signature of PCa. After HO-1 pharmacological induction with hemin, PC3 and C4-2B cells exhibited a significantly impaired cellular metabolic rate, reflected by glucose uptake, ATP production, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and extracellular lactate levels. Further, we undertook a bioinformatics approach to assess the clinical significance of LDHA, LDHB and HMOX1 in PCa, identifying that high LDHA or low LDHB expression was associated with reduced relapse free survival (RFS). Interestingly, the shortest RFS was observed for PCa patients with low HMOX1 and high LDHA, while an improved prognosis was observed for those with high HMOX1 and LDHB. Thus, HO-1 induction causes a shift in the cellular metabolic profile of PCa, leading to a less aggressive phenotype of the disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Ainatzoglou ◽  
Eleni Stamoula ◽  
Ioannis Dardalas ◽  
Spyridon Siafis ◽  
Georgios Papazisis

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory and immune-mediated disease, whose current therapeutic means are mostly effective in the relapsing-remitting form of MS, where inflammation is still prominent, but fall short of preventing long term impairment. However, apart from inflammation-mediated demyelination, autoimmune mechanisms play a major role in MS pathophysiology, constituting a promising pharmacological target. Phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors have been approved for clinical use in psoriasis and have undergone trials suggesting their neuroprotective effects, rendering them eligible as an option for accessory MS therapy. Objective: In this review, we discuss the potential role of PDE inhibitors as a complementary MS therapy. Methods: We conducted a literature search through which we screened and comparatively assessed papers on the effects of PDE inhibitor use, both in vitro and in animal models of MS, taking into account a number of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: In vitro studies indicated that PDE inhibitors promote remyelination and axonal sustenance, while curbing inflammatory cell infiltration, hindering oligodendrocyte and neuronal loss and suppressing cytokine production. In vivo studies underlined that these agents alleviate symptoms and reduce disease scores in MS animal models. Conclusion: PDE inhibitors proved to be effective in addressing various aspects of MS pathogenesis both in vitro and in vivo models. Given the latest clinical trials proving that the PDE4 inhibitor Ibudilast exerts neuroprotective effects in patients with progressive MS, research on this field should be intensified and selective PDE4 inhibitors with enhanced safety features should be seriously considered as prospective complementary MS therapy.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed I. Gatie ◽  
Tyler T. Cooper ◽  
Gilles A. Lajoie ◽  
Gregory M. Kelly

SummaryMetabolism plays a crucial role for cell survival and function; however, recent evidence has implicated it in regulating embryonic development. The inner cell mass undergoes orchestrated cellular divisions resulting in the formation of embryonic stem cells and extraembryonic endoderm (XEN) cells. Concomitantly, changes in the metabolic profile occurs during development and are well-documented in the embryonic lineages. However, a comprehensive multi-omics analysis of these features in XEN cells remains lacking. We observed that feeder-free XEN cells exhibited high sensitivity to glycolytic inhibition in addition to maintaining elevated intra- and extracellular lactate levels. XEN cells maintain high lactate levels by increased LDHA activity and re-routing pyruvate away from the mitochondria. Importantly, exogenous lactate supplementation or promoting intracellular lactate accumulation enhances XEN differentiation in vitro. Our results highlight how lactate contributes to XEN differentiation in the mammalian embryo and may serve to enhance reprogramming efficiency of cells used for regenerative medicine.HighlightsFeeder-free XEN cells exhibit high sensitivity to glycolytic inhibitionDistinct transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic profile exists between feeder-free ES and XEN cellsElevated intracellular and extracellular lactate is observed in feeder-free XEN cellsLactate enhances feeder-free XEN differentiation in vitro


Author(s):  
Venu Madhav K ◽  
Somnath De ◽  
Chandra Shekar Bonagiri ◽  
Sridhar Babu Gummadi

Fenofibrate (FN) is used in the treatment of hypercholesterolemia. It shows poor dissolution and poor oral bioavailability after oral administration due to high liphophilicity and low aqueous solubility. Hence, solid dispersions (SDs) of FN (FN-SDs) were develop that might enhance the dissolution and subsequently oral bioavailability. FN-SDs were prepared by solvent casting method using different carriers (PEG 4000, PEG 6000, β cyclodextrin and HP β cyclodextrin) in different proportions (0.25%, 0.5%, 0.75% and 1% w/v). FN-SDs were evaluated solubility, assay and in vitro release studies for the optimization of SD formulation. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was performed for crystalline and morphology analysis, respectively. Further, optimized FN-SD formulation evaluated for pharmacokinetic performance in Wistar rats, in vivo in comparison with FN suspension.  From the results, FN-SD3 and FN-SD6 have showed 102.9 ±1.3% and 105.5±3.1% drug release, respectively in 2 h. DSC and PXRD studies revealed that conversion of crystalline to amorphous nature of FN from FT-SD formulation. SEM studies revealed the change in the orientation of FN when incorporated in SDs. The oral bioavailability FN-SD3 and FN-SD6 formulations exhibited 2.5-folds and 3.1-folds improvement when compared to FN suspension as control. Overall, SD of FN could be considered as an alternative dosage form for the enhancement of oral delivery of poorly water-soluble FN.


Author(s):  
Chukwuebuka Umeyor ◽  
Uchechukwu Nnadozie ◽  
Anthony Attama

This study seeks to formulate and evaluate a solid lipid nanoparticle-based, solidified micellar carrier system for oral delivery of cefepime. Cefepime has enjoyed a lot of therapeutic usage in the treatment of susceptible bacterial infections; however, its use is limited due to its administration as an injection only with poor patient compliance. Since oral drug administration encourage high patient compliance with resultant effect in improved therapy, cefepime was formulated as solid lipid microparticles for oral delivery using the concept of solidified micellar carrier system. The carrier system was evaluated based on particle yield, particle size and morphology, encapsulation efficiency (EE %), and thermal analysis using differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Preliminary microbiological studies were done using gram positive and negative bacteria. In vitro release study was performed using biorelevant media, while in vivo release study was performed in white albino rats. The yield of solid lipid microparticles (SLM) ranged from 84.2 – 98.0 %. The SLM were spherical with size ranges of 3.8 ± 1.2 to 42.0 ± 1.4 µm. The EE % calculated ranged from 83.6 – 94.8 %. Thermal analysis showed that SLM was less crystalline with high potential for drug entrapment. Microbial studies showed that cefepime retained its broad spectrum anti-bacterial activity. In vitro release showed sustained release of cefepime from SLM, and in vivo release study showed high concentration of cefepime released in the plasma of study rats. The study showed that smart engineering of solidified micellar carrier system could be used to improve oral delivery of cefepime.


Author(s):  
Narendar Dudhipala ◽  
Arjun Narala ◽  
Dinesh Suram ◽  
Karthik Yadav Janga

The objective of this present study is to develop a semisolid dispersion (SSD) of zaleplon with the aid of self-emulsifying lipid based amphiphilic carriers (TPGS E or Gelucire 44/14) addressing the poor solubility of this drug. A linear relationship between the solubility of drug with respect to increase in the concentration of lipid surfactant in aqueous medium resulting in AL type phase diagram was observed from phase solubility studies. Fusion method was employed to obtain semisolid dispersions (SSD) of zaleplon which showed high content uniformity of drug. The absence of chemical interactions between the pure drug, excipients and formulations were conferred by Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopic examinations. The photographic images from polarized optical microscopic studies revealed the change in crystalline form of drug to amorphous or molecular state. The superior dissolution parameters of zaleplon from SSD over pure crystalline drug interpreted from in vitro dissolution studies envisage the ability of these lipid surfactants as solubility enhancers. Further, the caliber of TPGS E or Gelucire 44/14 in encouraging the GI absorption of drug was evident with the higher human effective permeability coefficient and fraction oral dose of drug absorbed from SSD in situ intestinal permeation study. In conclusion, in vivo studies in Wister rats demonstrated an improvement in the oral bioavailability of zaleplon from SSD over control pure drug suspension suggesting the competence of Gelucire 44/14 and TPGS E as conscientious carriers to augment the dissolution rate limited bioavailability of this active


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (39) ◽  
pp. 5266-5278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katia D'Ambrosio ◽  
Claudiu T. Supuran ◽  
Giuseppina De Simone

Protozoans belonging to Plasmodium, Leishmania and Trypanosoma genera provoke widespread parasitic diseases with few treatment options and many of the clinically used drugs experiencing an extensive drug resistance phenomenon. In the last several years, the metalloenzyme Carbonic Anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) was cloned and characterized in the genome of these protozoa, with the aim to search for a new drug target for fighting malaria, leishmaniasis and Chagas disease. P. falciparum encodes for a CA (PfCA) belonging to a novel genetic family, the η-CA class, L. donovani chagasi for a β-CA (LdcCA), whereas T. cruzi genome contains an α-CA (TcCA). These three enzymes were characterized in detail and a number of in vitro potent and selective inhibitors belonging to the sulfonamide, thiol, dithiocarbamate and hydroxamate classes were discovered. Some of these inhibitors were also effective in cell cultures and animal models of protozoan infections, making them of considerable interest for the development of new antiprotozoan drugs with a novel mechanism of action.


Author(s):  
Ivana Stojanovic ◽  
Mirjana Dimitrijevic ◽  
Marta Vives-Pi ◽  
Maria Jose Mansilla ◽  
Irma Pujol-Autonell ◽  
...  

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