Effects of immunomodulatory drugs on TNF-α and IL-12 production by purified epidermal langerhans cells and peritoneal macrophages

Synthesis, Molecular Docking, biological potentials, and Structure-Activity Relationship of new quinazoline & quinazoline-4-one derivatives

CONTEXT

Quinazolines are a common class of nitrogen-containing heterocyclic scaffolds exhibiting a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities.

OBJECTIVE

In the present study, quinazoline and quinazolin-4-one derivatives were prepared, characterized to evaluate their biological which may pave the way for possible therapeutic applications.

MATERIALS & METHODS

A new derivative of quinazoline and quinazolin-4-one derivatives was prepared and tested for antiulcerogenic, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective activity.

RESULTS

The synthesized compounds were characterized by elemental analysis and spectral data. Also, the median lethal doses (LD_50s) of compounds 1-3 in rats were 1125, 835 and 1785 mg/kg b.w., respectively. IC₅₀ values of compounds (1-3) as measured by ABTS⁺ radical method was 0.8, 0.92 and 0.08 mg/mL, respectively. Antiulcerogenic activities at dose 1/20 LD₅₀ in albino rats were 47.94, 24.60 and 56.45%, respectively. Anti-inflammatory effect at dose 1/20 LD₅₀ of compounds (1-3) induced edema model after 120 min. The prepared compounds possess hepato gastric mucosa protective activity against ibuprofen-induced ulceration and LPS-induced liver toxicity, respectively in rats via normalization of oxidative stress biomarkers and inflammatory mediators were inhibited in peritoneal macrophage cells at concentration of 100 µg/L. Molecular docking suggested that the most active compounds 1 and 2 can be positioned within the active sites of COX-2 at Arg121 & Tyr356 similar to ibuprofen (Arg-120, Glu-524, and Tyr-355). The compound 3-COX-2 complex generated by docking revealed intricate interactions with a COX-2 channel.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that compounds 1-3 exhibited good antioxidant, antiulcer, anti-inflammatory activity and safe on liver enzymes in rats.

Can Molecular Biology Propose Reliable Biomarkers for Diagnosing Major Depression?

BACKGROUND

Modern medicine has provided considerable knowledge of the pathophysiology of mental disorders at the body, systemic, organ and neurochemical levels of the biological organization of the body. Modern clinical diagnostics of depression have some problems, that is why psychiatric society makes use of diagnostics and taxonomy of different types of depression by implemention of modern molecular biomarkers in diagnostic procedures. But up to now, there are no reliable biomarkers of major depressive disorder (MDD) and other types of depression.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this review is to find fundamentals in pathological mechanisms of depression, which could be a basis for development of molecular and genetic biomarkers, being the most feasible for clinical use.

METHOD

This review summarizes the published data using PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar and Scopus.

RESULTS

In this review, we summarized and discussed findings in molecular biology, genetics, neuroplasticity, neurotransmitters, and neuroimaging that could increase our understanding of the biological foundations of depression and show new directions for the development of reliable biomarkers. We did not find any molecular and genetic biomarker approved for the clinic. But the Genome-Wide Association Study method promises some progress in the development of biomarkers based on SNP in the future. Epigenetic factors also are a promising target for biomarkers. We have found some differences in the etiology of different types of atypical and melancholic depression. This knowledge could be the basis for development of biomarkers for clinical practice in diagnosis, prognosis and selection of treatment.

CONCLUSION

Depression is not a monoetiological disease. Many pathological mechanisms are involved in depression, thus up to now, there is no approved and reliable biomarker for diagnosis, prognosis and correction of treatment of depression. The structural and functional complexity of the brain, the lack of invasive technology, poor correlations between genetic and clinical manifestation of depression, imperfect psychiatric classification and taxonomy of subtypes of disease are the main causes of this situation. One of the possible ways to come over this situation can be to pay attention to the trigger mechanism of disease and its subtypes. Researchers and clinicians should focus their efforts on searching the trigger mechanism of depression and different types of it . HPA axis can be a candidate for such trigger in depression caused by stress, because it influences the main branches of disease: neuroinflammation, activity of biogenic amines, oxidative and nitrosative stress, epigenetic factors, metabolomics, etc. But before we shall find any trigger mechanism, we need to create complex biomarkers reflecting genetic, epigenetic, metabolomics and other pathological changes in different types of depression. Recently the most encouraging results have been obtained from genetics and neuroimaging. Continuing research in these areas should be forced by using computational, statistical and systems biology approaches, which can allow to obtain more knowledge about the neurobiology of depression. In order to obtain clinically useful tests, search for biomarkers should use appropriate research methodologies with increasing samples and identifying more homogeneous groups of depressed patients.

Effects of Antirejection Drugs on Innate Immune Cells After Kidney Transplantation

Over the last decades, our understanding of adaptive immune responses to solid organ transplantation increased considerably and allowed development of immunosuppressive drugs targeting key alloreactive T cells mechanism. As a result, rates of acute rejection dropped and short-term graft survival improved significantly. However, long-term outcomes are still disappointing. Recently, increasing evidence supports that innate immune responses plays roles in allograft rejection and represents a valuable target to further improve long-term allograft survival. Innate immune cells are activated by molecules with stereotypical motifs produced during injury (i.e., damage-associated molecular patterns, DAMPS) or infection (i.e., pathogen-associated molecular patterns, PAMPs). Activated innate immune cells can exert direct pro- and anti-inflammatory effects, while also priming adaptive immune responses. These cells are activated after transplantation by multiple stimuli, including ischemia-reperfusion injury, rejection, and infections. Data from animal models of graft rejection, show that inhibition of innate immunity promotes development of tolerance. Therefore, understanding mechanisms of innate immunity is important to improve graft outcomes. This review discusses effects of currently used immunosuppressive agents on innate immune responses in kidney transplantation.

Modulation of innate immunity by cyclosporine A

Cyclosporine A has long been known to suppress T cell responses by inhibiting the production of IL-2, which drives T cell proliferation, enabling its use as a therapeutic for transplantation or autoimmunity. However, cyclosporine A also impacts on innate immune cells including dendritic cells, macrophages and neutrophils. In dendritic cells, which are essential for T cell priming, cyclosporine A can modulate both expression of surface molecules that engage with T cells and cytokine secretion, leading to altered induction of T cell responses. In macrophages and neutrophils, which play key antimicrobial roles, cyclosporine A reduces the production of cytokines that can play protective roles against pathogens. Some of these molecules, if produced in the context of chronic disease, can also contribute to pathology. There have been a number of elegant recent studies addressing the mechanisms by which cyclosporine A can modulate innate immunity. In particular, cyclosporine A inhibits the release of mitochondrial factors that stimulate the production of type 1 interferons by innate immune cells. This review addresses the emerging literature on modulation of innate immune responses by cyclosporine A, its resultant impact on adaptive immune responses and how this offers potential for new therapeutic applications.

The role of macrophages in anti-inflammatory activity of antidepressant drugs

Depression is a common disease influencing patients' quality of life, whose etiology involves complex interactions of environmental, genetic and immunological factors. The latter factors include proinflammatory activation of monocytes and macrophages and increased serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines, altogether formulated as the "macrophage theory of depression". Our current review summarizes the impact of the most commonly used antidepressant drugs on the immune response with special emphasis on the role of macrophages in the clinically observed effects. The anti-inflammatory action of antidepressants mainly results from their direct interaction with immune cells and from changes in the concentration and the relations of neurotransmitters sensed by these cells. The summarized data revealed that Mφs are one of the leading cell populations involved in drug-mediated immune effects that can be observed both in subjects with depression as well as in individuals not suffering from depression. Thus, currently reviewed immunomodulatory effects of the experimental use of different antidepressant drugs suggest the possibility of utilizing them in complex therapeutic strategies dedicated to various inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases. It is worth noting that an excessive inflammatory reaction is also associated with the pathogenesis of various cardiovascular, metabolic and neuro-endocrine diseases. Thus, the inclusion of antidepressants in the complex therapy of these disorders may have beneficial effects through the enhancement of the mood of the patient and alleviation of chronic inflammation. On the other hand, presented data suggest that the influence of chronically used antidepressants on anti-microbial and anti-tumor immunity could also be taken into consideration.

Pentoxifylline and cyclosporine in the treatment of febrile ulceronecrotic Mucha-Habermann disease

We describe two pediatric cases of febrile ulceronecrotic Mucha-Habermann disease (FUMHD) with response to pentoxifylline and cyclosporine therapies. Based on our review of the literature, we are presenting the first case of FUMHD treated with pentoxifylline and the third case of FUMHD successfully treated with cyclosporine. These agents may be of therapeutic benefit in the treatment of FUMHD, in part by suppressing tumor necrosis factor-alpha, which we believe may mediate the disease process.

Cyclosporine in anti-Jo1-positive patients with corticosteroid-refractory interstitial lung disease

OBJECTIVE

To describe the longterm effectiveness and safety of cyclosporine (CYC) in patients with anti-Jo1-positive antisynthetase syndrome with corticosteroid-refractory interstitial lung disease (ILD).

METHODS

All patients with anti-Jo1 antisynthetase syndrome referred to our division between June 1991 and February 2010 were retrospectively evaluated for ILD. ILD was assessed using pulmonary function tests (PFT) and/or high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). Kazerooni score was used to evaluate the HRCT extent of ILD. Prednisone was the first-line treatment in all cases (1 mg/kg/day orally, then tapering). Patients with corticosteroid-refractory or relapsing ILD were then included in this retrospective study. All patients started CYC (3 mg/kg/day) without increasing prednisone dosage. Both PFT and chest HRCT were regularly reassessed during followup.

RESULTS

Over the period of study we evaluated 18 patients with antisynthetase syndrome; 17 had ILD (13 women; median age at ILD onset 57 yrs); all patients failed prednisone within 12 months of ILD onset and subsequently started CYC. The median followup on CYC was 96 months [interquartile range (IQR) 57-120 mo]. Upon starting CYC, median forced vital capacity (FVC) was 60% (IQR 56%-70%), median DLCO 60% (IQR 50%-62.75%), and median Kazerooni score 16 (IQR 7-18). After 1 year of CYC, FVC (p = 0.0006), DLCO (p = 0.0010), and total Kazerooni score (p = 0.0002) improved and prednisone was tapered (median reduced from 25 mg/day to 2.5 mg/day; p < 0.0001). The results were substantially maintained including at last available followup. CYC side effects were hypertension (5 patients) and creatinine increase (6 patients). CYC was reduced in 3 cases and withdrawn in 4. Three out of 4 patients who interrupted CYC experienced ILD relapse; 2 patients recommenced low-dose CYC with subsequent ILD control. One patient refused re-treatment and subsequently died.

CONCLUSION

CYC is effective and substantially safe in patients with anti-Jo1 antisynthetase syndrome with corticosteroid-refractory ILD. CYC withdrawal may be associated with ILD relapse, and low-dose CYC was effective in ILD control.

Antidepressants: influence on cancer and immunity?

Two decades ago, it was hypothesized that antidepressants could alter the course of neoplastic diseases. However, contradictory findings indicated that antidepressants could either have carcinogenic properties or improve the disease outcome. Intriguingly, controversial results were reported on the action of antidepressant drugs on immune function. Further hypotheses proposed that antidepressants could indirectly affect the cancer prognosis through the modulation of antitumor activity. Here we review the literature in order to elucidate the influence of antidepressants on cancer and immunity.