1
|
Piragine E, De Felice M, Germelli L, Brinkmann V, Flori L, Martini C, Calderone V, Ventura N, Da Pozzo E, Testai L. The Citrus flavanone naringenin prolongs the lifespan in C. elegans and slows signs of brain aging in mice. Exp Gerontol 2024; 194:112495. [PMID: 38897393 DOI: 10.1016/j.exger.2024.112495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2024] [Revised: 06/13/2024] [Accepted: 06/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Aging is one of the main risk factors for neurodegenerative disorders, which represent a global burden on healthcare systems. Therefore, identifying new strategies to slow the progression of brain aging is a compelling challenge. In this article, we first assessed the potential anti-aging effects of the Citrus flavanone naringenin (NAR), an activator of the enzyme sirtuin-1 (SIRT1), in a 3R-compliant and short-lived aging model (i.e., the nematode C. elegans). Then, we investigated the preventive effects of a 6-month treatment with NAR (100 mg/kg, orally) against brain aging and studied its mechanism of action in middle-aged mice. We demonstrated that NAR (100 μM) extends lifespan and improves healthspan in C. elegans. In the brain of middle-aged mice, NAR promotes the activity of metabolic enzymes (citrate synthase, cytochrome C oxidase) and increases the expression of the SIRT1 enzyme. Consistently, NAR up-regulates the expression of downstream antioxidant (Foxo3, Nrf2, Ho-1), anti-senescence (p16), and anti-inflammatory (Il-6, Il-18) markers. Our findings support NAR supplementation to slow the signs of brain aging.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eugenia Piragine
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Italy; Interdepartmental Research Center "Nutrafood-Nutraceuticals and Food for Health", University of Pisa, Italy.
| | | | | | - Vanessa Brinkmann
- Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Diagnostic, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany; Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (IUF), Düsseldorf, Germany
| | | | - Claudia Martini
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Italy; Interdepartmental Research Center "Nutrafood-Nutraceuticals and Food for Health", University of Pisa, Italy.
| | - Vincenzo Calderone
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Italy; Interdepartmental Research Center "Biology and Pathology of Ageing", University of Pisa, Italy; Interdepartmental Research Center "Nutrafood-Nutraceuticals and Food for Health", University of Pisa, Italy.
| | - Natascia Ventura
- Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Diagnostic, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany; Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine (IUF), Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | - Eleonora Da Pozzo
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Italy; Interdepartmental Research Center "Nutrafood-Nutraceuticals and Food for Health", University of Pisa, Italy.
| | - Lara Testai
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Italy; Interdepartmental Research Center "Biology and Pathology of Ageing", University of Pisa, Italy; Interdepartmental Research Center "Nutrafood-Nutraceuticals and Food for Health", University of Pisa, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Piano I, Votta A, Colucci P, Corsi F, Vitolo S, Cerri C, Puppi D, Lai M, Maya-Vetencourt JF, Leigheb M, Gabellini C, Ferraro E. Anti-inflammatory reprogramming of microglia cells by metabolic modulators to counteract neurodegeneration; a new role for Ranolazine. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20138. [PMID: 37978212 PMCID: PMC10656419 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47540-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Microglia chronic activation is a hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases, including the retinal ones, possibly contributing to their etiopathogenesis. However, some microglia sub-populations have anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective functions, thus making arduous deciphering the role of these cells in neurodegeneration. Since it has been proposed that functionally different microglia subsets also rely on different metabolic routes, we hypothesized that modulating microglia metabolism might be a tool to enhance their anti-inflammatory features. This would have a preventive and therapeutic potential in counteracting neurodegenerative diseases. For this purpose, we tested various molecules known to act on cell metabolism, and we revealed the anti-inflammatory effect of the FDA-approved piperazine derivative Ranolazine on microglia cells, while confirming the one of the flavonoids Quercetin and Naringenin, both in vitro and in vivo. We also demonstrated the synergistic anti-inflammatory effect of Quercetin and Idebenone, and the ability of Ranolazine, Quercetin and Naringenin to counteract the neurotoxic effect of LPS-activated microglia on 661W neuronal cells. Overall, these data suggest that using the selected molecules -also in combination therapies- might represent a valuable approach to reduce inflammation and neurodegeneration while avoiding long term side effects of corticosteroids.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Piano
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Arianna Votta
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | | | | | - Sara Vitolo
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Chiara Cerri
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Dario Puppi
- Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Michele Lai
- Retrovirus Center, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - José Fernando Maya-Vetencourt
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Centre for Synaptic Neuroscience, Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), Genova, Italy
| | - Massimiliano Leigheb
- Orthopaedics and Traumatology Unit, "Maggiore della Carità" Hospital, Department of Health Sciences, University of Piemonte Orientale (UPO), Novara, Italy
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
3
|
Bacci A, Corsi F, Runfola M, Sestito S, Piano I, Manera C, Saccomanni G, Gargini C, Rapposelli S. Design, Synthesis, and In Vitro Evaluation of Novel 8-Amino-Quinoline Combined with Natural Antioxidant Acids. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2022; 15:ph15060688. [PMID: 35745606 PMCID: PMC9229476 DOI: 10.3390/ph15060688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Revised: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and alterations in metallostasis are common and related hallmarks in several neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs). Nature-based derivatives always represent an attractive tool in MTDL drug design, especially against ROS in NDDs. On this notion, we designed a new series of 8-quinoline-N-substituted derivatives with a natural antioxidant portion (i.e., lipoic, caffeic, and ferulic acids). These compounds were shown to chelate copper, a metal involved in ROS-induced degeneration, and scavenger oxygen radicals in DPPH assay. Then, selected compounds 4 and 5 were evaluated in an in vitro model of oxidative stress and shown to possess cytoprotective effects in 661W photoreceptor-like cells. The obtained results may represent a starting point for the application of the proposed class of compounds in retinal neurodegenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), comprising a group of hereditary rod–cone dystrophies that represent a major cause of blindness in patients of working age, where the progression of the disease is a multifactorial event, with oxidative stress contributing predominantly.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Bacci
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (A.B.); (F.C.); (M.R.); (I.P.); (C.M.); (G.S.); (C.G.)
| | - Francesca Corsi
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (A.B.); (F.C.); (M.R.); (I.P.); (C.M.); (G.S.); (C.G.)
| | - Massimiliano Runfola
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (A.B.); (F.C.); (M.R.); (I.P.); (C.M.); (G.S.); (C.G.)
| | - Simona Sestito
- Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Sassari, Via Vienna 2, 07100 Sassari, Italy;
| | - Ilaria Piano
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (A.B.); (F.C.); (M.R.); (I.P.); (C.M.); (G.S.); (C.G.)
| | - Clementina Manera
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (A.B.); (F.C.); (M.R.); (I.P.); (C.M.); (G.S.); (C.G.)
| | - Giuseppe Saccomanni
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (A.B.); (F.C.); (M.R.); (I.P.); (C.M.); (G.S.); (C.G.)
| | - Claudia Gargini
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (A.B.); (F.C.); (M.R.); (I.P.); (C.M.); (G.S.); (C.G.)
| | - Simona Rapposelli
- Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (A.B.); (F.C.); (M.R.); (I.P.); (C.M.); (G.S.); (C.G.)
- Center for Instrument Sharing (CISUP), University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|