In order to overcome the main disadvantages of conventional cancer therapies, which prove to be inadequate because of their lack of selectivity, the development of targeted delivery systems is one of the main focuses in anticancer research. It is repeatedly shown that decorating the surface of nanocarriers with high-affinity targeting ligands, such as peptides or small molecules, is an effective way to selectively deliver therapeutics by enhancing their specific cellular uptake via the binding between a specific receptor and the nanosystems. Nowadays, the need of finding new potential biological targets with a high endocytic efficiency as well as a low tendency to mutate is urgent and, in this context, mannose and mannose-6-phosphate receptors appear promising to target anticancer drugs to cells where their expression is upregulated. Moreover, they open the path to encouraging applications in immune-based and gene therapies as well as in theragnostic purposes. In this work, the potential of mannose- and mannose-6-phosphate-targeted delivery systems in cancer therapy is discussed, emphasizing their broad application both in direct treatments against cancer cells with conventional chemotherapeutics or by gene therapy and also their encouraging capabilities in immunotherapy and diagnostics purposes.

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Canine atopic dermatitis (AD) is a multifactorial allergic disease associated with immune and abnormal skin barrier dysfunction and it is one of the primary causes of pruritus. Using a novel in vitro model of AD, here we tried to revert the alteration of transcriptional regulation of AD canine key genes testing a nutraceutical mixture containing flavonoids, stilbene, and cannabinoids, which are already well-known for their applications within dermatology diseases. The nutraceutical mixture induced in inflamed cells a significant downregulation (p < 0.05) of the gene expression of ccl2, ccl17, and tslp in keratinocytes and of ccl2, ccl17, and il31ra in monocytes. Consistent with the observed alterations of tslp, ccl2, ccl17, and il31ra messenger RNA (mRNA) levels, a significant increase (p < 0.05) of DNA methylation at specific CpG sites on the gene regulatory regions was found. These results lay the foundation for the use of these natural bioactives in veterinary medicine and provide a model for deeper understanding of their mechanisms of action, with potential translation to human research.

Nutritional supplements, also known as complementary feeds, are products administered with the aim of furnishing health benefits, regardless of nutritional needs. They have been used since ancient times in veterinary dermatology, and a number of studies have focused on investigating the health benefits of some ingredients found in commercially available complementary feed for dogs. The aim of this paper is to review the literature available on the use of nutritional supplementation for the management of canine skin diseases, critically appraising the clinical efficacy of such interventions and summarizing the current state of knowledge. This review highlights how these feeds can be considered useful in the management of dermatological disorders and outlines their beneficial effects in the prevention of dietary deficiencies and treatment of diseases, alone, or in addition to conventional pharmacological therapy. In recent years, nutritional supplements have found increasing potential application in veterinary medicine, and the scientific proofs of their beneficial effects are described in this review.

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