scholarly journals Evaluation of the anti-inflammatory effects of synthesised tanshinone I and isotanshinone I analogues in zebrafish

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Foulkes ◽  
Katherine M. Henry ◽  
Stephen A. Renshaw ◽  
Simon Jones

AbstractDuring inflammation, dysregulated neutrophil behaviour can play a major role in chronic inflammatory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, for which current treatments are generally ineffective. Recently, tanshinones have shown promising antiinflammatory effects by targeting neutrophils in vivo, yet are still an underexplored general group of compounds. Here, an existing six step synthetic route was optimised and used to prepare a small family of substituted tanshinone and isomeric isotanshinone analogues, together with the synthesis of other structurally similar molecules. Evaluation of these using a transgenic zebrafish model of inflammation revealed that many of these compounds exhibit promising anti-inflammatory effects in vivo. Several compounds affect neutrophil recruitment and/or resolution of neutrophilic inflammation, and broad structure-activity relationships were constructed. In particular, the methoxy-substituted tanshinone 39 specifically accelerates resolution of inflammation without affecting organism host defence, making this a particularly attractive candidate for potential pro-resolution therapeutics. On the other hand, β-lapachones exhibit effects on neutrophil recruitment yet not on resolution. Notable differences in toxicity profiles between compound classes were also observed.

MAP Kinase ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Xing

The trigger and etiology of chronic inflammatory diseases are not well understood, hindering the development of efficient therapeutic approaches. The observation that abnormal activity of the p38 MAPK is common to all inflammatory diseases raised the expectation that p38 inhibitors would serve as general anti-inflammatory therapeutics. A large number of inhibitors were consequently discovered. Several compounds of different scaffolds, blocking the p38 MAPK signaling pathway, have entered phase II clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pain, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. As I review here, in almost all cases the clinical trials have failed, leading to re-design of compounds and re-evaluation of p38 as a suitable target. I describe how structural features, unique to p38<span>α</span>, have been employed in the inhibitor design and achieved high degree of kinome selectivity. I then focus on some of the drugs that reached human trials and summarize their <em>in vitro/in vivo</em> pharmacological profiles and the related outcomes from clinical investigations. These compounds include VX-745, VX-702, RO-4402257, SCIO- 469, BIRB-796, SD-0006, PH-797804, AMG-548, LY2228820, SB-681323 and GW-856553. Finally, I discuss novel suggested approaches for the use of p38 inhibitors such as combining p38 inhibition with inhibiting other targets that function in parallel inflammatory pathways for achieving efficacy in treating inflammatory diseases.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Pniewska ◽  
Rafal Pawliczak

The increased morbidity, mortality, and ineffective treatment associated with the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have generated much research interest. The key role is played by phospholipases from the A2superfamily: enzymes which are involved in inflammation through participation in pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators production and have an impact on many immunocompetent cells. The 30 members of the A2superfamily are divided into 7 groups. Their role in asthma and COPD has been studiedin vitroandin vivo(animal models, cell cultures, and patients). This paper contains complete and updated information about the involvement of particular enzymes in the etiology and course of asthma and COPD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Xiaohong Yuan ◽  
Leyu Huang ◽  
Jiaqi Lei ◽  
Yingxin Long ◽  
Cong Li

PSORI-CM02 is an optimization formula of PSORI-CM01, which is a clinical herbal formula for the treatment for psoriasis in the Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine. Previous research indicates that it plays a critical role in anti-inflammation and immunoregulation. Rhizoma smilacis glabrae (RSG) is one herbal medicine of PSORI-CM02, whose effective anti-inflammatory component is astilbin. This study aims to test the anti-inflammatory and immunoregulation effects of astilbin as well as RSG in PSORI-CM02, and we, respectively, used the CuSO4-induced neutrophil-specific transgenic zebrafish model Tg(mpx: EGFP) and the melanin allele mutated Albino strain zebrafish model to visualize the effects of neutrophil recruitment and macrophage phagocytosis. Our data indicated that both PSORI-CM02 and astilbin had anti-inflammatory effects, leading to a reduction in the recruitment of neutrophils and promotion in macrophage phagocytosis. Nevertheless, the negative liquor of Rhizoma smilacis glabrae (PSORI-CM02 without RSG) also had anti-inflammatory and promoting macrophage phagocytosis effects. The results revealed the formula excluding RSG also had anti-inflammatory and immunoregulation effects, which demonstrated that RSG was not the major anti-inflammatory herbal medicine in PSORI-CM02. Similarly, astilbin was not the major anti-inflammatory active ingredient in the formula. The anti-inflammatory and the promotion of macrophage phagocytosis effect of PSORI-CM02 in vivo zebrafish were the results of multiple component interaction, which was the common characteristic of the Chinese medicine compound.


Biomedicines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 152
Author(s):  
Meredith A. Jones ◽  
William M. MacCuaig ◽  
Alex N. Frickenstein ◽  
Seda Camalan ◽  
Metin N. Gurcan ◽  
...  

Inflammatory diseases include a wide variety of highly prevalent conditions with high mortality rates in severe cases ranging from cardiovascular disease, to rheumatoid arthritis, to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, to graft vs. host disease, to a number of gastrointestinal disorders. Many diseases that are not considered inflammatory per se are associated with varying levels of inflammation. Imaging of the immune system and inflammatory response is of interest as it can give insight into disease progression and severity. Clinical imaging technologies such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are traditionally limited to the visualization of anatomical information; then, the presence or absence of an inflammatory state must be inferred from the structural abnormalities. Improvement in available contrast agents has made it possible to obtain functional information as well as anatomical. In vivo imaging of inflammation ultimately facilitates an improved accuracy of diagnostics and monitoring of patients to allow for better patient care. Highly specific molecular imaging of inflammatory biomarkers allows for earlier diagnosis to prevent irreversible damage. Advancements in imaging instruments, targeted tracers, and contrast agents represent a rapidly growing area of preclinical research with the hopes of quick translation to the clinic.


Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 883
Author(s):  
Xiangming Ji ◽  
Hongwei Yao ◽  
Maureen Meister ◽  
Douglas S. Gardenhire ◽  
Huanbiao Mo

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are the two major phenotypes of COPD, which have many symptoms, such as dyspnea, chronic cough, and mucus overproduction. Emphysema is characterized by the destruction of the alveolar wall, while chronic bronchitis is characterized by limitations in expiratory airflow. Cigarette smoking is the most significant risk factor for the pathogenesis of COPD in the developed world. Chronic inflammation contributes to the onset and progression of the disease and furthers the risk of comorbidities. Current treatment options and prevention strategies for COPD are very limited. Tocotrienols are a group of vitamin E molecules with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Individual tocotrienols (α, γ, and δ) have shown their ability to attenuate inflammation specifically via suppressing nuclear factor-κB-mediated cytokine production. The δ- and γ-forms of tocotrienols have been indicated as the most effective in the prevention of macrophage infiltration, production of reactive oxygen species, and cytokine secretion. This review briefly discusses the pathogenesis of COPD and the role of inflammation therein. Furthermore, we summarize the in vitro and in vivo evidence for the anti-inflammatory activity of tocotrienols and their potential application to COPD management. Coupled with the bioavailability and safety profile of tocotrienols, the ability of these compounds to modulate COPD progression by targeting the inflammation pathways renders them potential candidates for novel therapeutic approaches in the treatment of COPD patients.


Biomolecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaella Margherita Zampieri ◽  
Alessandra Adessi ◽  
Fabrizio Caldara ◽  
Alessia Codato ◽  
Mattia Furlan ◽  
...  

The Euganean Thermal District (Italy) represents the oldest and largest thermal center in Europe, and its therapeutic mud is considered a unique product whose beneficial effects have been documented since Ancient Roman times. Mud properties depend on the heat and electrolytes of the thermal water, as well as on the bioactive molecules produced by its biotic component, mainly represented by cyanobacteria. The investigation of the healing effects of compounds produced by the Euganean cyanobacteria represents an important goal for scientific validation of Euganean mud therapies and for the discovering of new health beneficial biomolecules. In this work, we evaluated the therapeutic potential of exopolysaccharides (EPS) produced by Phormidium sp. ETS05, the most abundant cyanobacterium of the Euganean mud. Specifically, Phormidium EPS resulted in exerting anti-inflammatory and pro-resolution activities in chemical and injury-induced zebrafish inflammation models as demonstrated using specific transgenic zebrafish lines and morphometric and expression analyses. Moreover, in vivo and in vitro tests showed no toxicity at all for the EPS concentrations tested. The results suggest that these EPS, with their combined anti-inflammatory and pro-resolution activities, could be one of the most important therapeutic molecules present in the Euganean mud and confirm the potential of these treatments for chronic inflammatory disease recovery.


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Bulska ◽  
Daria Orszulak-Michalak

Abstract Macrolides are a group of antibiotics whose activity is ascribable to the presence of the macrolide ring, to which one or more deoxy sugars may be attached. Two properties are inherent in this group of antibiotics, the immunomodulatory and the anti-inflammatory actions, ensuring great efficacy in a wide spectrum of infections. Macrolides demonstrate several immunomodulatory activities both in vitro and in vivo. They can down-regulate prolonged inflammation, increase mucus clearance, prevent the formation of bacterial biofilm and either enhance or reduce activation of the immune system. According to given properties and exceptional effects on bacterial phatogens, the macrolide antimicrobial agents have been found to serve a unique role in the management of chronic airway disorders, including diffuse panbronchiolitis, cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Use of macrolides can result in clinical improvement in patients with severe, chronic inflammatory airway diseases, improving their spirometry indicators, gas exchange and overall quality of life.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 445
Author(s):  
Daniela Zizioli ◽  
Simona Bernardi ◽  
Marco Varinelli ◽  
Mirko Farina ◽  
Luca Mignani ◽  
...  

Zebrafish has proven to be a versatile and reliable experimental in vivo tool to study human hematopoiesis and model hematological malignancies. Transgenic technologies enable the generation of specific leukemia types by the expression of human oncogenes under specific promoters. Using this technology, a variety of myeloid and lymphoid malignancies zebrafish models have been described. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a clonal myeloproliferative neoplasia characterized by the BCR-ABL1 fusion gene, derived from the t (9;22) translocation causing the Philadelphia Chromosome (Ph). The BCR-ABL1 protein is a constitutively activated tyrosine kinas inducing the leukemogenesis and resulting in an accumulation of immature leukemic cells into bone marrow and peripheral blood. To model Ph+ CML, a transgenic zebrafish line expressing the human BCR-ABL1 was generated by the Gal4/UAS system, and then crossed with the hsp70-Gal4 transgenic line. The new line named (BCR-ABL1pUAS:CFP/hsp70-Gal4), presented altered expression of hematopoietic markers during embryonic development compared to controls and transgenic larvae showed proliferating hematopoietic cells in the caudal hematopoietic tissue (CHT). The present transgenic zebrafish would be a robust CML model and a high-throughput drug screening tool.


Author(s):  
Mingzhu Luan ◽  
Huiyun Wang ◽  
Jiazhen Wang ◽  
Xiaofan Zhang ◽  
Fenglan Zhao ◽  
...  

: In vivo and in vitro studies reveal that ursolic acid (UA) is able to counteract endogenous and exogenous inflammatory stimuli, and has favorable anti-inflammatory effects. The anti-inflammatory mechanisms mainly include decreasing the release of histamine in mast cells, suppressing the activities of lipoxygenase, cyclooxygenase and phospholipase, and reducing the production of nitric oxide and reactive oxygen species, blocking the activation of signal pathway, down-regulating the expression of inflammatory factors, and inhibiting the activities of elastase and complement. These mechanisms can open up new avenues for the scientific community to develop or improve novel therapeutic approaches to tackle inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, atherosclerosis, neuroinflammation, liver diseases, kidney diseases, diabetes, dermatitis, bowel diseases, cancer. The anti-inflammatory activity, the anti-inflammatory mechanism of ursolic acid and its therapeutic applications are reviewed in this paper.


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