Fibroblast and keratinocyte gene expression following exposure to extracts of neem plant (Azadirachta indica)

Unravelling the Therapeutic Potential of Nano-Delivered Functional Foods in Chronic Respiratory Diseases

Chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract is one of the most concerning public health issues, as it can lead to chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs), some of which are more detrimental than others. Chronic respiratory diseases include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, lung cancer, and pulmonary fibrosis. The conventional drug therapies for the management and treatment of CRDs only address the symptoms and fail to reverse or recover the chronic-inflammation-mediated structural and functional damage of the respiratory tract. In addition, the low efficacy and adverse effects of these drugs have directed the attention of researchers towards nutraceuticals in search of potential treatment strategies that can not only ameliorate CRD symptoms but also can repair and reverse inflammatory damage. Hence, there is a growing interest toward investigating the medicinal benefits of nutraceuticals, such as rutin, curcumin, zerumbone, and others. Nutraceuticals carry many nutritional and therapeutic properties, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antidiabetic, and anti-obesity properties, and usually do not have as many adverse effects, as they are naturally sourced. Recently, the use of nanoparticles has also been increasingly studied for the nano drug delivery of these nutraceuticals. The discrete size of nanoparticles holds great potential for the level of permeability that can be achieved when transporting these nutraceutical compounds. This review is aimed to provide an understanding of the use of nutraceuticals in combination with nanoparticles against CRDs and their mechanisms involved in slowing down or reversing the progression of CRDs by inhibiting pro-inflammatory signaling pathways.

Decrease of ceramides with long-chain fatty acids in psoriasis: Possible inhibitory effect of interferon gamma on chain elongation

Reportedly, decreases in fatty acid (FA) chain length of ceramide (CER) are associated with interferon-γ (IFN-γ), which shows increased expression in psoriasis. However, the underlying mechanism of this association remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to clarify this association between FA chain length of CER, IFN-γ, and the major transcriptional factors involving psoriasis. CER profiling according to FA chain length and class was performed in murine epidermis (n = 10 BALB/c mice topically treated with imiquimod, n = 10 controls) and human stratum corneum (SC) (n = 12 psoriasis, n = 11 controls). The expression of lipid synthetic enzymes, including elongases (ELOVLs), in murine epidermis was also measured using RT-PCR. Furthermore, the association of IFN-γ with various enzymes and transcription factors involved in the generation of long-chain CERs was also investigated using in vitro keratinocyte. A significant decrease in the percentage of long-chain CERs was observed in psoriasis-like murine epidermis and human psoriatic SC. Additionally, the expression levels of ELOVL1, ELOVL4, and ceramide synthase3 (CerS3) were significantly decreased in psoriasis-like murine epidermis and IFN-γ-treated keratinocyte. There was also a significant decrease in the expression of transcriptional factors, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR), in IFN-γ treated keratinocyte. Thus, it could be suggested that IFN-γ may regulate ELOVL and CerS levels by down-regulating the transcriptional factors. Additionally, given the possible involvement of PPARs or liver X receptor agonist in the CER elongation process, they may serve as potential therapeutic agents for lengthening the CER FAs in psoriasis.

Colorectal Cancer Stem Cells in the Progression to Liver Metastasis

Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is a leading cause of cancer mortality. Tumorigenesis is a dynamic process wherein cancer stem cells (CSCs) and their microenvironment promote initiation, progression, and metastasis. Metastatic colonization is an inefficient process that is very complex and is poorly understood; however, in most cases, metastatic disease is not curable, and resistance mechanisms tend to develop against conventional treatments. An understanding of the underlying mechanisms and factors that contribute to the development of metastasis in CRC can aid in the search for specific therapeutic targets for improving standard treatments. In this review, we summarize current knowledge regarding tumor biology and the use of stroma cells as prognostic factors and inflammatory inducers associated with the use of tumor microenvironments as a promoter of cancer metastasis. Moreover, we look into the importance of CSC, pericytes, and circulating tumor cells as mechanisms that lead to liver metastasis, and we also focus on the cellular and molecular pathways that modulate and regulate epithelial–mesenchymal transition. Finally, we discuss a novel therapeutic target that can potentially eliminate CSCs as a CRC treatment.

Data on Spectroscopic, Rheological characterization of neem oil and its isolated fractions

In this article a medicinal oil (neem oil) is fractionated and compared with original oil. The fractions were separated at low temperature using chloroform and methanol. The uniphase mixture of solvents and neem oil at room temperature was transformed to a bi-phasic system at low temperature. The isolated fractions (NOC – isolated using chloroform; NOM – isolated using methanol) were characterized and differentiated by GC, FT-IR and Rheometer. GC and FTIR have well revealed the difference in composition of fatty acids in fractions – NOC; NOM and neem oil (NO). Rheologically all the oils are different in viscosity from parent oil. The NOM fraction of neem oil showed newtonian behavior while NOC shows a non-newtonian behavior. It can be concluded from data that fractions NOC, NOM can be used for targeting drugs using various formulation approaches.