Therapeutic potential of saffron in brain disorders: From bench to bedside.

Saffron is a spice derived from the flower of Crocus sativus L., which has been used for centuries as a coloring and flavoring agent, as well as a source of medicinal compounds. Saffron contains various bioactive constituents, such as crocin, crocetin, safranal, picrocrocin, and kaempferol, that have shown potential benefits for human health. Among them, crocin is the most abundant and characteristic constituent of saffron, responsible for its bright red color and antioxidant properties. One of the most promising applications of saffron and its constituents is in the prevention and treatment of neurological disorders, such as depression, anxiety, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other brain disorders. Saffron and its constituents have been reported to exert neuroprotective effects through various mechanisms, such as modulating neurotransmitters, enhancing neurogenesis, reducing neuroinflammation, regulating oxidative stress, activating the Nrf2 signaling pathway, and modulating epigenetic factors. Several clinical and preclinical studies have demonstrated the efficacy and safety of saffron and its constituents in improving cognitive function, mood, and other neurological outcomes. In this review, we summarize the current evidence on the therapeutic potential of saffron and its constituents in neurological disorders, from bench to bedside. We also discuss the challenges and future directions for the development of saffron-based therapies for brain health.

Neuroprotective effects of the PPARß/δ antagonist GSK0660 in in vitro and in vivo Parkinson's disease models.

BACKGROUND: The underlying mechanism of Parkinson's disease are still unidentified, but excitotoxicity, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation are considered key actors. Proliferator activated receptors (PPARs) are transcription factors involved in the control of numerous pathways. Specifically, PPARß/δ is recognized as an oxidative stress sensor, and we have previously reported that it plays a detrimental role in neurodegeneration. METHODS: Basing on this concept, in this work, we tested the potential effects of a specific PPARß/δ antagonist (GSK0660) in an in vitro model of Parkinson's disease. Specifically, live-cell imaging, gene expression, Western blot, proteasome analyses, mitochondrial and bioenergetic studies were performed. Since we obtained promising results, we tested this antagonist in a 6-hydroxydopamine hemilesioned mouse model. In the animal model, behavioral tests, histological analysis, immunofluorescence and western blot of substantia nigra and striatum upon GSK0660 were assayed. RESULTS: Our findings suggested that PPARß/δ antagonist has neuroprotective potential due to neurotrophic support, anti-apoptotic and anti-oxidative effects paralleled to an amelioration of mitochondria and proteasome activity. These findings are strongly supported also by the siRNA results demonstrating that by silencing PPARß/δ a significative rescue of the dopaminergic neurons was obtained, thus indicating an involvement of PPARß/δ in PD's pathogenesis. Interestingly, in the animal model, GSK0660 treatment confirmed neuroprotective effects observed in the in vitro studies. Neuroprotective effects were highlighted by the behavioural performance and apomorphine rotation tests amelioration and the reduction of dopaminergic neuronal loss. These data were also confirmed by imaging and western blotting, indeed, the tested compound decreased astrogliosis and activated microglia, concomitant with an upregulation of neuroprotective pathways. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, PPARß/δ antagonist displayed neuroprotective activities against 6-hydroxydopamine detrimental effects both in vitro and in vivo models of Parkinson's disease, suggesting that it may represent a novel therapeutic approach for this disorder.

Current and experimental therapeutics for Fabry disease.

Fabry (or Anderson-Fabry) is a rare pan-ethnic disease affecting males and females. Fabry is an X-linked lysosomal storage disease, affecting glycosphingolipid metabolism, that is caused by mutations of the GLA gene that codes for α-galactosidase A. Fabry disease (FD) can be classified into a severe, classical phenotype, most often seen in men with no residual enzyme activity, that usually appear before 18 years and a usually milder, nonclassical (later-onset) phenotype that usually appear above 18 years. Affected patients show multifactorial complications, including renal failure, cardiovascular problems, and neuropathy. In this review, we briefly report the clinical trials so far performed with the available therapies, and then we focus on the in vitro and the in vivo experimental models of the disease, to highlight the relevance in improving the existing therapeutics and understand the mechanism of this rare disorder. Current available in vivo and in vitro models can assist in better comprehension of the pathogenesis and underlying mechanisms of FD, thus the existing therapeutic approaches can be optimized, and new options can be developed.

Benefits under the Sea: The Role of Marine Compounds in Neurodegenerative Disorders.

Marine habitats offer a rich reservoir of new bioactive compounds with great pharmaceutical potential; the variety of these molecules is unique, and its production is favored by the chemical and physical conditions of the sea. It is known that marine organisms can synthesize bioactive molecules to survive from atypical environmental conditions, such as oxidative stress, photodynamic damage, and extreme temperature. Recent evidence proposed a beneficial role of these compounds for human health. In particular, xanthines, bryostatin, and 11-dehydrosinulariolide displayed encouraging neuroprotective effects in neurodegenerative disorders. This review will focus on the most promising marine drugs' neuroprotective potential for neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. We will describe these marine compounds' potential as adjuvant therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, based on their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic properties.

Looking for In Vitro Models for Retinal Diseases.

Retina is a layered structure of the eye, composed of different cellular components working together to produce a complex visual output. Because of its important role in visual function, retinal pathologies commonly represent the main causes of visual injury and blindness in the industrialized world. It is important to develop in vitro models of retinal diseases to use them in first screenings before translating in in vivo experiments and clinics. For this reason, it is important to develop bidimensional (2D) models that are more suitable for drug screening and toxicological studies and tridimensional (3D) models, which can replicate physiological conditions, for investigating pathological mechanisms leading to visual loss. This review provides an overview of the most common retinal diseases, relating to in vivo models, with a specific focus on alternative 2D and 3D in vitro models that can replicate the different cellular and matrix components of retinal layers, as well as injury insults that induce retinal disease and loss of the visual function.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease: New Insights into the Interplay between Environmental Factors and PPARγ.

The pathophysiological processes of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), i.e., Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are still not completely understood. The exact etiology remains unknown, but it is well established that the pathogenesis of the inflammatory lesions is due to a dysregulation of the gut immune system resulting in over-production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Increasing evidence underlines the involvement of both environmental and genetic factors. Regarding the environment, the microbiota seems to play a crucial role. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are nuclear receptors that exert pleiotropic effects on glucose homeostasis, lipid metabolism, inflammatory/immune processes, cell proliferation, and fibrosis. Furthermore, PPARs modulate interactions with several environmental factors, including microbiota. A significantly impaired PPARγ expression was observed in UC patients' colonic epithelial cells, suggesting that the disruption of PPARγ signaling may represent a critical step of the IBD pathogenesis. This paper will focus on the role of PPARγ in the interaction between environmental factors and IBD, and it will analyze the most suitable in vitro and in vivo models available to better study these relationships.

An Update on Graphene-Based Nanomaterials for Neural Growth and Central Nervous System Regeneration.

Thanks to their reduced size, great surface area, and capacity to interact with cells and tissues, nanomaterials present some attractive biological and chemical characteristics with potential uses in the field of biomedical applications. In this context, graphene and its chemical derivatives have been extensively used in many biomedical research areas from drug delivery to bioelectronics and tissue engineering. Graphene-based nanomaterials show excellent optical, mechanical, and biological properties. They can be used as a substrate in the field of tissue engineering due to their conductivity, allowing to study, and educate neural connections, and guide neural growth and differentiation; thus, graphene-based nanomaterials represent an emerging aspect in regenerative medicine. Moreover, there is now an urgent need to develop multifunctional and functionalized nanomaterials able to arrive at neuronal cells through the blood-brain barrier, to manage a specific drug delivery system. In this review, we will focus on the recent applications of graphene-based nanomaterials in vitro and in vivo, also combining graphene with other smart materials to achieve the best benefits in the fields of nervous tissue engineering and neural regenerative medicine. We will then highlight the potential use of these graphene-based materials to construct graphene 3D scaffolds able to stimulate neural growth and regeneration in vivo for clinical applications.

Local anesthetics counteract cell proliferation and migration of human triple-negative breast cancer and melanoma cells.

In different retrospective studies, a protective role of regional anesthetics in reducing cancer recurrence after surgery was indicated. Accordingly, it has been previously demonstrated a protective effect of anesthetics in breast cancer cells and in other types of cancer. On the other hand, how anesthetics influence cancer needs in-depth investigations. For this purpose, two different human cancer cell lines, MDA-MB-231, triple-negative breast cancer, and A375, melanoma, were used in this study. By means of Western blotting and immunofluorescence and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling analyses, the signal transduction pathways activated by the anesthetics, such as ropivacaine and levobupivacaine, were analyzed. The data obtained demonstrated that both anesthetics are able to counteract cell proliferation by positively modulating cell death signaling and by decreasing cell proliferation and survival pathways.

Neuroprotective activities of bacopa, lycopene, astaxanthin, and vitamin B12 combination on oxidative stress-dependent neuronal death.

Oxidative stress is considered the common effector of the cascade of degenerative events in many neurological conditions. Thus, in this paper we tested different nutraceuticals in H2 O2 in vitro model to understand if could represent an adjuvant treatment for neurological diseases. In this study, nutraceuticals bacopa, lycopene, astaxanthin, and vitamin B12 were used alone or in combination in human neuronal differentiated SH-SY5Y cells upon hydrogen peroxide-induced injury and neuroprotective, neuronal death pathways were analyzed. The nutraceuticals analyzed were able to protect H2 O2 cytotoxic effects, through increasing cell viability and proteins involved in neuroprotection pathways and restoring proteins involved in cell death pathways. On this basis, it is possible to propose the use of these compounds as dietary supplement for the prevention or as adjuvant to the only symptomatic treatments so far available for neurodegenerative diseases.

Neuroprotective potential of choline alfoscerate against ß-amyloid injury: Involvement of neurotrophic signals.

Alzheimer's disease represents the most prevalent neurodegeneration worldwide, clinically characterized by cognitive and memory impairment. New therapeutic approaches are extremely important to counteract this disorder. This research is focused on the potential use of choline alfoscerate in preventing neuronal death using in vitro models of Alzheimer's disease, representing the early stage of the disease, treated before or after the insult with glycerylphosphorylcholine. On the light of the results collected, we can postulate that choline alfoscerate, by the activation of the neurotrophin survival pathway, was able to counteract the detrimental effect of ß-amyloid in both in vitro models, reducing apoptotic cell death and preserving the neuronal morphology.

Sublethal exposure to propylparaben leads to lipid metabolism impairment in zebrafish early-life stages.

Parabens are widely used in cosmetics, toiletries, food and pharmaceuticals. Toxicological effects of parabens on human lipid metabolism are not well established. The present study used the early-life stages of zebrafish (Danio rerio) to determine the toxicity of propylparaben (PP). The embryos were exposed for 96 hours postfertilization (hpf) at five different concentrations of PP, and lethal and sublethal alterations were recorded daily. The lethal concentration 50 (LC50 ) value was 3.98 mg/L. The most common sublethal alterations recorded at 1 and 2 mg/L were an enlarged and misshaped yolk sac, hyperexcitability, and reduction in head size and swim bladder. At sublethal concentrations of 1 and 2 mg/L, we observed an altered lipid metabolism, in terms of decrease in neutral lipid mobilization from yolk and alteration of phospholipid metabolism, both in the body and in the yolk sac. These observations were combined with strong head cartilage defects, indicating a strong effect of PP on head development. This research demonstrates that PP interferes with lipid utilization in zebrafish during early-life stages that might be involved in neurological and skeletal abnormalities.

Insights into the Effects of Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Secretome in Parkinson's Disease.

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived secretome demonstrated therapeutic effects like those reported after MSCs transplantation. MSC-derived secretome may avoid various side effects of MSC-based therapy, comprising undesirable differentiation of engrafted MSCs and potential activation of the allogeneic immune response. MSC-derived secretome comprises soluble factors and encapsulated extravesicles (EVs). MSC-derived EVs comprise microvesicles, apoptotic bodies, and exosomes. In this review, we focus on the recent insights into the effects of MSC-derived secretome in Parkinson's disease (PD). In particular, MSC-derived secretome and exosomal components counteracted neuroinflammation and enhanced antioxidant capacity and neurotrophic factors expression. In light of the insights reported in this review, MSC-derived secretome or their released exosomes may be used as a potential therapeutic approach or as adjuvant therapy to counteract the disease progression and improve PD symptoms. Also, MSC-derived secretome may be used as a vehicle in cell transplantation approaches to enhance the viability and survival of engrafted cells. Furthermore, since exosomes can cross the blood-brain barrier, they may be used as biomarkers of neural dysfunction. Further studies are necessary to fully characterize the bioactive molecules present in the secretome and to create a new, effective, cell-free therapeutic approach towards a robust clinical outcome for PD patients.

MicroRNAs Dysregulation and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Neurodegenerative diseases are debilitating and currently incurable conditions causing severe cognitive and motor impairments, defined by the progressive deterioration of neuronal structure and function, eventually causing neuronal loss. Understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying these disorders are essential to develop therapeutic approaches. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs implicated in gene expression regulation at the post-transcriptional level. Moreover, miRNAs are crucial for different processes, including cell growth, signal transmission, apoptosis, cancer and aging-related neurodegenerative diseases. Altered miRNAs levels have been associated with the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial dysfunction. Mitochondrial dysfunction and ROS formation occur in many neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases. The crosstalk existing among oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and miRNAs dysregulation plays a pivotal role in the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Based on this evidence, in this review, with a focus on miRNAs and their role in mitochondrial dysfunction in aging-related neurodegenerative diseases, with a focus on their potential as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Chemokine Signaling in Chemotherapy-Induced Neuropathic Pain.

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a side effect of chemotherapics such as taxanes, vinca alkaloids, and platinum compounds. In recent years, several reports have indicated the involvement of different molecular mechanisms in CIPN. The pathways described so far are diverse and target various components of the peripheral Nervous System (PNS). Among the contributors to neuropathic pain, inflammation has been indicated as a powerful driver of CIPN. Several pieces of evidence have demonstrated a chemotherapy-induced increase in peripheral pro-inflammatory cytokines and a strong correlation with peripheral neuropathy. At present, there are not adequate strategies to prevent CIPN, although there are drugs for treating CIPN, such as duloxetine, that have displayed a moderate effect on CIPN. In this review, we focus on the players involved in CIPN with a particular emphasis on chemokine signaling.

PPARγ and Cognitive Performance.

Recent findings have led to the discovery of many signaling pathways that link nuclear receptors with human conditions, including mental decline and neurodegenerative diseases. PPARγ agonists have been indicated as neuroprotective agents, supporting synaptic plasticity and neurite outgrowth. For these reasons, many PPARγ ligands have been proposed for the improvement of cognitive performance in different pathological conditions. In this review, the research on this issue is extensively discussed.

Lifestyle and Food Habits Impact on Chronic Diseases: Roles of PPARs.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are nuclear receptors that exert important functions in mediating the pleiotropic effects of diverse exogenous factors such as physical exercise and food components. Particularly, PPARs act as transcription factors that control the expression of genes implicated in lipid and glucose metabolism, and cellular proliferation and differentiation. In this review, we aim to summarize the recent advancements reported on the effects of lifestyle and food habits on PPAR transcriptional activity in chronic disease.

Mesalazine treatment in organotypic culture of celiac patients: Comparative study with gluten free diet.

Given the central role of gluten in the pathogenesis of celiac disease (CD), a strict gluten-free diet (GFD) is the only validated treatment able to restore epithelium integrity and eliminate risks of complications. The risk of gluten contamination and the persistence of inflammation, even in patients strictly adhering to GFD, may render this treatment not always effective claiming the necessity of different new solutions. Oxidative and nitrosative stress have been indicated to play a pathophysiological role in CD. Mesalazine (5-ASA), a drug largely used in inflammatory bowel disease, has potent antinflammatory and antioxidant effects. In fact, mesalazine has been shown to decrease in vitro gluten induced cytokine response and it has been used in vivo in some refractory condition. However, its effect has never compared to that of GFD. The present study aimed to address this issue by comparing the ability of mesalazine and GFD in treating gluten-induced inflammation and oxidative stress. These effects were studied on duodenal mucosa biopsy cultures from newly diagnosed CD patients, treated or not in vitro with mesalazine, and CD biopsy cultures from patients on gluten-free diet for at least one year; and a cohort of controls constituted by healty subjects. On these models, the antioxidant cellular defences, the PPARγ, NF-kB and NOS2 proteins levels were studied. This study shows that mesalazine is as effective as GFD in reducing oxidative burst and inducing PPARγ expression; moreover it resulted more effective than GFD in decreasing NF-kB and NOS2 to the levels of controls.

Targeted therapy of human glioblastoma via delivery of a toxin through a peptide directed to cell surface nucleolin.

Targeted anticancer therapies demand discovery of new cellular targets to be exploited for the delivery of toxic molecules and drugs. In this perspective, in the last few years, nucleolin has been identified as an interesting surface marker to be used for the therapy of glioblastoma. In this study, we investigated whether a synthetic antagonist of cell-surface nucleolin known as N6L, previously reported to decrease both tumor growth and tumor angiogenesis in several cancer cell lines, including glioblastoma cells, as well as endothelial cells proliferation, could be exploited to deliver a protein toxin (saporin) to glioblastoma cells. The pseudopeptide N6L cross-linked to saporin-S6 induced internalization of the toxin inside glioblastoma cancer cells. Our results in vitro demonstrated the effectiveness of this conjugate in inducing cell death, with an ID50 four orders of magnitude lower than that observed for free N6L. Furthermore, the preliminary in vivo study demonstrated efficiency in reducing the tumor mass in an orthotopic mouse model of glioblastoma.

Differential protein modulation by ketoprofen and ibuprofen underlines different cellular response by gastric epithelium.

Ketoprofen L-lysine salt (KLS), is widely used due to its analgesic efficacy and tolerability, and L-lysine was reported to increase the solubility and the gastric tolerance of ketoprofen. In a recent report, L-lysine salification has been shown to exert a gastroprotective effect due to its specific ability to counteract the NSAIDs-induced oxidative stress and up-regulate gastroprotective proteins. In order to derive further insights into the safety and efficacy profile of KLS, in this study we additionally compared the effect of lysine and arginine, another amino acid counterion commonly used for NSAIDs salification, in control and in ethanol challenged human gastric mucosa model. KLS is widely used for the control of post-surgical pain and for the management of pain and fever in inflammatory conditions in children and adults. It is generally well tolerated in pediatric patients, and data from three studies in >900 children indicate that oral administration is well tolerated when administered for up to 3 weeks after surgery. Since only few studies have so far investigated the effect of ketoprofen on gastric mucosa maintenance and adaptive mechanisms, in the second part of the study we applied the cMap approach to compare ketoprofen-induced and ibuprofen-induced gene expression profiles in order to explore compound-specific targeted biological pathways. Among the several genes exclusively modulated by ketoprofen, our attention was particularly focused on genes involved in the maintenance of gastric mucosa barrier integrity (cell junctions, morphology, and viability). The hypothesis was further validated by Real-time PCR.

PPARs and Energy Metabolism Adaptation during Neurogenesis and Neuronal Maturation.

Peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPARs) are a class of ligand-activated transcription factors, belonging to the superfamily of receptors for steroid and thyroid hormones, retinoids, and vitamin D. PPARs control the expression of several genes connected with carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, and it has been demonstrated that PPARs play important roles in determining neural stem cell (NSC) fate. Lipogenesis and aerobic glycolysis support the rapid proliferation during neurogenesis, and specific roles for PPARs in the control of different phases of neurogenesis have been demonstrated. Understanding the changes in metabolism during neuronal differentiation is important in the context of stem cell research, neurodegenerative diseases, and regenerative medicine. In this review, we will discuss pivotal evidence that supports the role of PPARs in energy metabolism alterations during neuronal maturation and neurodegenerative disorders.