Protective effect of metoclopramide against organophosphate-induced apoptosis in the murine skin fibroblast L929

Lycopene attenuates chlorpyrifos-induced hepatotoxicity in rats via activation of Nrf2/HO-1 axis

Chlorpyrifos (CPF), is an organophosphate pesticide that is widely used for agricultural purposes. However, it has well-documented hepatotoxicity. Lycopene (LCP) is a plant-derived carotenoid with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. The present work was designed to evaluate the potential hepatoprotective actions of LCP against CPF-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Animals were assigned into five groups namely: Group I (Control), Group II (LCP), Group III (CPF), Group IV (CPF + LCP 5 mg/kg), and Group V (CPF + LCP 10 mg/kg). LCP offered protection as evidenced by inhibiting the rise in serum activities of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) induced by CPF. This was confirmed histologically as LCP-treated animals showed liver tissues with less proliferation of bile ducts and periductal fibrosis. LCP significantly prevented the rise in hepatic content of malondialdehyde (MDA), depletion of reduced glutathione (GSH), and exhaustion of glutathione-s-transferase (GST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Further, LCP significantly prevented hepatocyte death as it ameliorated the increase in Bax and the decrease in Bcl-2 expression induced by CPF in liver tissues as determined immunohistochemically. The observed protective effects of LCP were further confirmed by a significant enhancement in heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) expression. In conclusion, LCP possesses protective effects against CPF-induced hepatotoxicity. These include antioxidation and activation of the Nrf2/HO-1 axis.

Metoclopramide nanoparticles modulate immune response in a diabetic rat model: association with regulatory T cells and proinflammatory cytokines

Background

The inflammatory basis of diabetes mellitus directed the researchers’ attention to the immune system for better management and prevention of complications. Metoclopramide (MCA; the only US Food and Drug Administration-approved for gastroparesis) has the ability to restore immune function through increasing prolactin secretion. This study aimed to test the effect of BSA/MCA nanoparticles (NPs) on modulating immune response.

Methods

BSA/MCA NPs were fabricated by desolvation and evaluated in vitro via measuring loading efficiency, particle size, and surface charge. The selected formula was further evaluated via differential scanning calorimetry and release behavior. Then, NPs were injected into rats (25 mg MCA/kg/week) for 3 weeks to be evaluated histopathologically and immunologically via measuring proinflammatory cytokines, such as IL1β, IL6, and TNFα, in addition to measuring regulatory T-cell frequency.

Results

MCA was successfully loaded on BSA, achieving high encapsulation efficiency reaching 63±2%, particles size of 120–130 nm with good polydispersity, and a negative surface charge indicating that entire positively charged drug was encapsulated inside NPs. Differential scanning calorimetry thermography of selected NPs showed an obvious interaction between components and cross-linking of BSA molecules using glutaraldehyde, resulting in sustained release of MCA (around 50% within 3 days). MCA NPs significantly restored the immune response via decreasing proinflammatory cytokines and increasing regulatory T-cell frequency when compared to control and free MCA (drug not loaded in NPs)-treated groups. Histopathological examination of this MCA NPs-treated group did not show the characteristic lesions of diabetes, and apoptosis nearly disappeared.

Conclusion

BSA/MCA NPs could be considered a new modality for treatment of gastro-paresis, in addition to management of diabetes itself and preventing its complications via an MCA-immunomodulatory effect.

Electrospinning Nanofibers for Therapeutics Delivery

The limitations of conventional therapeutic drugs necessitate the importance of developing novel therapeutics to treat diverse diseases. Conventional drugs have poor blood circulation time and are not stable or compatible with the biological system. Nanomaterials, with their exceptional structural properties, have gained significance as promising materials for the development of novel therapeutics. Nanofibers with unique physiochemical and biological properties have gained significant attention in the field of health care and biomedical research. The choice of a wide variety of materials for nanofiber fabrication, along with the release of therapeutic payload in sustained and controlled release patterns, make nanofibers an ideal material for drug delivery research. Electrospinning is the conventional method for fabricating nanofibers with different morphologies and is often used for the mass production of nanofibers. This review highlights the recent advancements in the use of nanofibers for the delivery of therapeutic drugs, nucleic acids and growth factors. A detailed mechanism for fabricating different types of nanofiber produced from electrospinning, and factors influencing nanofiber generation, are discussed. The insights from this review can provide a thorough understanding of the precise selection of materials used for fabricating nanofibers for specific therapeutic applications and also the importance of nanofibers for drug delivery applications.

A Summary of Electrospun Nanofibers as Drug Delivery System: Drugs Loaded and Biopolymers Used as Matrices

Recently, electrospun polymeric nanofibers have proven to be an interesting strategy for drug delivery systems application. The high surface-to-volume ratio of the fibers can improve some processes, such as cell binding and proliferation, drug loading, and mass transfer processes. One of the most important and studied areas of electrospinning is in the drug delivery field, for the controlled release of active substances ranging from antibiotics and anticancer agents to macromolecules such as proteins and DNA. The advantage of this method is that a wide variety of low solubility drugs can be loaded into the fibers to improve their bioavailability or to attain controlled release. This review presents an overview of the reported drugs loaded into polymeric nanofibers, to be used as drug delivery systems. For instance, it presents the reports on drugs with different bioactivities such as antiinflammatory, anti-microbial, anticancer, cardiovascular, anti-histamine, gastrointestinal, palliative and contraceptive drugs, etc. It also analyzes the electrospinning techniques used in each system, as well as the polymers used as matrices for the preparation of the nanofibers; unfolding the advantages of electrospun polymeric nanofibers over other drug delivery systems. This review intends to enlist and summarize the reported literature concerning this topic. In addition, it proposes future research in the field.