Inflammatory markers of cardiovascular disease risk in Portuguese psoriatic patients: relation with narrow-band ultraviolet B and psoralen plus ultraviolet A

Psoralen inhibits malignant proliferation and induces apoptosis through triggering endoplasmic reticulum stress in human SMMC7721 hepatoma cells

BACKGROUND

Psoralen is a coumarin-like and coumarin-related benzofuran glycoside, which is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine to treat patients with kidney and spleen-yang deficiency symptom. Psoralen has been reported to show estrogen-like activity, antioxidant activity, osteoblastic proliferation accelerating activity, antitumor effects and antibacterial activity. However, the antitumor mechanism of psoralen is not fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of psoralen in human hepatoma cell line SMMC7721 and the mechanism of antitumor effects.

RESULTS

Psoralen inhibited proliferation of SMMC7721 in a dose- and time-dependent manner, and promoted apoptosis. Further, psoralen activated the ER stress signal pathway, including the expansion of endoplasmic reticulum, increasing the mRNA levels of GRP78, DDIT3, ATF4, XBP1, GADD34 and the protein levels of GDF15, GRP78, IRE1α, XBP-1s in a time-dependent manner. Psoralen induces cell cycle arrest at G1 phase by enhancing CyclinD1 and reducing CyclinE1 expression. Moreover, TUDC couldn't inhibit the psoralen-induced ER stress in SMMC7721 cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Psoralen can inhibit the proliferation of SMMC7721 cells and induce ER stress response to induce cell apoptosis, suggesting that psoralen may represent a novel therapeutic option for the prevention and treatment hepatocellular carcinoma.

Pharmacological and Nutritional Effects of Natural Coumarins and Their Structure-Activity Relationships

Coumarins are fused benzene and pyrone ring systems with a wide spectrum of bioactivities, including antitumor, anti-inflammation, antiviral, and antibacterial effects. In this paper, the current development of coumarin-based drugs is introduced, and their structure-activity relationship is discussed by reviewing the relevant literature published in the past 20 years. Coumarin molecules can be customized by the target site to prevent systemic side effects by virtue of structural modification. The ortho-phenolic hydroxyl on the benzene ring has remarkable antioxidant and antitumor activities. Coumarins with aryl groups at the C-4 position have good activities in anti-HIV, antitumor, anti-inflammation, and analgesia. C-3 phenylcoumarins have strong anti-HIV and antioxidant effects. Tetracycline pyranocoumarins can significantly inhibit HIV; osthol structural analogues have antimicrobial activity. Praeruptorin C and its derivatives play an important role in lowering blood pressure and dilating coronary arteries, and khellactone derivatives have significant inhibitory effects on AIDS, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. It is concluded that the specific site on the core structure of coumarin exhibits one or more activities due to the electronic or steric effects of the substituents. This review is intended to be conducive to rational design and development of more active and less toxic agents with a coumarin scaffold.

Circulating cell-free DNA levels in Portuguese patients with psoriasis vulgaris according to severity and therapy

BACKGROUND

Inflammation has a key role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Circulating cell-free DNA (CFD) is a marker of tissue cell damage closely associated with inflammation.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to understand the relation of CFD levels with psoriasis severity, defined by the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), with inflammation and with psoriasis therapy.

METHODS

Forty-six patients with psoriasis vulgaris were evaluated before (T0) and after 12 weeks (T12) of treatment with narrowband ultraviolet light B (NB-UVB; n = 17), psoralen plus UVA (PUVA; n = 20) or topical therapy (n = 9). We evaluated interleukin (IL)-6 and circulating CFD levels.

RESULTS

Compared with controls, at T0, patients presented significantly higher levels of circulating CFD. CFD presented a significant positive correlation with IL-6 and a trend towards a positive correlation with PASI. Multiple linear regression analysis identified IL-6 as an independent variable associated with CFD circulating levels. As shown by the PASI score, a trend towards higher values of CFD was observed in the severe psoriasis forms; moderate and severe psoriasis presented also significantly higher CFD values, compared with control. Both NB-UVB and PUVA treatments significantly decreased the levels of CFD.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients with psoriasis, at the active stage of the disease, presented an increased inflammation associated with raised circulating CFD levels, which seem to be linked to psoriasis severity. Both NB-UVB and PUVA, anti-inflammatory therapies, were effective in decreasing CFD values. We propose that the evaluation of circulating CFD may provide a new biomarker to monitor psoriasis, its severity and its treatment.

Biomarkers of psoriasis severity and therapy monitoring

Psoriasis is a chronic, recurrent inflammatory cutaneous disease. Psoriasis patients alternate between periods of remission and periods of exacerbation of the disease. Usually, psoriasis severity is clinically evaluated using tools like Psoriasis Area and Severity Index that present some limitations and subjectivity. Clinicians select the therapy according to psoriasis severity, aiming that patients achieve longer remission periods and improve their quality of life. Biological markers for diagnosis and prognosis of psoriasis help to establish its severity and to monitor the therapeutic response; moreover, biomarkers of psoriasis assist clinicians in their therapeutic decision to treat psoriasis and to choose earlier and more adequate therapeutic strategies, avoiding or minimising worsening of psoriasis. With these markers, they would be able to monitor therapeutics, avoiding unnecessary therapeutic surcharge or changes to a more aggressive therapy. As any attempt to identify these biomarkers should be encouraged, in this review, we will debate published data concerning the proposal of biomarkers to evaluate severity and response to treatment of psoriasis vulgaris.