scholarly journals Chemical inhibition of pathological reactive astrocytes promotes neural protection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin L. L. Clayton ◽  
James D. Kristell ◽  
Kevin C. Allan ◽  
Molly Karl ◽  
Eric Garrison ◽  
...  

Disease, injury, and aging induce reactive astrocyte states with pathological functions. In neurodegenerative diseases, inflammatory reactive astrocytes are abundant and contribute to progressive cell loss. Modulating the state or function of these reactive astrocytes thereby represents an attractive therapeutic goal. Leveraging a cellular phenotypic screening platform, we show that chemical inhibitors of HDAC3 effectively block pathological astrocyte reactivity. Inhibition of HDAC3 reduces molecular and functional features of reactive astrocytes in vitro including inflammatory gene expression, cytokine secretion, and antigen presentation. Transcriptional and chromatin mapping studies show that HDAC3 inhibition mediates a switch between pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory states, which disarms the pathological functions of reactive astrocytes. Systemic administration of a blood-brain barrier penetrant chemical inhibitor of HDAC3, RGFP966, blocks reactive astrocyte formation and promotes axonal protection in vivo. Collectively, these results establish a platform for discovering chemical modulators of reactive astrocyte states, inform the mechanisms controlling astrocyte reactivity, and demonstrate the therapeutic potential of modulating astrocyte reactivity for neurodegenerative diseases.

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan-Yan Meng ◽  
Yu-Pei Yuan ◽  
Xin Zhang ◽  
Chun-Yan Kong ◽  
Peng Song ◽  
...  

Oxidative stress and cardiomyocyte apoptosis play critical roles in the development of doxorubicin- (DOX-) induced cardiotoxicity. Our previous study found that geniposide (GE) could inhibit cardiac oxidative stress and apoptosis of cardiomyocytes but its role in DOX-induced heart injury remains unknown. Our study is aimed at investigating whether GE could protect against DOX-induced heart injury. The mice were subjected to a single intraperitoneal injection of DOX (15 mg/kg) to induce cardiomyopathy model. To explore the protective effects, GE was orally given for 10 days. The morphological examination and biochemical analysis were used to evaluate the effects of GE. H9C2 cells were used to verify the protective role of GE in vitro. GE treatment alleviated heart dysfunction and attenuated cardiac oxidative stress and cell loss induced by DOX in vivo and in vitro. GE could activate AMP-activated protein kinase α (AMPKα) in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, inhibition of AMPKα could abolish the protective effects of GE against DOX-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis. GE could protect against DOX-induced heart injury via activation of AMPKα. GE has therapeutic potential for the treatment of DOX cardiotoxicity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcus Davidsson ◽  
Matilde Negrini ◽  
Swantje Hauser ◽  
Alexander Svanbergsson ◽  
Marcus Lockowandt ◽  
...  

AbstractAdeno Associated Virus (AAV)-mediated gene expression in the brain is widely applied in the preclinical setting to investigate the therapeutic potential of specific molecular targets, characterize various cellular functions, and model central nervous system (CNS) diseases. In therapeutic applications in the clinical setting, gene therapy offers several advantages over traditional pharmacological based therapies, including the ability to directly manipulate disease mechanisms, selectively target disease-afflicted regions, and achieve long-term therapeutic protein expression in the absence of repeated administration of pharmacological agents. Next to the gold-standard iodixanol-based AAV vector production, we recently published a protocol for AAV production based on chloroform-precipitation, which allows for fast in-house production of small quantities of AAV vector without the need for specialized equipment. To validate our recent protocol, we present here a direct side-by-side comparison between vectors produced with either method in a series of in vitro and in vivo assays with a focus on transgene expression, cell loss, and neuroinflammatory responses in the brain. We do not find differences in transduction efficiency nor in any other parameter in our in vivo and in vitro panel of assessment. These results suggest that our novel protocol enables most standardly equipped laboratories to produce small batches of high quality and high titer AAV vectors for their experimental needs.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nayana Keyla Seabra de Oliveira ◽  
Marcos Rafael Silva Almeida ◽  
Franco Márcio Maciel Pontes ◽  
Mariana Pegrucci Barcelos ◽  
Carlos Henrique Tomich de Paula da Silva ◽  
...  

Introduction:Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) are progressive, directly affecting the central nervous system (CNS), the most common and recurrent are Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). One factor frequently mentioned in the etiology of NDDs is the generation of free radicals and oxidative stress, producing cellular damages. Studies have shown that the consumption of foods rich in polyphenols, especially those of the flavonoid class, has been related to the low risk in the development of several diseases. Due to the antioxidant properties present in the food, a fruit that has been gaining prominence among these foods is the Euterpe oleracea Mart. (açaí), because it presents in its composition significant amounts of a subclass of the flavonoids, the anthocyanins.Methods:In the case review, the authors receive a basic background on the most common NDDs, oxidative stress and antioxidants. In addition, revisiting the various studies related to NDDs, including flavonoids and consumption of açaí.Results:Detailed analysis of the recently reported case studies reveal that dietary consumption of flavonoid-rich foods, such as açaí fruits, suggests the efficacy to attenuate neurodegeneration and prevent or reverse the age-dependent deterioration of cognitive function.Conclusion:This systematic review points out that flavonoids presenting in açaí have the potential for the treatment of diseases such as PD and AD and are candidates for drugs in future clinical research. However, there is a need for in vitro and in vivo studies with polyphenol that prove and ratify the therapeutic potential of this fruit for several NDDs.


ASN NEURO ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 175909141987142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Rey ◽  
Alice Balsari ◽  
Toniella Giallongo ◽  
Sara Ottolenghi ◽  
Anna M. Di Giulio ◽  
...  

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a cytokine mainly induced in hypoxia conditions. Its major production site is the kidney. EPO primarily acts on the erythroid progenitor cells in the bone marrow. More and more studies are highlighting its secondary functions, with a crucial focus on its role in the central nervous system. Here, EPO may interact with up to four distinct isoforms of its receptor (erythropoietin receptor [EPOR]), activating different signaling cascades with roles in neuroprotection and neurogenesis. Indeed, the EPO/EPOR axis has been widely studied in the neurodegenerative diseases field. Its potential therapeutic effects have been evaluated in multiple disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal cord injury, as well as brain ischemia, hypoxia, and hyperoxia. EPO is showing great promise by counteracting secondary neuroinflammatory processes, reactive oxygen species imbalance, and cell death in these diseases. Multiple studies have been performed both in vitro and in vivo, characterizing the mechanisms through which EPO exerts its neurotrophic action. In some cases, clinical trials involving EPO have been performed, highlighting its therapeutic potential. Together, all these works indicate the potential beneficial effects of EPO.


2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongqiang Yang ◽  
Xin Jiang ◽  
Rui Ji ◽  
Lingbin Meng ◽  
Fuli Liu ◽  
...  

AbstractPituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP) is widely expressed in the central and peripheral nervous system. PACAP can initiate multiple signaling pathways through binding with three class B G-protein coupled receptors, PAC1, VPAC1 and VPAC2. Previous studies have revealed numerous biological activities of PACAP in the nervous system. PACAP acts as a neurotransmitter, neuromodulator and neurotrophic factor. Recently, its neuroprotective potential has been demonstrated in numerous in vitro and in vivo studies. Furthermore, evidence suggests that PACAP might move across the blood-brain barrier in amounts sufficient to affect the brain functions. Therefore, PACAP has been examined as a potential therapeutic method for neurodegenerative diseases. The present review summarizes the recent findings with special focus on the models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Based on these observations, the administered PACAP inhibits pathological processes in models of AD and PD, and alleviates clinical symptoms. It thus offers a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of AD and PD.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (39) ◽  
pp. 4626-4638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reyhaneh Moradi-Marjaneh ◽  
Seyed M. Hassanian ◽  
Farzad Rahmani ◽  
Seyed H. Aghaee-Bakhtiari ◽  
Amir Avan ◽  
...  

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-associated mortality in the world. Anti-tumor effect of curcumin has been shown in different cancers; however, the therapeutic potential of novel phytosomal curcumin, as well as the underlying molecular mechanism in CRC, has not yet been explored. Methods: The anti-proliferative, anti-migratory and apoptotic activity of phytosomal curcumin in CT26 cells was assessed by MTT assay, wound healing assay and Flow cytometry, respectively. Phytosomal curcumin was also tested for its in-vivo activity in a xenograft mouse model of CRC. In addition, oxidant/antioxidant activity was examined by DCFH-DA assay in vitro, measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA), Thiol and superoxidedismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity and also evaluation of expression levels of Nrf2 and GCLM by qRT-PCR in tumor tissues. In addition, the effect of phytosomal curcumin on angiogenesis was assessed by the measurement of VEGF-A and VEGFR-1 and VEGF signaling regulatory microRNAs (miRNAs) in tumor tissue. Results: Phytosomal curcumin exerts anti-proliferative, anti-migratory and apoptotic activity in-vitro. It also decreases tumor growth and augmented 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) anti-tumor effect in-vivo. In addition, our data showed that induction of oxidative stress and inhibition of angiogenesis through modulation of VEGF signaling regulatory miRNAs might be underlying mechanisms by which phytosomal curcumin exerted its antitumor effect. Conclusion: Our data confirmed this notion that phytosomal curcumin administrates anticancer effects and can be used as a complementary treatment in clinical settings.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (35) ◽  
pp. 4362-4372
Author(s):  
John H. Miller ◽  
Viswanath Das

No effective therapeutics to treat neurodegenerative diseases exist, despite significant attempts to find drugs that can reduce or rescue the debilitating symptoms of tauopathies such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Pick’s disease. A number of in vitro and in vivo models exist for studying neurodegenerative diseases, including cell models employing induced-pluripotent stem cells, cerebral organoids, and animal models of disease. Recent research has focused on microtubulestabilizing agents, either natural products or synthetic compounds that can prevent the axonal destruction caused by tau protein pathologies. Although promising results have come from animal model studies using brainpenetrant natural product microtubule-stabilizing agents, such as paclitaxel analogs that can access the brain, epothilones B and D, and other synthetic compounds such as davunetide or the triazolopyrimidines, early clinical trials in humans have been disappointing. This review aims to summarize the research that has been carried out in this area and discuss the potential for the future development of an effective microtubule stabilizing drug to treat neurodegenerative disease.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kondeti Ramudu Shanmugam ◽  
Bhasha Shanmugam ◽  
Gangigunta Venkatasubbaiah ◽  
Sahukari Ravi ◽  
Kesireddy Sathyavelu Reddy

Background : Diabetes is a major public health problem in the world. It affects each and every part of the human body and also leads to organ failure. Hence, great progress made in the field of herbal medicine and diabetic research. Objectives: Our review will focus on the effect of bioactive compounds of medicinal plants which are used to treat diabetes in India and other countries. Methods: Information regarding diabetes, oxidative stress, medicinal plants and bioactive compounds were collected from different search engines like Science direct, Springer, Wiley online library, Taylor and francis, Bentham Science, Pubmed and Google scholar. Data was analyzed and summarized in the review. Results and Conclusion: Anti-diabetic drugs that are in use have many side effects on vital organs like heart, liver, kidney and brain. There is an urgent need for alternative medicine to treat diabetes and their disorders. In India and other countries herbal medicine was used to treat diabetes. Many herbal plants have antidiabetic effects. The plants like ginger, phyllanthus, curcumin, aswagandha, aloe, hibiscus and curcuma showed significant anti-hyperglycemic activities in experimental models and humans. The bioactive compounds like Allicin, azadirachtin, cajanin, curcumin, querceitin, gingerol possesses anti-diabetic, antioxidant and other pharmacological properties. This review focuses on the role of bioactive compounds of medicinal plants in prevention and management of diabetes. Conclusion: Moreover, our review suggests that bioactive compounds have the potential therapeutic potential against diabetes. However, further in vitro and in vivo studies are needed to validate these findings.


Author(s):  
Minu Anoop ◽  
Indrani Datta

: Most conventional treatments for neurodegenerative diseases fail due to their focus on neuroprotection rather than neurorestoration. Stem cell‐based therapies are becoming a potential treatment option for neurodegenerative diseases as they can home in, engraft, differentiate and produce factors for CNS recovery. Stem cells derived from human dental pulp tissue differ from other sources of mesenchymal stem cells due to their embryonic neural crest origin and neurotrophic property. These include both dental pulp stem cells [DPSCs] from dental pulp tissues of human permanent teeth and stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth [SHED]. SHED offer many advantages over other types of MSCs such as good proliferative potential, minimal invasive procurement, neuronal differentiation and neurotrophic capacity, and negligible ethical concerns. The therapeutic potential of SHED is attributed to the paracrine action of extracellularly released secreted factors, specifically the secretome, of which exosomes is a key component. SHED and its conditioned media can be effective in neurodegeneration through multiple mechanisms, including cell replacement, paracrine effects, angiogenesis, synaptogenesis, immunomodulation, and apoptosis inhibition, and SHED exosomes offer an ideal refined bed-to-bench formulation in neurodegenerative disorders. However, in spite of these advantages, there are still some limitations of SHED exosome therapy, such as the effectiveness of long-term storage of SHED and their exosomes, the development of a robust GMP-grade manufacturing protocol, optimization of the route of administration, and evaluation of the efficacy and safety in humans. In this review, we have addressed the isolation, collection and properties of SHED along with its therapeutic potential on in vitro and in vivo neuronal disorder models as evident from the published literature.


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