Oxidative stress and dysregulated long noncoding RNAs in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease

Unlocking Parkinson's disease: the role of microRNAs in regulation, diagnosis, and therapy

Parkinson's disease (PD), the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder globally, imposes substantial healthcare burdens on aging populations. The pathogenesis of PD is complex and multifaceted. Emerging evidence highlights microRNA (miRNA) dysregulation as a critical regulatory layer that drives PD progression. These small noncoding RNAs mediate posttranscriptional gene regulation through target mRNA binding, inducing either transcript degradation or translational repression. This article reviews the distinct miRNAs that orchestrate PD pathogenesis by disrupting mitochondrial homeostasis, lysosomal clearance pathways, ferroptosis regulation, and neuroinflammatory responses. Notably, some miRNAs achieve these effects by selectively targeting risk genes central to PD pathology. Crucially, certain miRNAs exhibit aberrant expression patterns in the brain tissues and biofluids of PD patients or models, highlighting their potential as minimally invasive diagnostic or prognostic biomarkers. Furthermore, this review highlights the novel role of exosomes as miRNA carriers, offering innovative possibilities for PD therapeutic interventions. With the deepening understanding of miRNA research advances in PD, we propose that these insights may not only inform PD treatment strategies but also hold relevance for addressing other genetic disorders.

Effects of Turmeric on Manganese-induced Redox Imbalance in Testicular Tissues: Histo-micrometric and Biochemical analyses

Manganese is the most overlooked chemical element, though it is the 5th most abundant metal in earth' crust. Despite being important in the body's mechanisms, bioaccumulation of manganese in living organisms can be noxious. The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of manganese on male mice's reproductive parameters, and turmeric was used as a remedial agent against manganese-induced potential subchronic toxicity. Healthy male mice were distributed into seven groups (n = 10), Control (untreated), Vehicle control; VC-I (0.1 ml of saline solution), Mn-I (5 mg/Kg BW), Mn-II (10 mg/Kg BW), Mn-III (20 mg/Kg BW), Mn + T (20 mg of Mn/Kg +100 mg turmeric/Kg BW) and Vehicle control; VC-II (0.1 ml of olive oil) via oral gavage routinely, once a day. The experiment was continued for 28 days. Before administrations, the antioxidant capacity of turmeric was evaluated via FRAP, TPC & GC-MS assays. Mice were acclimatized for 10 days after dosing, then euthanized and samples (testis & blood) were recovered. Morphological observations showed minute morphological changes in testes as compared to controls. Morphometric analysis revealed average body weight, testis weight and size of Mn-intoxicated mice were reduced remarkably (P ≤ 0.05) in comparison with the control group. Sideways Mn + T group showed non-significant changes in both parameters. Hematological, micrometric findings and serum testosterone, luteinizing hormone and follicle stimulating hormone were significantly different (P ≤ 0.05) in Mn-exposed groups against controls. These alterations were concomitant with histological variations in Mn-treated groups. While such deviations were less obvious in the Mn + T-administered group. The aforesaid findings deduced that the turmeric supplementation manifested improvements in most of the histo-micrometric, hematological, steroidal parameters and enzymatic indices of mice through its antioxidant action.

Metabolite Monomethyl Phthalate (MMP) Induces Oxidative Damage in Rat Erythrocytes: Role of Vitamins C and E

Dimethyl phthalate (DMP) can enter the human body and be absorbed into the bloodstream to produce monomethyl phthalate (MMP). MMP in the environment can also enter the bloodstream. However, little is known about the toxicity of the phthalate metabolite MMP in most organisms. In this study, the erythrocyte toxicity of MMP and a preventive approach were investigated using Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats as the model animal under MMP concentrations of 5-250 mg/kg (sub-chronic exposure in vivo) and 1.25-100 μg/mL (acute exposure in vitro). The experimental results indicate that the interaction of MMP with erythrocytes caused oxidative damage, which decreased the number of red blood cells and the hemoglobin content and increased the content of methemoglobin and the iron release of hemoglobin in rat blood. However, the above results were not observed when MMP directly interacted with hemoglobin. The antioxidants vitamin C and vitamin E improved the above blood indicators in rats. The results of this study provide certain theoretical guidance for the evaluation of the potential risks of phthalate metabolites.