Unlocking milk thistle's anti-psoriatic potential in mice: Targeting PI3K/AKT/mTOR and KEAP1/NRF2/NF-κB pathways to modulate inflammation and oxidative stress.
Int Immunopharmacol
; 139: 112781, 2024 Sep 30.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39059101
ABSTRACT
Silybum marianum, known as milk thistle (MT), is traditionally used to manage liver diseases. This study aimed to investigate the role of MT extract topical application as a potential treatment for imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriatic lesions in mice with particular emphasis on phosphoinositol-3 Kinase (PI3K)/ protein kinase B (AKT)/ mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1)/ nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor (NRF2)/ nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) molecular cascades involvement. To address this aim, forty male Swiss albino mice were subdivided into four groups (n = 10 mice/group) control, IMQ model, standard group where mice were treated topically with IMQ, then the anti-psoriatic mometasone cream, and MT extract-treated group where mice were treated topically with IMQ followed by MT extract. In most measured parameters, MT extract, rich in silymarin, exhibited potent anti-psoriatic activity comparable to the standard cortisone treatment. MT extract mitigated dorsal skin erythema, scaling, and epidermal thickening, reflected by lowering the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) score. Moreover, it alleviated IMQ-induced splenomegaly. Mechanistically, the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway was the main functional pathway behind such improvements, where it was significantly inhibited by MT extract application. This led to NRF2 activation via KEAP1 downregulation with subsequent anti-inflammatory effect proven by reducing NF-κB, interleukin (IL)-23, and IL-17A and antioxidant ability proven by boosting the antioxidant glutathione and heme oxygenase-1. Such improvements were confirmed by alleviating the histopathological alteration. Thus, MT extract could be a promising therapeutic agent for psoriasis treatment by inhibiting PI3K/AKT/mTOR cascade, along with NRF2 signaling activation.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Psoriasis
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Plant Extracts
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Signal Transduction
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NF-kappa B
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Oxidative Stress
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Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases
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Silybum marianum
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Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt
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NF-E2-Related Factor 2
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TOR Serine-Threonine Kinases
Limits:
Animals
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Humans
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Male
Language:
En
Journal:
Int Immunopharmacol
Journal subject:
ALERGIA E IMUNOLOGIA
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FARMACOLOGIA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article