Injectable thermosensitive chitosan-based hydrogel containing ferulic acid for treating peripheral arterial disease

Plant-derived and dietary phenolic cinnamic acid derivatives: Anti-inflammatory properties

Cinnamic acids are aromatic acids primarily found in plants and plant-derived food. Phenolic cinnamic acids, with one or more hydroxyl groups in the aromatic ring, often contribute to the biological activities attributed to these compounds. The presence of hydroxyl groups and a carboxyl group makes cinnamic acids very hydrophilic, preventing them from crossing biological membranes and exerting their biological activities. To alleviate this condition, a panel of synthetic modifications have been made leading to a diverse set of phenolic cinnamic structures. In this review, an overview of the natural phenolic cinnamic acid derivatives and their plant sources (more than 200) is described. The synthetic approaches to obtain the referred derivatives (more than 200) namely esters and amides are reviewed. Further, their anti-inflammatory activity (more than 70 compounds) is scrutinized. Finally, future directions will be indicated to translate the research on phenolic cinnamic derivatives into potentially effective anti-inflammatory drugs.

Effects of sodium ferulate for injection on anticoagulation of warfarin in rats in vivo

BACKGROUND

Herb-drug interactions may result in increased adverse drug reactions or diminished drug efficacy, especially for drugs with a narrow therapeutic index such as warfarin. The current study investigates the effects of sodium ferulate for injection (SFI) on anticoagulation of warfarin from aspects of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics in rats and predicts the risk of the combination use.

METHODS

Rats were randomly divided into different groups and administered single- or multiple-dose of warfarin (0.2 mg/kg) with or without SFI of low dose (8.93 mg/kg) or high dose (26.79 mg/kg). Prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) were detected by a blood coagulation analyzer, and international normalized ratio (INR) values were calculated. UPLC-MS/MS was conducted to measure concentrations of warfarin enantiomers and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by DAS2.0 software.

RESULTS

The single-dose study demonstrated that SFI alone had no effect on coagulation indices, but significantly decreased PT and INR values of warfarin when the two drugs were co-administered (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), while APTT values unaffected (P > 0.05). Cmax and AUC of R/S-warfarin decreased but CL increased significantly in presence of SFI (P < 0.01). The multiple-dose study showed that PT, APTT, INR, and concentrations of R/S-warfarin decreased significantly when SFI was co-administered with warfarin (P < 0.01). Warfarin plasma protein binding rate was not significantly changed by SFI (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The present study implied that SFI could accelerate warfarin metabolism and weaken its anticoagulation intensity in rats.

Therapeutic angiogenesis and tissue revascularization in ischemic vascular disease

Ischemic vascular disease is a major healthcare problem. The keys to treatment lie in vascular regeneration and restoration of perfusion. However, current treatments cannot satisfy the need for vascular regeneration to restore blood circulation. As biomedical research has evolved rapidly, a variety of potential alternative therapeutics has been explored widely, such as growth factor-based therapy, cell-based therapy, and material-based therapy including nanomedicine and biomaterials. This review will comprehensively describe the main pathogenesis of vascular injury in ischemic vascular disease, the therapeutic function of the above three treatment strategies, the corresponding potential challenges, and future research directions.

Chitosan–Hydroxycinnamic Acids Conjugates: Emerging Biomaterials with Rising Applications in Biomedicine

Over the past thirty years, research has shown the huge potential of chitosan in biomedical applications such as drug delivery, tissue engineering and regeneration, cancer therapy, and antimicrobial treatments, among others. One of the major advantages of this interesting polysaccharide is its modifiability, which facilitates its use in tailor-made applications. In this way, the molecular structure of chitosan has been conjugated with multiple molecules to modify its mechanical, biological, or chemical properties. Here, we review the conjugation of chitosan with some bioactive molecules: hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs); since these derivatives have been probed to enhance some of the biological effects of chitosan and to fine-tune its characteristics for its application in the biomedical field. First, the main characteristics of chitosan and HCAs are presented; then, the currently employed conjugation strategies between chitosan and HCAs are described; and, finally, the studied biomedical applications of these derivatives are discussed to present their limitations and advantages, which could lead to proximal therapeutic uses.

Advances for the treatment of lower extremity arterial disease associated with diabetes mellitus

Lower extremity arterial disease (LEAD) is a major vascular complication of diabetes. Vascular endothelial cells dysfunction can exacerbate local ischemia, leading to a significant increase in amputation, disability, and even mortality in patients with diabetes combined with LEAD. Therefore, it is of great clinical importance to explore proper and effective treatments. Conventional treatments of diabetic LEAD include lifestyle management, medication, open surgery, endovascular treatment, and amputation. As interdisciplinary research emerges, regenerative medicine strategies have provided new insights to treat chronic limb threatening ischemia (CLTI). Therapeutic angiogenesis strategies, such as delivering growth factors, stem cells, drugs to ischemic tissues, have also been proposed to treat LEAD by fundamentally stimulating multidimensional vascular regeneration. Recent years have seen the rapid growth of tissue engineering technology; tissue-engineered biomaterials have been used to study the treatment of LEAD, such as encapsulation of growth factors and drugs in hydrogel to facilitate the restoration of blood perfusion in ischemic tissues of animals. The primary purpose of this review is to introduce treatments and novel biomaterials development in LEAD. Firstly, the pathogenesis of LEAD is briefly described. Secondly, conventional therapies and therapeutic angiogenesis strategies of LEAD are discussed. Finally, recent research advances and future perspectives on biomaterials in LEAD are proposed.

Thermosensitive Hydrogels and Advances in Their Application in Disease Therapy

Thermosensitive hydrogels, having unique sol–gel transition properties, have recently received special research attention. These hydrogels exhibit a phase transition near body temperature. This feature is the key to their applications in human medicine. In addition, hydrogels can quickly gel at the application site with simple temperature stimulation and without additional organic solvents, cross-linking agents, or external equipment, and the loaded drugs can be retained locally to improve the local drug concentration and avoid unexpected toxicity or side effects caused by systemic administration. All of these features have led to thermosensitive hydrogels being some of the most promising and practical drug delivery systems. In this paper, we review thermosensitive hydrogel materials with biomedical application potential, including natural and synthetic materials. We describe their structural characteristics and gelation mechanism and briefly summarize the mechanism of drug release from thermosensitive hydrogels. Our focus in this review was to summarize the application of thermosensitive hydrogels in disease treatment, including the postoperative recurrence of tumors, the delivery of vaccines, the prevention of postoperative adhesions, the treatment of nervous system diseases via nasal brain targeting, wound healing, and osteoarthritis treatment.

Recent Advances in Biological Activity, New Formulations and Prodrugs of Ferulic Acid

Trans-ferulic acid (FA) is a derivative of 4-hydroxycinnamic acid, which is found in many food products, fruits and beverages. It has scientifically proven antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. However, its low ability to permeate through biological barriers (e.g., the blood-brain barrier, BBB), its low bioavailability and its fast elimination from the gastrointestinal tract after oral administration limit its clinical use, e.g., for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, new nanotechnological approaches are developed in order to regulate intracellular transport of ferulic acid. The objective of this review is to summarize the last decade's research on biological properties of ferulic acid and innovative ways of its delivery, supporting pharmacological therapy.

Antioxidative and Angiogenic Hyaluronic Acid-Based Hydrogel for the Treatment of Peripheral Artery Disease

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a progressive atherosclerotic disorder characterized by blockages of the arteries supplying the lower extremities. Ischemia initiates oxidative damage and mitochondrial dysfunction in the legs of PAD patients, causing injury to the tissues of the leg, significant decline in walking performance, leg pain while walking, and in the most severe cases, nonhealing ulcers and gangrene. Current clinical trials based on cells/stem cells, the trophic factor, or gene therapy systems have shown some promising results for the treatment of PAD. Biomaterial matrices have been explored in animal models of PAD to enhance these therapies. However, current biomaterial approaches have not fully met the essential requirements for minimally invasive intramuscular delivery to the leg. Ideally, a biomaterial should present properties to ameliorate oxidative stress/damage and failure of angiogenesis. Recently, we have created a thermosensitive hyaluronic acid (HA) hydrogel with antioxidant capacity and skeletal muscle-matching stiffness. Here, we further optimized HA hydrogels with the cell adhesion peptide RGD to facilitate the development of vascular-like structures in vitro. The optimized HA hydrogel reduced intracellular reactive oxygen species levels and preserved vascular-like structures against H₂O₂-induced damage in vitro. HA hydrogels also provided prolonged release of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). After injection into rat ischemic hindlimb muscles, this VEGF-releasing hydrogel reduced lipid oxidation, regulated oxidative-related genes, enhanced local blood flow in the muscle, and improved running capacity of the treated rats. Our HA hydrogel system holds great potential for the treatment of the ischemic legs of patients with PAD.