Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neuronal/cognitional dysfunction, leading to disability and death. Despite advances in revealing the pathophysiological mechanisms behind AD, no effective treatment has yet been provided. It urges the need for finding novel multi-target agents in combating the complex dysregulated mechanisms in AD. Amongst the dysregulated pathophysiological pathways in AD, oxidative stress seems to play a critical role in the pathogenesis progression of AD, with a dominant role of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/Kelch-like ECH-associated protein-1 (Keap1)/antioxidant responsive elements (ARE) pathway. In the present study, a comprehensive review was conducted using the existing electronic databases, including PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, and Scopus, as well as related articles in the field. Nrf2/Keap1/ARE has shown to be the upstream orchestrate of oxidative pathways, which also ameliorates various inflammatory and apoptotic pathways. So, developing multi-target agents with higher efficacy and lower side effects could pave the road in the prevention/management of AD. The plant kingdom is now a great source of natural secondary metabolites in targeting Nrf2/Keap1/ARE. Among natural entities, phenolic compounds, alkaloids, terpene/terpenoids, carotenoids, sulfur-compounds, as well as some other miscellaneous plant-derived compounds have shown promising future accordingly. Prevailing evidence has shown that activating Nrf2/ARE and downstream antioxidant enzymes, as well as inhibiting Keap1 could play hopeful roles in overcoming AD. The current review highlights the neuroprotective effects of plant secondary metabolites through targeting Nrf2/Keap1/ARE and downstream interconnected mediators in combating AD.

Aging and sedentary life style are considered independent risk factors for many disorders. Under these conditions, accumulation of dysfunctional and damaged cellular proteins and organelles occurs, resulting in a cellular degeneration and cell death. Autophagy is a conserved recycling pathway responsible for the degradation, then turnover of cellular proteins and organelles. This process is a part of the molecular underpinnings by which exercise promotes healthy aging and mitigate age-related pathologies. Irisin is a myokine released during physical activity and acts as a link between muscles and other tissues and organs. Its main beneficial function is the change of subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue into brown adipose tissue, with a consequential increase in thermogenesis. Irisin modulates metabolic processes, acting on glucose homeostasis, reduces systemic inflammation, maintains the balance between resorption and bone formation, and regulates the functioning of the nervous system. Recently, some of its pleiotropic and favorable properties have been attributed to autophagy induction, posing irisin as an important regulator of autophagy by exercise. This review article proposes to bring together for the first time the “state of the art” knowledge regarding the effects of irisin and autophagy. Furthermore, treatments on relation between exercise/myokines and autophagy have been also achieved.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) isa common medical condition that affects the sexual life of millions of men worldwide. Numerous physical and psychological factors are involved in normal erectile function, including neurological, vascular, hormonal and cavernous functions. The current therapy for the condition is pharmacological and psychotherapeutic which regulates the erectile function and amplifies the NO-mediated response. The aim ofthis work is to test the action of three common phosphodiesterase inhibitors: Tadalafil, Sildenafil Citrate and Vardenafil at 0.05 f.1M on human monocytes, analyzing the expression ofiNOS protein and mRNA by Western blot and rt-PCR, and production of NO by conversion of L-(2,3,4,5)-pH]Arginine to L-eH) citrulline. We also tested the efficiency of the antioxidant network by spectrophotometer (SOD, CAT, GPx and Gr), under normal conditions and after stimulation with LPS. The results showed an increase in ROS levels, similar for all the molecules with regard to the antioxidant enzymes. In all cases the treatment determines a response to the limited efficiency, arriving at a situation in which phosphodiesterase inhibitors + LPS clearly show oxidative stress.Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common medical condition that affects the sexual life of millions of men worldwide (1). It is estimated that about 150 million men suffer from erectile dysfunction and it is forecast that in the year 2025 more than 325 million may be affected (2). If physical changes related to ageing represent a primary factor in ED, the increasing incidence of this dysfunction is generally associated with diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and alterations of blood cholesterol. levels, as well as psychological disturbances such as anxiety and depression (3). Many drugs are now available for treating ED and oral pharmacotherapy represents the first-line option for most patients. In the case of organic impotence, therapy can only be pharmacologic or surgical, supported by psychological and sexual counselling (4). The pharmacological treatments include oral drugs and drugs directly injected in the corpus cavernosa. Currently, two drugs are authorized in Europe and the USA, the sublingual dopaminergic selective agonist, apomorphine, and inhibitors of type-5 phosphodiesterase (PDE5), that act by regulating the erectyle function and amplifying the NO-mediated response in the arteries and in the trabecular smooth muscles of the corpus cavernosa (5-7).The inhibitors of phosphodiesterases include

Extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMFs) have been known to modulate inflammatory responses by targeting signal transduction pathways and influencing cellular redox balance through the generation of oxidants and antioxidants. Here, we studied the molecular mechanism underlying the anti-oxidative effect of ELF-EMF in THP-1 cells, particularly with respect to antioxidant enzymes, such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), regulated transcriptionally through nuclear factor E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) activation. Cells treated with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) were exposed to a 50 Hz, 1 mT extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields for 1 h, 6 h and, 24 h. Our results indicate that ELF-EMF induced HO-1 mRNA and protein expression in LPS-treated THP-1 cells, with peak expression at 6 h, accompanied with a concomitant migration to the nucleus of a truncated HO-1 protein form. The immunostaining analysis further verified a nuclear enrichment of HO-1. Moreover, ELF-EMF inhibited the protein expressions of the sirtuin1 (SIRT1) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) pathways, confirming their anti-inflammatory/antioxidative role. Pretreatment with LY294002 (Akt inhibitor) and PD980559 (ERK inhibitor) inhibited LPS-induced Nrf2 nuclear translocation and HO-1 protein expression in ELF-EMF-exposed cells. Taken together, our results suggest that short ELF-EMF exposure exerts a protective role in THP-1 cells treated with an inflammatory/oxidative insult such as LPS, via the regulation of Nrf-2/HO-1 and SIRT1 /NF-kB pathways associated with intracellular glutathione (GSH) accumulation.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is related to excess production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or inadequate and impaired detoxification by endogenous antioxidants, alterations in catecholamine metabolism, alterations in mitochondrial electron transfer function, and enhanced iron deposition in the substantia nigra. The concept that oxidative stress is an important mechanism underlying the degeneration of dopaminergic (DAergic) neurons is reinforced by data documenting that high levels of lipid peroxidation, increased oxidation of proteins and DNA and depletion of glutathione are observed in postmortem studies of brain tissues of PD patients. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) is an important neuronal enzyme that, in the presence of tetrahydrobiopterin, catalyzes the initial and rate-limiting step in the biosynthesis of the catecholamine neurotransmitters dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine, and is frequently used as a marker of DAergic neuronal loss in animal models of PD. The role for TH as generators of ROS are highly relevant to PD because ROS have been proposed to contribute to the neurodegeneration of DA neurons. Oxidants and superoxide radicals are produced as byproducts of oxidative phosphorylation, making mitochondria the main site of ROS generation within the cell and the site of the first line of defence against oxidative stress. ROS can affect mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) causing modulation in synthesis of electron transport chain (ETC) components, decreased ATP production, and increased leakage of ROS.