ABSTRACT
Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease of the cardiac muscle and one of the primary causes of dilated cardiomyopathy. Group B coxsackievirus (CVB) is one of the leading causative pathogens of viral myocarditis, which primarily affects children and young adults. Due to the lack of vaccines, the development of antiviral medicines is crucial to controlling CVB infection and the progression of myocarditis. In this study, we investigated the antiviral effect of baicalein, a flavonoid extracted from Scutellaria baicaleinsis. Our results demonstrated that baicalein treatment significantly reduced cytopathic effect and increased cell viability in CVB3-infected cells. In addition, significant reductions in viral protein 3D, viral RNA, and viral particles were observed in CVB3-infected cells treated with baicalein. We found that baicalein exerted its inhibitory effect in the early stages of CVB3 infection. Baicalein also suppressed viral replication in the myocardium and effectively alleviated myocarditis induced by CVB3 infection. Our study revealed that baicalein exerts its antiviral effect by inhibiting the activity of caspase-1 and viral protease 2A. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that baicalein has antiviral activity against CVB3 infection and may serve as a potential therapeutic option for the myocarditis caused by enterovirus infection.
ABSTRACT
Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease primarily driven by host inflammation and plaque-induced immune responses. Controlling the host inflammatory response and improving the periodontal inflammatory microenvironment are crucial to promoting periodontal tissue regeneration. In this study, the blended nanofiber membranes previously prepared by our research group were improved, and we developed multifunctional chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol/graphene oxide/astaxanthin coaxial nanofiber membranes. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the prepared nanofibers had a smooth surface and a uniform diameter distribution. The mechanical property test results showed that the coaxial nanofiber membranes exhibited higher tensile strength compared to the blended nanofiber membranes, which increased from 4.50 ± 0.32 and 3.70 ± 0.45 MPa to 7.12 ± 0.22 and 5.62 ± 0.79 MPa respectively. Drug release studies indicated that the "shell-core" structure of coaxial nanofibers significantly reduced the initial burst release of astaxanthin (ASTA), with only 13.49 % and 10.71 % release in the first 24 h, and drug release lasted for over a week. Animal experiments confirmed that the coaxial nanofiber membranes loaded with ASTA promoted periodontal bone defect repair while inhibiting periodontal inflammation. In conclusion, the prepared coaxial nanofiber membranes are a promising sustained-release drug system for treating periodontitis.