Current Pharmaceutical Design - Current Issue

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory disorder of the large intestine characterized by inflammation in the mucosal tissue of the colon and rectal area. In the present pilot study, we assessed the efficacy of combining mebendazole with mesalamine in moderate UC patients.

In the present exploratory pilot trial, designed to assess both the safety and preliminary efficacy of mebendazole, a total number of 10 moderate UC patients with Mayo scores ranging from 6 to 9 were enrolled. The participants were divided into two groups at random and were treated with 3 gr mesalamine per day plus 300 mg/day mebendazole or matching placebo for 3 months. The efficacy of treatment was assessed in 8 and 12-week timelines with Mayo score. Moreover, the safety of the given dose of mebendazole in UC patients was also assessed by laboratory tests.

The addition of mebendazole to the mesalamine in the treatment regimen of patients suffering from UC caused a greater decrease in the Mayo score of the patients compared to the mesalamine monotherapy at 8 and 12-week timelines. Despite this trend, statistical significance was not reached, likely due to the limited sample size. Moreover, all the patients in the mebendazole group experienced clinical remission at the 12-week timeline, but 4 of 5 patients in the placebo group experienced a clinical remission state, indicating that mebendazole caused a 20% increase in the clinical remission rate. As indicated by the results of the laboratory tests, the given dose of mebendazole showed no toxicity in the patients.

The addition of mebendazole to mesalamine for UC treatment appears to be a safe and potentially beneficial approach to enhance mesalamine’s efficacy and reduce clinical symptoms. However, given the small sample size and the short study duration, further large-scale, long-term trials are necessary to validate these preliminary findings.

IRCT20220115053713N2.

Impaired intestinal immune function is commonly observed in neonates with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), yet its underlying mechanisms and regulatory pathways remain poorly understood. Therefore, we aimed to investigate gene regulatory patterns and microbiota alterations in IUGR piglets.

Three newborn IUGR piglets and three normal littermates were selected from the same sow and sacrificed at seven days of age. Ileal digesta was collected for 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing (16S-seq), and ileum segments were dissociated for single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq).

The scRNA-seq results revealed a reduced proportion of plasma B cells in IUGR piglets, along with alterations in the distribution of various T cell subsets. KEGG pathway analysis further indicated a downregulation of the B cell receptor signaling pathway in B cells from IUGR piglets. In contrast, both the T cell receptor signaling pathway and antigen processing and presentation were attenuated in T cells. Pseudotime trajectory analysis suggested that the differentiation of B cells was impaired in IUGR piglets. SCENIC analysis revealed that GATA3, IRF2, and BCL11A were downregulated in T cells of IUGR piglets. The 16S-seq results revealed that α-diversity was lower in IUGR piglets. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Prevotella was significantly lower in IUGR piglets.

Significant changes were identified in the proportions of B and T cells, their associated signaling pathways, and intestinal microbiota composition in IUGR piglets, suggesting underlying immune dysfunction and dysbiosis.

We identified novel immune-related transcription factors and key microbes as potential therapeutic targets, shedding light on strategies for preventing and treating IUGR.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra, leading to progressive motor dysfunction. There are still limited disease-modifying options that counteract the process of disease progression. This study aimed to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of thymol, both in its free form and when loaded onto selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs), in a 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced PD model using SH-SY5Y cells.

SeNPs were synthesized using a chemical reduction method with ascorbic acid, achieving a 68% entrapment efficiency for thymol. FTIR analysis suggested an interaction between thymol and selenium, which was confirmed by EDX analysis. Nano-Se-thymol particles were observed to be spherical, with a mean size of 135.7 nm and a negative surface charge.

Nano-Se-thymol exhibited low toxicity in normal fibroblast cells and demonstrated greater neuroprotective effects against 6-OHDA-induced cytotoxicity compared to thymol. Nano-Se-thymol significantly reduced ROS generation and increased cell viability compared to 6-OHDA. Furthermore, Nano-Se-thymol decreased the expression of NF-κB inflammatory markers and caspase-3 apoptotic proteins, which were elevated by 6-OHDA, compared to thymol alone.

Nano-Se-Thymol significantly attenuates 6-OHDA-induced cytotoxicity in an established in vitro model of PD. The neuroprotective efficacy of Nano-Se-Thymol is attributed to its enhanced antioxidant capacity, as evidenced by a significant reduction in ROS levels, along with its ability to inhibit apoptosis and modulate cell cycle progression.

Nano-Se-thymol is a potential disease-modifying agent for the treatment of PD; however, further studies and long-term safety assessments are essential to confirm these benefits and understand the underlying mechanisms.