Apart from ATP generation, mitochondria are involved in a wide range of functions, making them one of the most prominent organelles of the human cell. Mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in the pathophysiology of several diseases, such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and metabolic disorders. This makes it a target for a variety of therapeutics for the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases. The use of nanoparticles to target mitochondria has significant importance in modern times because they provide promising ways to deliver drug payloads to the mitochondria by overcoming challenges, such as low solubility and poor bioavailability, and also resolve the issues of the poor biodistribution of drugs and pharmacokinetics with increased specificity. This review assesses nanoparticle-based drug-delivery systems, such as liposomes, DQAsome, MITO-Porters, micelles, polymeric and metal nanocarriers, as well as quantum dots, as mitochondria-targeted strategies and discusses them as a treatment for mitochondrial disorders.

Background Parkinson’s disease has posed a global health threat with no disease-modifying treatment and prolonged use of available drugs such as Levodopa (L-dopa) causes debilitating side effects. This study focused on adopting in-silico approach to investigate the drug likeliness and pharmacokinetics of some Safflower plant phytochemicals as potential therapeutics. A manually curated library of 120 phytochemicals (from different parts of Safflower plant) was first screened virtually for adherence to the Lipinski’s rule of 5 using the SwissADME server. Binding interactions were studied using Discovery Studio Visualizer. Site-specific docking was performed using AutoDock Vina and the docking parameters were set based on the score of Standard drug. The docking scores were validated by Mcule server. ADMET (Adsorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity) properties were predicted using swissadme while carcinogenicity and toxicity were predicted using CarcinoPred-EL and PkCSM tools respectively. MD (Molecular dynamics) simulations were performed in GROMACS for 200ns to estimate the stability of the receptor and the protein – ligand complexes. Results Eight compounds; Serotobenine, Kaempferol, Nb-PCoumaroyltryptamine, N-Coumaroyl Serotonin, N-Feruloylserotonin, Scutellarein, Acacetin and Trans-Chalcone were identified as potential inhibitors of LRRK2 with no or mild toxicity. Molecular dynamics show more stability in molecular recognition to C1B (N-Coumaroyl-Serotonin) compound than C4B (Serotobenine). Conclusion Some of the compounds identified in the Safflower have the potential to be drug candidates for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease caused by mutant LRRK2 (Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2), owing to their recorded low binding energy and stability in the target.

Wheat is one of the most consumed foods in the world. Although it is extremely nutrient rich for us humans, some of us have great difficulties in completely digesting its protein subunits. This review aims to understand the onset of Celiac Disease and its association with several other auto-immune diseases. The gliadin molecule, undigested in the small intestine, over time, ruptures the villi lining of the intestinal wall and enters the bloodstream which in turn activates the body's immune response. In some patients with the presence of HLA DQ2/DQ8 genes, this immune response results in Celiac Disease. Notably, researchers over the past several decades have found several links between Celiac Disease and multiple auto-immune diseases. Diabetes is one such auto-immune disease which has shown multiple associations with Celiac Disease. Similarly, in this review paper, we are critically analyzing the association of Celiac Disease with some of the most common autoimmune diseases namely Type-1 Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, Autism and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. In this paper, we have shown a clear correlation of celiac disease with several other auto-immune diseases. Further study is needed to understand the bidirectional association of Celiac Disease with different auto-immune diseases.