Neuroprotective Effects of Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract on Pink1B9Drosophila Melanogaster Genetic Model of Parkinson's Disease

The SH-SY5Y cell line: a valuable tool for Parkinson's disease drug discovery

INTRODUCTION

Owing to limited efficient treatment strategies for highly prevalent and distressing Parkinson's disease (PD), an impending need emerged for deciphering new modes and mechanisms for effective management. SH-SY5Y-based in vitro neuronal models have emerged as a new possibility for the elucidation of cellular and molecular processes in the pathogenesis of PD. SH-SY5Y cells are of human origin, adhered to catecholaminergic neuronal attributes, which consequences in imparting wide acceptance and significance to this model over conventional in vitro PD models for high-throughput screening of therapeutics.

AREAS COVERED

Herein, the authors review the SH-SY5Y cell line and its value to PD research. The authors also provide the reader with their expert perspectives on how these developments can lead to the development of new impactful therapeutics.

EXPERT OPINION

Encouraged by recent research on SH-SY5Y cell lines, it was envisaged that this in vitro model can serve as a primary model for assessing efficacy and toxicity of new therapeutics as well as for nanocarriers' capacity in delivering therapeutic agents across BBB. Considering the proximity with human neuronal environment as in pathogenic PD conditions, SH-SY5Y cell lines vindicated consistency and reproducibility in experimental results. Accordingly, exploitation of this standardized SH-SY5Y cell line can fast-track the drug discovery and development path for novel therapeutics.

Exploring the Efficient Natural Products for the Therapy of Parkinson's Disease via Drosophila Melanogaster (Fruit Fly) Models

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a severe neurodegenerative disorder, partly attributed to mutations, environmental toxins, oxidative stress, abnormal protein aggregation, and mitochondrial dysfunction. However, the precise pathogenesis of PD and its treatment strategy still require investigation. Fortunately, natural products have demonstrated potential as therapeutic agents for alleviating PD symptoms due to their neuroprotective properties. To identify promising lead compounds from herbal medicines' natural products for PD management and understand their modes of action, suitable animal models are necessary. Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly) serves as an essential model for studying genetic and cellular pathways in complex biological processes. Diverse Drosophila PD models have been extensively utilized in PD research, particularly for discovering neuroprotective natural products. This review emphasizes the research progress of natural products in PD using the fruit fly PD model, offering valuable insights into utilizing invertebrate models for developing novel anti-PD drugs.

A comprehensive review on the ethnobotany, phytochemistry, pharmacology and quality control of the genus Lycium in China

The Lycium genus, perennial herbs of the Solanaceae family, has been an important source of medicines and nutrient supplements for thousands of years in China, where seven species and three varieties are cultivated. Among these, Lycium barbarum L. and Lycium chinense Mill., two "superfoods", together with Lycium ruthenicum Murr, have been extensively commercialized and studied for their health-related properties. The dried ripe fruits of the genus Lycium are well recognized as functional foods for the management of various ailments including waist and knee pain, tinnitus, impotence, spermatorrhea, blood deficiency and weak eyes since ancient times. Phytochemical studies have reported numerous chemical components in the Lycium genus, categorized as polysaccharides, carotenoids, polyphenols, phenolic acids, flavonoids, alkaloids and fatty acids, and its therapeutic roles in antioxidation, immunomodulation, antitumor treatment, hepatoprotection and neuroprotection have been further confirmed by modern pharmacological studies. As a multi-functional food, the quality control of Lycium fruits has also attracted attention internationally. Despite its popularity in research, limited systematic and comprehensive information has been provided on the Lycium genus. Therefore, herein, we provide an up-to-date review of the distribution, botanical features, phytochemistry, pharmacology and quality control of the Lycium genus in China, which will provide evidence for further in-depth exploration and comprehensive utilization of Lycium, especially its fruits and active ingredients in the healthcare field.

Chronic Consumption of Trehalose Reduces Lifespan in Drosophila Model

Trehalose has been widely used as a kind of food additives. But in recent years, with several new studies of trehalose, some harmful effects had also been found. Drosophila melanogaster was used as a model organism to explore whether trehalose affects the lifespan. The results showed that high concentrations of trehalose could significantly shorten the lifespan of female flies by 12.5%, when compared to controls.

Anti-Aging of the Nervous System and Related Neurodegenerative Diseases With Chinese Herbal Medicine

Human beings have always pursued a prolonged lifespan, while the aging of the nervous system is associated with a large variety of diseases. Pathological aging of the nervous system results in a series of neurodegenerative diseases and can cause disability and death in the elderly. Therefore, there is an urgent need for the prevention and treatment of nervous system aging. Chinese herbal medicines have a long history, featuring rich and safe ingredients, and have great potential for the development of anti-aging treatment. We searched the publications on PubMed with key words "anti-aging of the nervous system" and "Chinese herbal medicine" in recent 10 years, and found sixteen Chinese herbal medicines. Then by comparing their popularity of use as well as active components based on the research articles, five common Chinese herbal medicines namely Ginseng Radix, Lycii Fructus, Astragali Radix, Coptidis Rhizoma and Ginkgo Folium, were confirmed to be the most related to anti-nervous system aging and neural degenerative diseases. At the same time, the active ingredients, research models, action mechanisms and curative effects of these five common Chinese herbal medicines were reviewed. From the five common Chinese herbal medicines reviewed in this paper, many encouraging effects of Chinese herbal medicines on treating nervous system aging and related diseases were revealed and more potent herbs would be explored with the help of the proposed possible mechanisms.