Immunomodulating action of the 3-phenylcoumarin derivative 6,7-dihydroxy-3-[3',4'-methylenedioxyphenyl]-coumarin in neutrophils from patients with rheumatoid arthritis and in rats with acute joint inflammation

Phytochemicals as Immunomodulatory Agents in Melanoma

Cutaneous melanoma is an immunogenic highly heterogenic tumor characterized by poor outcomes when it is diagnosed late. Therefore, immunotherapy in combination with other anti-proliferative approaches is among the most effective weapons to control its growth and metastatic dissemination. Recently, a large amount of published reports indicate the interest of researchers and clinicians about plant secondary metabolites as potentially useful therapeutic tools due to their lower presence of side effects coupled with their high potency and efficacy. Published evidence was reported in most cases through in vitro studies but also, with a growing body of evidence, through in vivo investigations. Our aim was, therefore, to review the published studies focused on the most interesting phytochemicals whose immunomodulatory activities and/or mechanisms of actions were demonstrated and applied to melanoma models.

Enhancing extracellular vesicles for therapeutic treatment of arthritic joints

Extracellular vesicles are small membrane-derived packages of information that are released from virtually all cell types. These nano-packages contain regulatory material including proteins, lipids, mRNA and microRNA and are a key mechanism of paracellular communication within a given microenvironment. Encompassed with a lipid bilayer, these organelles have been attributed numerous roles in regulating both physiological and pathological functions. Herein, we describe the role of EVs in the context of Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis and explore how they could be harnessed to treat inflammatory and degenerative joint conditions. These structures offer a promising therapeutic strategy for treating musculoskeletal diseases due to their bioactive content, stability, small size and intrinsic ability to enter the avascular cartilage, a notoriously challenging tissue to target. We also discuss how EVs can be manipulated to load therapeutic cargo or present additional targeting moieties to enhance their beneficial actions and tissue regenerative properties.

Coumarins as Tool Compounds to Aid the Discovery of Selective Function Modulators of Steroid Hormone Binding Proteins

Steroid hormones play an essential role in a wide variety of actions in the body, such as in metabolism, inflammation, initiating and maintaining sexual differentiation and reproduction, immune functions, and stress response. Androgen, aromatase, and sulfatase pathway enzymes and nuclear receptors are responsible for steroid biosynthesis and sensing steroid hormones. Changes in steroid homeostasis are associated with many endocrine diseases. Thus, the discovery and development of novel drug candidates require a detailed understanding of the small molecule structure–activity relationship with enzymes and receptors participating in steroid hormone synthesis, signaling, and metabolism. Here, we show that simple coumarin derivatives can be employed to build cost-efficiently a set of molecules that derive essential features that enable easy discovery of selective and high-affinity molecules to target proteins. In addition, these compounds are also potent tool molecules to study the metabolism of any small molecule.

Food-Derived Nanoscopic Drug Delivery Systems for Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a severe systemic inflammatory disease with no cure at present. Recent developments in the understanding of inflammation and nanomaterial science have led to increased applications of nanostructured drug delivery systems in the treatment of RA. The present review summarizes novel fabrications of nanoscale drug carriers using food components as either the delivered drugs or carrier structures, in order to achieve safe, effective and convenient drug administration. Polyphenols and flavonoids are among the most frequently carried anti-RA therapeutics in the nanosystems. Fatty substances, polysaccharides, and peptides/proteins can function as structuring agents of the nanocarriers. Frequently used nanostructures include nanoemulsions, nanocapsules, liposomes, and various nanoparticles. Using these nanostructures has improved drug solubility, absorption, biodistribution, stability, targeted accumulation, and release. Joint vectorization, i.e., using a combination of bioactive molecules, can bring elevated therapeutic outcomes. Utilization of anti-arthritic chemicals that can self-assemble into nanostructures is a promising research orientation in this field.