Evidence-based mechanistic role of chrysin towards protection of cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in rats.

Cardiac hypertrophy is the enlargement of cardiomyocytes in response to persistent release of catecholamine which further leads to cardiac fibrosis. Chrysin, flavonoid from honey, is well known for its multifarious properties like antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic and anti-apoptotic. To investigate the cardioprotective potential of chrysin against isoproterenol (ISO), cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis are induced in rats. Acclimatised male albino Wistar rats were divided into seven groups (n 6): normal (carboxymethyl cellulose at 0·5 % p.o.; as vehicle), hypertrophy control (ISO 3 mg/kg, s.c.), CHY15 + H, CHY30 + H & CHY60 + H (chrysin; p.o.15, 30 and 60 mg/kg respectively + ISO at 3 mg/kg, s.c.), CHY60 (chrysin 60 mg/kg in per se) and LST + H (losartan 10 mg/kg p.o. + ISO 3 mg/kg, s.c.) were treated for 28 d. After the dosing schedule on day 29, haemodynamic parameters were recorded, after that blood and heart were excised for biochemical, histological, ultra-structural and molecular evaluations. ISO administration significantly increases heart weight:body weight ratio, pro-oxidants, inflammatory and cardiac injury markers. Further, histopathological, ultra-structural and molecular studies confirmed deteriorative changes due to ISO administration. Pre-treatment with chrysin of 60 mg/kg reversed the ISO-induced damage to myocardium and prevent cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis through various anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic, antioxidant and anti-fibrotic pathways. Data demonstrated that chrysin attenuated myocardial hypertrophy and prevented fibrosis via activation of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-ß)/Smad signalling pathway.

Mangiferin attenuates cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury in rats mediating modulation of MAPK pathway.

Cisplatin has been confined due to the reported cases of nephrotoxicity. In the present study, an active xanthone, Mangiferin (from Mangifera indica) was investigated for its defensive role in cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. Male wistar albino rats were divided into six groups i.e., group 1 (normal); group 2 (cisplatin control); group 3, 4, and 5 (mangiferin 10, 20, and 40 mg/kg, i.p.); and per se (40 mg/kg; i.p.). The treatment was given for 10 days. On day 7, single dose of cisplatin 8 mg/kg i.p. was administered to induce nephrotoxicity in all groups except normal and per se. On day 11, animals were anesthetized, blood was taken from heart and serum was separated. Thereafter, rats were sacrificed and kidneys were isolated and preserved for histopathological, ultrastructural, immunohistochemical, and western blot analysis. Cisplatin control group showed significant impairment in renal function due to increased inflammation and oxidative stress which was also confirmed by histopathology and MAPK pathway proteins expression. However, pretreatment with mangiferin 20 and 40 mg/kg significantly reversed the renal function along with the structural changes and the levels of antioxidants. Mangiferin treatment attenuated DNA damage and apoptotic pathway.

Role of MAPK/NF-κB pathway in cardioprotective effect of Morin in isoproterenol induced myocardial injury in rats.

Oxidative stress plays a major role in myocardial injury. Morin, a bioflavonoid has known to possess various biological activities in previous studies. Hence, this study evaluated the cardioprotective mechanism(s) of Morin against isoproterenol induced myocardial necrosis in rats. Male albino Wistar rats were divided into five groups (n = 8) i.e., I (normal), II (ISO-control), III, IV and V (morin 20, 40 and 80 mg/kg respectively). Groups III, IV and V were treated orally with daily doses of Morin accordingly for 28 days. On 26th and 27th day, a single injection of isoproterenol was injected (85 mg/kg s.c.) at 24 h interval to induce myocardial necrosis in group II, III, IV and V. On 28th day, hemodynamic parameters were evaluated, animals were euthanised and heart was excised for measurement of various parameters. In ISO-control rats, there was deterioration of hemodynamic parameters, decreased anti-oxidants levels, increased cardiac injury markers and pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6). Also, there was increased level of Bax, Caspase-3, p-JNK, p-38 and NF-κB and decreased expression of Bcl-2 and p-ERK1/2 in ISO-C group. Morin dose-dependently improved hemodynamic profile, increased anti-oxidant levels, normalized myocardial architecture and reduced inflammatory markers and apoptosis. Furthermore, immunoblot analysis of MAPK pathway proteins demonstrated the mechanism responsible for anti-apoptotic and anti-inflammatory potential of morin. Thus, this study substantiated the beneficial effect of Morin by virtue of its modulation of MAPK pathway in myocardial injury.

Therapeutic potential of Ficus benghalensis in thromboembolic disorders.

Ficus benghalensis L. (FB) is a popular plant described in the Indian system of medicine. Traditionally, it is indicated in the treatment of diseases like diabetes mellitus, dysentery, leucorrhoea, menorrhagia, skin disease, rheumatism, inflammatory diseases, blood disorders. This paper accentuates the anti-thrombotic action of FB based on the properties like anti-coagulant, platelet-antiaggregatory, anti-atherogenic hypotensive, hypolipidemic, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory. All the available data pertaining to FB has been searched in the scientific databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect and Scopus. FB is a rich lode of organic compounds such as phenols, flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, terpenoids and steroids. The various studies show that these phytochemical constituents exhibit wide range of anti-thrombotic actions such as anticoagulant, platelet anti-aggregatory, anti-atherogenic, hypolipidemic, hypotensive, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant. Various studies (in vitro and in vivo) confirm the potential anti-thrombotic benefit of FB due to the presence of chemical structures that have proven to be effective in thromboembolic conditions. These evidences may benefit in new drug development to treat varied thromboembolic conditions which will not only be cost effective but may allay the fear of side effects.

Abatacept: A Promising Repurposed Solution for Myocardial Infarction-Induced Inflammation in Rat Models.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is irreversible damage to the myocardial tissue caused by prolonged ischemia/hypoxia, subsequently leading to loss of contractile function and myocardial damage. However, after a perilous period, ischemia-reperfusion (IR) itself causes the generation of oxygen free radicals, disturbance in cation homeostasis, depletion of cellular energy stores, and activation of innate and adaptive immune responses. The present study employed Abatacept (ABT), which is an anti-inflammatory drug, originally used as an antirheumatic response agent. To investigate the cardioprotective potential of ABT, primarily, the dose was optimized in a chemically induced model of myocardial necrosis. Thereafter, ABT optimized the dose of 5 mg/kg s.c. OD was investigated for its cardioprotective potential in a surgical model of myocardial IR injury, where animals (n = 30) were randomized into five groups: Sham, IR-C, Telmi10 + IR (Telmisartan, 10 mg/kg oral OD), ABT5 + IR, ABT perse. ABT and telmisartan were administered for 21 days. On the 21st day, animals were subjected to LAD coronary artery occlusion for 60 min, followed by reperfusion for 45 min. Further, the cardioprotective potential was assessed through hemodynamic parameters, oxidant-antioxidant biochemical enzymatic parameters, cardiac injury, inflammatory markers, histopathological analysis, TUNEL assay, and immunohistochemical evaluation, followed by immunoblotting to explore signaling pathways. The statistics were performed by one-way analysis of variance, followed by the Tukey comparison post hoc tests. Noteworthy, 21 days of ABT pretreatment amended the hemodynamic and ventricular functions in the rat models of MI. The cardioprotective potential of ABT is accompanied by inhibiting MAP kinase signaling and modulating Nrf-2/HO-1 proteins downstream signaling cascade. Overall, the present work bolsters the previously known anti-inflammatory role of ABT in MI and contributes a mechanistic insight and application of clinically approved drugs in averting the activation of inflammatory response.

Morin ameliorates myocardial injury in diabetic rats via modulation of inflammatory pathways.

BACKGROUND: High blood glucose levels in diabetes lead to vascular inflammation which accelerates atherosclerosis. Herein, Morin was orally administered in male Wistar rats, at the dose of 40 mg/kg for 28 days, and on the 27th and 28th day, ISO was administered to designate groups at the dose of 85 mg/kg s.c., to induce myocardial infarction. RESULTS: Free radical generation, including ROS, in diabetes following ISO administration, leads to the activation of both intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of apoptosis. Morin significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduced oxidative stress (GSH, MDA, SOD), cardiac injury markers (CK-MB, LDH), inflammation (TNF, IL-6), and apoptosis (Bax, BCl2, Caspase-3). In addition, it also reduced insulin and blood glucose levels. Akt/eNOS, Nrf2/HO-1, MAPK signaling pathways, and Insulin signal transduction pathways were positively modulated by morin pre-treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Morin attenuated oxidative stress and inflammation and also modified the activity of various molecular pathways to mitigate cardiomyocyte damage during ISO-induced MI in diabetic rats.

A Smart Solution for Cancer Patient Monitoring Based on Internet of Medical Things Using Machine Learning Approach.

The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) is a huge, exciting new phenomenon that is changing the world of technology and innovating various industries, including healthcare. It has specific applications and changes in the medical world based on what can be done for clinical workflow models. The first and most fundamental thing that IoMT does in healthcare is to bring a flood of new data into medical processes. In this study, an efficient Internet of Medical Things based cancer detection model was proposed. In fact, for many, new fitness monitors and watches are one of the best examples on the Internet; these mobile, portable, wearable devices can record real-time heart rate, blood pressure, and eye movement of cancer patients. These details are sent to doctors or anywhere else. The proposed method leads to a kind of big data renaissance in the health service. The proposed model gets more accuracy while comparing with the existing models. This will help the doctors to analyze the patients' health report and provides better treatment.

Attenuation of ROS-mediated myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury by morin via regulation of RISK/SAPK pathways.

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. Morin, a bioflavonoid, has demonstrated antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and other diverse pharmacological activities in various experimental models such as isoproterenol-induced myocardial injury, doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity and neurotoxicity, as well as cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of morin in myocardial IR injury model and its underlying mechanisms. METHOD: To accomplish this, male albino Wistar rats were pre-treated with morin (40 and 80 mg/kg; po) for 28 days and on 29th day, rats experienced 45-min myocardial ischemia followed by 60-min reperfusion. RESULTS: In comparison to IR-control group, morin pre-treatment significantly normalized hemodynamic parameters, restored antioxidant status, improved pathological changes, reduced the release of cardiac injury markers, inhibited inflammation (TNF-α/IL-6/NFκB/IKKß) and apoptosis (increased Bcl-2, decreased Bax/Caspase-3 and TUNEL positivity) in the myocardium. This improvement in antioxidant, inflammation and anti-apoptosis markers could be due to downregulation of SAPK (p38/JNK) pathway and upregulation of survival kinase, i.e. RISK pathway (ERK/eNOS) in the myocardium. CONCLUSION: Thus, morin attenuated myocardial IR injury in rats by regulation of RISK/SAPK pathways.

Screening of process variables using Plackett-Burman design in the fabrication of gedunin-loaded liposomes.

This study is to screening the formulation and process variables that produce significant effect on the gedunin-loaded liposome formulations by using quality-by-design approach. Placket-Burman screening design was used to screen the most influencing formulation and process variables. Mean vesicle size, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, and loading capacity were found in the range of 112-990 nm, -19.39 to -39.20 mV, 45.25-87.60%, and 3.54-10.47%, respectively. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) result suggested that Gedunin encapsulated within liposome as amorphous state. The analysis of Pareto chart represented that selected independent variables had a most significant effect on dependent variables.

Febuxostat Modulates MAPK/NF-κBp65/TNF-α Signaling in Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.

Xanthine oxidase and xanthine dehydrogenase have been implicated in producing myocardial damage following reperfusion of an occluded coronary artery. We investigated and compared the effect of febuxostat and allopurinol in an experimental model of ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury with a focus on the signaling pathways involved. Male Wistar rats were orally administered vehicle (CMC) once daily (sham and IR + control), febuxostat (10 mg/kg/day; FEB10 + IR), or allopurinol (100 mg/kg/day; ALL100 + IR) for 14 days. On the 15th day, the IR-control and treatment groups were subjected to one-stage left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery ligation for 45 minutes followed by a 60-minute reperfusion. Febuxostat and allopurinol pretreatment significantly improved cardiac function and maintained morphological alterations. They also attenuated oxidative stress and apoptosis by suppressing the expression of proapoptotic proteins (Bax and caspase-3), reducing TUNEL-positive cells, and increasing the level of antiapoptotic proteins (Bcl-2). The MAPK-based molecular mechanism revealed suppression of active JNK and p38 proteins concomitant with the rise in ERK1/ERK2, a prosurvival kinase. Additionally, a reduction in the level of inflammatory markers (TNF-α, IL-6, and NF-κB) was also observed. The changes observed with febuxostat were remarkable in comparison with those observed with allopurinol. Febuxostat protects relatively better against IR injury than allopurinol by suppressing inflammation and apoptosis mediating the MAPK/NF-κBp65/TNF-α pathway.

Formulation optimization of erythromycin solid lipid nanocarrier using response surface methodology.

In present work response surface methodology (RSM) using the miscellaneous design model was used to optimize formulations of erythromycin solid lipid nanocarriers (ERY-SLN). Two-factor three level factorial design was considered for optimization. There were three parameters, drug entrapment efficiency (EE), drug loading (DL) percentage, and mean particle size of ERY-SLN, considered for investigating the optimal formulation with respect to two independent variables, including lipid concentration (X1) and surfactant : cosurfactant ratio (X2). The result showed that the optimal ERY-SLN was composed of lipid concentration (X1) 15 mg/mL and surfactant : cosurfactant ratio (X2) 1 : 1 with %EE of 88.40 ± 2.09%, DL of 29.46 ± 0.69%, mean particle size of 153.21 ± 2.31 nm, polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.026 ± 0.008, and zeta potential value of -15.18 ± (-5.53) mV. DSC and TEM study showed that there was no chemical interaction between ERY and lipid (GMS) and the ERY-SLN particles are nonspherical, respectively. The drug release experiments exhibited a sustained release over during 24 h, up to 66.26 ± 2.83%. Accelerated stability studies showed that there was no significant change occurring in the responses after storage condition for a total period of 3 months.

Extranodal Rosai-Dorfman disease in a carpal bone.

We report a case of extranodal Rosai-Dorfman Disease (RDD) of the scophoid in a 52-year old female. The patient presented with pain, swelling, and tenderness on deep palpation of the left wrist. Clinicoradiological diagnosis was osteomyelitis or tenosynovitis and curettage was performed on the lytic lesion over scaphoid to procure tissue. Diagnosis was made by histomorphology supported by immunostaining. The patient was managed conservatively with resolution of the lesion.