Oral Administration of Vitamin D3 Prevents Corneal Damage in a Knock-Out Mouse Model of Sjögren's Syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with dry eye development during Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Here, we investigated whether repeated oral vitamin D3 supplementation could prevent the corneal epithelium damage in an SS mouse model. METHODS: 30 female mouse knock-out for the thrombospondin 1 gene were randomized (six per group) in untreated mice euthanized at 6 weeks as negative control (C-) or at 12 weeks as the positive control for dry eye (C+). Other mice were sacrificed after 6 weeks of oral vitamin D3 supplementation in the drinking water (1000, 8000, and 20,000 IU/kg/week, respectively). RESULTS: The C+ mice showed alterations in their corneal epithelial morphologies and thicknesses (p < 0.01 vs. C-), while the mice receiving 8000 (M) and 20,000 (H) IU/kg/week of vitamin D3 showed preservation of the corneal epithelium morphology and thickness (p < 0.01 vs. C+). Moreover, while the C+ mice exhibited high levels and activity of corneal tumor necrosis factor alpha converting enzyme (TACE), neovascularization and fibrosis markers; these were all reduced in the M and H mice. CONCLUSIONS: Oral vitamin D3 supplementation appeared to counteract the negative effect of TACE on corneal epithelium in a mouse model of SS-associated dry eye.

Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Properties of a Thuja occidentalis Mother Tincture for the Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) represents a group of chronic autoimmune and idiopathic disorders that are characteristic of industrialized countries. In contrast to drug therapies, which exert several side effects, herbal remedies have constantly attracted the attention of researchers. Therefore, in the present study, a mother tincture (MT) from fresh, young, non-woody Thuja occidentalis L. branches with leaves was obtained using distillation-based techniques. Further, this was used to assess its in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activities and anti-inflammatory properties, and to validate it as a potential phytotherapeutic treatment for IBD. The characterization of the tincture included common phytochemical screening assays for antioxidant capacity measurement, cell viability assays on Caco-2 colon cells, and in vivo assessment of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects by histopathological and ultrastructural analysis of the intestinal mucosa, measurement of reduced glutathione, lipid peroxidation, and gene expression of the inflammation markers (interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α) in intestine after oral administration to an experimental mouse model of colon inflammation (colitis) developed by intrarectal administration of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS). Our study proved that administration of 25 or 50 mg T. occidentalis MT/kg of body weight/day by gavage for 7 days succeeded in inhibiting the inflammatory process induced by TNBS in the intestine, most probably because of its rich contents of flavonoids and phenolic compounds. These data could contribute to the formulation of therapeutic products based on T. occidentalis that could come to the aid of IBD patients.

Chrysin attenuates liver fibrosis and hepatic stellate cell activation through TGF-ß/Smad signaling pathway.

We investigated the protective effect of chrysin on chronic liver fibrosis in mice and the potential mechanism underlying TGF-ß1-mediated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) activation on fibrogenesis. Experimental fibrosis was established by intraperitoneal injection of mice with 20% v/v, 2 ml/kg CCl4 twice a week, for 7 weeks. Mice were orally treated with 3 doses of chrysin (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) or with vehicle as control. For the assessment of the spontaneous reversion of fibrosis, CCl4 treated animals were investigated after two weeks of recovery time. Silymarin was used as standard hepatoprotective flavonoid. Histopathological investigations showed that hepatic fibrosis grade was markedly reduced in the chrysin groups compared to the fibrotic one. Moreover, CCl4 activated HSCs induced an upregulation of smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), an increased number of TGF-ß1 immunopositive cells and marked up-regulation of TGF-ß1. α-SMA and TGF-ß1 levels were significantly reduced in all chrysin treated groups in a dose-dependent manner, whereas the level of spontaneous reversal of fibrosis was lower compared to all flavonoid treated groups. Liver mRNA levels of Smad 2 in the 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg chrysin treated groups were significantly reduced by about 88.54%, 92.15% and 95.56% of the corresponding levels in the fibrosis mice group. The results were similar for mRNA levels of Smad 3. The protective response to silymarin was almost similar to that seen with the highest doses of chrysin. In this study, we have shown that chrysin has the efficacy to reverse CCl4-stimulated liver fibrosis by inhibition of HSCs activation and proliferation through TGF-ß1/Smad pathway. These results suggest that chrysin may be useful in stopping or reversing the progression of liver fibrosis and might offer the possibility to develop a new therapeutic drug, useful in treatment of chronic liver diseases.