Nitric oxide (NO), a pro-neurogenic and antineuroinflammatory gasotransmitter, features the potential to develop a translational medicine against neuropathological conditions. Despite the extensive efforts made on the controlled delivery of therapeutic NO, however, an orally active NO prodrug for a treatment of chronic neuropathy was not reported yet. Inspired by the natural dinitrosyl iron unit (DNIU) [Fe(NO) 2 ], in this study, a reversible and dynamic interaction between the biomimetic [(NO) 2 Fe(μ-SCH 2 CH 2 OH) 2 Fe(NO) 2 ] ( DNIC-1 ) and serum albumin (or gastrointestinal mucin) was explored to discover endogenous proteins as a vehicle for an oral delivery of NO to the brain after an oral administration of DNIC-1 . On the basis of the in vitro and in vivo study, a rapid binding of DNIC-1 toward gastrointestinal mucin yielding the mucin-bound dinitrosyl iron complex (DNIC) discovers the mucoadhesive nature of DNIC-1 . A reversible interconversion between mucin-bound DNIC and DNIC-1 facilitates the mucus-penetrating migration of DNIC-1 shielded in the gastrointestinal tract of the stomach and small intestine. Moreover, the NO-release reactivity of DNIC-1 induces the transient opening of the cellular tight junction and enhances its paracellular permeability across the intestinal epithelial barrier. During circulation in the bloodstream, a stoichiometric binding of DNIC-1 to the serum albumin, as another endogenous protein vehicle, stabilizes the DNIU [Fe(NO) 2 ] for a subsequent transfer into the brain. With aging mice under a Western diet as a disease model for metabolic syndrome and cognitive impairment, an oral administration of DNIC-1 in a daily manner for 16 weeks activates the hippocampal neurogenesis and ameliorates the impaired cognitive ability. Taken together, these findings disclose the synergy between biomimetic DNIC-1 and endogenous protein vehicles for an oral delivery of therapeutic NO to the brain against chronic neuropathy.

In cultured porcine aortic smooth muscle cells, sphingosylphosphorylcholine (SPC), ATP, or bradykinin (BK) induced a rapid dose-dependent increase in the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) and also stimulated inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) generation. Pretreatment of cells with pertussis toxin blocked the SPC-induced IP3 generation and [Ca2+]iincrease but had no effect on the action of ATP or BK. In addition, SPC stimulated the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and increased DNA synthesis, whereas neither ATP nor BK produced such effects. Both the SPC-induced MAPK activation and DNA synthesis were pertussis toxin sensitive. SPC-induced MAPK activation was blocked by treatment of cells with the phospholipase C inhibitor, U-73122, or the intracellular Ca2+-ATPase inhibitor, thapsigargin, but not by removal of extracellular Ca2+. Lysophosphatidic acid induced cellular responses similar to SPC in a pertussis toxin-sensitive manner in terms of [Ca2+]iincrease, IP3 generation, MAPK activation, and DNA synthesis. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) also induced a [Ca2+]iincrease, MAPK activation, and DNA synthesis in the same cells; however, the PDGF-induced MAPK activation was not sensitive to pertussis toxin and changes in [Ca2+]i. SPC-induced MAPK activation was inhibited by pretreatment of cells with staurosporine, W-7, or calmidazolium. Our results suggest that, in porcine aortic smooth muscle cells, MAPK is not activated by the increase in [Ca2+]iunless a pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein is simultaneously stimulated, indicating the role of Ca2+ in pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein-mediated MAPK activation.

In this study, pure silica nanofibers (SNFs) were fabricated by the electrospinning technique. Subsequently, the as-prepared SNFs were modified with (3-aminopropyl) trimethoxysilane (APTS) for applications in neural tissue engineering. The structure and properties of the as-prepared SNFs and the modified SNFs (SNFAPxM, x ¼ 1-3) were evaluated with FTIR, TGA, nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms, and SEM. It was found that the surface hydrophilicity of SNF-APxM was lowered upon increasing the amino alkyl group content. The SEM and confocal images revealed that neural stem cells (NSCs) cultured on the electrospun SNFs and SNF-APxM substrates were elongated along the fibers in comparison to poly-Dlysine-coated (PDL-coated) substrate. In addition, a higher degree of proliferation and more responsive cells were observed for the NSCs cultured on the SNF-AP3M substrate than those on the SNFs and the PDL-coated substrates. The results indicated that the APTS-modified silica nanofibers can be potential substrates for regulating growth and differentiation of NSCs in culture.

Microglia-mediated neuroinflammation is recognized to mainly contribute to the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), known as a natural antioxidant in green tea, can inhibit microglia-mediated inflammation and protect neurons but has disadvantages such as high instability and low bioavailability. We developed an EGCG liposomal formulation to improve its bioavailability and evaluated the neuroprotective activity in in vitro and in vivo neuroinflammation models. EGCG-loaded liposomes have been prepared from phosphatidylcholine (PC) or phosphatidylserine (PS) coated with or without vitamin E (VE) by hydration and membrane extrusion method. The anti-inflammatory effect has been evaluated against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced BV-2 microglial cells activation and the inflammation in the substantia nigra of Sprague Dawley rats. In the cellular inflammation model, murine BV-2 microglial cells changed their morphology from normal spheroid to activated spindle shape after 24 h of induction of LPS. In the in vitro free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, EGCG scavenged 80% of DPPH within 3 min. EGCG-loaded liposomes could be phagocytized by BV-2 cells after 1 h of cell culture from cell uptake experiments. EGCG-loaded liposomes improved the production of BV-2 microglia-derived nitric oxide and TNF-α following LPS. In the in vivo Parkinsonian syndrome rat model, simultaneous intra-nigral injection of EGCG-loaded liposomes attenuated LPS-induced pro-inflammatory cytokines and restored motor impairment. We demonstrated that EGCG-loaded liposomes exert a neuroprotective effect by modulating microglia activation. EGCG extracted from green tea and loaded liposomes could be a valuable candidate for disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson’s disease (PD).

No abstract