scholarly journals Early Neural Changes as Underlying Pathophysiological Mechanism in Diabetic Retinopathy

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Antolín Cantó ◽  
Javier Martínez ◽  
Giuliana Perini-Villanueva ◽  
María Miranda ◽  
Eloy Bejarano

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease often accompanied by diabetic retinopathy (DR), one of the most common diabetic complications. DR is an eye condition that causes vision deficiency and often leads to blindness. DR develops when blood vessels damage the retina, the light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. Before changes in retinal blood vessel permeability, different molecular and anatomical modifications take place in the retina, including early neural changes. This review will summarize the current status of knowledge regarding pathophysiological mechanisms underlying DR, with a special focus on early neural modifications associated with DR. We describe hyperglycemia-associated molecular and cellular alterations linked to the initiation and progression of DR. We also discuss retinal neurodegeneration as a shared feature in different in vitro and in vivo models of DR. Given how ubiquitous diabetes is and how severe the effects of DR are, we also examine the current pharmacological and genetic approaches for combatting this disease.

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (14) ◽  
pp. 3503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario D. Toro ◽  
Katarzyna Nowomiejska ◽  
Teresio Avitabile ◽  
Robert Rejdak ◽  
Sarah Tripodi ◽  
...  

A large number of preclinical studies suggest the involvement of resveratrol in the prevention and treatment of eye diseases induced by oxidative stress and inflammation. We tested the hypothesis that resveratrol influences many pathways of in vitro and in vivo models of diabetic retinopathy through a systematic literature review of original articles. The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. A literature search of all original articles published until April 2019 was performed. The terms “resveratrol” in combination with “retina”, “retinal pathology”, “diabetic retinopathy” and “eye” were searched. Possible biases were identified with the adopted SYRCLE’s tool. Eighteen articles met inclusion/exclusion criteria for full-text review. Eleven of them included in vitro experiments, 11 studies reported in vivo data and 3 studies described both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Most of the in vivo studies did not include data that would allow exclusion of bias risks, according to SYRCLE’s risk of bias tool. Both in vitro and in vivo data suggest anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative actions of resveratrol in models of diabetic retinopathy. However, results on its anti-angiogenic effects are contradictory and need more rigorous studies.


2022 ◽  
pp. 52-113
Author(s):  
Abdullah A. A. Alghamdi ◽  
Amr Ahmed WalyEldeen ◽  
Sherif Abdelaziz Ibrahim

In cancer, angiogenesis is a hallmark necessary to supply sufficient nutrients for tumor growth and metastasis to distant sites. Therefore, targeting tumor angiogenesis emerges as an attractive therapeutic modality to retard neoplastic cell growth and dissemination using classes of anti-angiogenic drugs. However, multiple administrations of these drugs show adverse effects, precluding their long-term usage. Conventional chemotherapeutic drugs, natural compounds, carbon-based materials, inorganic and metallic elements, genes, siRNAs, shRNAs, and microRNAs can be incorporated into nanovehicles (e.g. polymers) for delivery to specific targets. This chapter reviews angiogenesis and the underlying molecular mechanisms that regulate this process. Furthermore, this chapter provides an overview on different formulations of nanoparticles or nanovectors that employed to combat cancer, with a special focus on their therapeutic potentials in the context of the suppressive effects on tumor angiogenesis process using in vitro and in vivo models of different tumor entities.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aswini Poyyakkara ◽  
Sruthi Thekkeveedu ◽  
Sharath S. Shankar ◽  
V.B. Sameer Kumar

Angiogenesis is an indispensable biological process, any aberrancy associated with which can lead to pathological manifestations. To manage different pathological conditions associated with abnormal angiogenesis, Nanomaterial based formulations have been tested in in vitro and in vivo models by different groups. The research advancements pertaining to the applications of major candidate nanomaterials for the treatment of pathologies like tumor, cardiovascular diseases, diabetic retinopathy, age related macular degeneration, chronic wounds, impaired osteogenesis and nerve tissue degeneration, have been briefed in this chapter.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 83-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
André De Lima Mota ◽  
Bruna Vitorasso Jardim-Perassi ◽  
Tialfi Bergamin De Castro ◽  
Jucimara Colombo ◽  
Nathália Martins Sonehara ◽  
...  

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women and has a high mortality rate. Adverse conditions in the tumor microenvironment, such as hypoxia and acidosis, may exert selective pressure on the tumor, selecting subpopulations of tumor cells with advantages for survival in this environment. In this context, therapeutic agents that can modify these conditions, and consequently the intratumoral heterogeneity need to be explored. Melatonin, in addition to its physiological effects, exhibits important anti-tumor actions which may associate with modification of hypoxia and Warburg effect. In this study, we have evaluated the action of melatonin on tumor growth and tumor metabolism by different markers of hypoxia and glucose metabolism (HIF-1α, glucose transporters GLUT1 and GLUT3 and carbonic anhydrases CA-IX and CA-XII) in triple negative breast cancer model. In an in vitro study, gene and protein expressions of these markers were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR and immunocytochemistry, respectively. The effects of melatonin were also tested in a MDA-MB-231 xenograft animal model. Results showed that melatonin treatment reduced the viability of MDA-MB-231 cells and tumor growth in Balb/c nude mice (p <0.05). The treatment significantly decreased HIF-1α gene and protein expression concomitantly with the expression of GLUT1, GLUT3, CA-IX and CA-XII (p <0.05). These results strongly suggest that melatonin down-regulates HIF-1α expression and regulates glucose metabolism in breast tumor cells, therefore, controlling hypoxia and tumor progression. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (16) ◽  
pp. 2974-2986 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwang-sun Kim

Vectors are living organisms that transmit infectious diseases from an infected animal to humans or another animal. Biological vectors such as mosquitoes, ticks, and sand flies carry pathogens that multiply within their bodies prior to delivery to a new host. The increased prevalence of Vector-Borne Diseases (VBDs) such as Aedes-borne dengue, Chikungunya (CHIKV), Zika (ZIKV), malaria, Tick-Borne Disease (TBD), and scrub typhus has a huge impact on the health of both humans and livestock worldwide. In particular, zoonotic diseases transmitted by mosquitoes and ticks place a considerable burden on public health. Vaccines, drugs, and vector control methods have been developed to prevent and treat VBDs and have prevented millions of deaths. However, development of such strategies is falling behind the rapid emergence of VBDs. Therefore, a comprehensive approach to fighting VBDs must be considered immediately. In this review, I focus on the challenges posed by emerging outbreaks of VBDs and discuss available drugs and vaccines designed to overcome this burden. Research into promising drugs needs to be upgraded and fast-tracked, and novel drugs or vaccines being tested in in vitro and in vivo models need to be moved into human clinical trials. Active preventive tactics, as well as new and upgraded diagnostics, surveillance, treatments, and vaccination strategies, need to be monitored constantly if we are to manage VBDs of medical importance.


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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (12) ◽  
pp. 1227-1243
Author(s):  
Hina Qamar ◽  
Sumbul Rehman ◽  
D.K. Chauhan

Cancer is the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although chemotherapy and radiotherapy enhance the survival rate of cancerous patients but they have several acute toxic effects. Therefore, there is a need to search for new anticancer agents having better efficacy and lesser side effects. In this regard, herbal treatment is found to be a safe method for treating and preventing cancer. Here, an attempt has been made to screen some less explored medicinal plants like Ammania baccifera, Asclepias curassavica, Azadarichta indica, Butea monosperma, Croton tiglium, Hedera nepalensis, Jatropha curcas, Momordica charantia, Moringa oleifera, Psidium guajava, etc. having potent anticancer activity with minimum cytotoxic value (IC50 >3μM) and lesser or negligible toxicity. They are rich in active phytochemicals with a wide range of drug targets. In this study, these medicinal plants were evaluated for dose-dependent cytotoxicological studies via in vitro MTT assay and in vivo tumor models along with some more plants which are reported to have IC50 value in the range of 0.019-0.528 mg/ml. The findings indicate that these plants inhibit tumor growth by their antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic, anti-metastatic and anti-angiogenic molecular targets. They are widely used because of their easy availability, affordable price and having no or sometimes minimal side effects. This review provides a baseline for the discovery of anticancer drugs from medicinal plants having minimum cytotoxic value with minimal side effects and establishment of their analogues for the welfare of mankind.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 1227-1244
Author(s):  
Dharmendra Kumar ◽  
Pramod K. Sharma

Background:: Opuntia species, locally known as prickly pear was used for various purposes as food, medicine, beverage, source of dye and animal food. Many studies have revealed its pharmacology activity from time to time. This review is a collection of chemistry, pharmacognosy, pharmacology and bioapplications of the cactus family. Methods: Many sources were used to collect information about Opuntia species such as Pub med, Google scholar, Agris, science direct, Embase, Merk index, Wiley online library, books and other reliable sources. This review contains studies from 1812 to 2019. Results: The plants from the cactus family offer various pharmacological active compounds including phenolic compounds, carotenoids, betalains, vitamins, steroids, sugar, amino acids, minerals and fibers. These bioactive compounds serve various pharmacological activities such as anticancer, antiviral, anti-diabetic, Neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, Hepatoprotective, antibacterial, antiulcer and alcohol hangover. According to various studies, Opuntia species offer many bioapplications such as fodder for animal, soil erosion, prevention, human consumption and waste water decontamination. Finally, different parts of plants are used in various formulations that offer many biotechnology applications. Conclusion: Different parts of Opuntia plant (fruits, seeds, flowers and cladodes) are used in various health problems which include wound healing, anti-inflammatory and urinary tract infection from ancient times. Nowadays, researches have extended several pharmacological and therapeutic uses of Opuntia species as discussed in this review. Many in-vitro and in-vivo models are also discussed in this review as the proofs of research findings. Various research gaps have been observed in current studies that require attention in the future.


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