Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology - Volume 19, Issue 15, 2018

Chronic inflammation, synovial hyperplasia, and local hypoxia lead to synovial cell activation causing severe joint damage in chronic-inflammatory rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The proinflammatory and joint-destructive property of the increased release of extracellular nucleic acids has been demonstrated for extracellular mitochondrial DNA and oxidized DNA using an arthritis model. Microparticles derived from different cells Read More

Extracellular RNA (eRNA), composed of mainly rRNA e.g. released upon cell injury, has previously been shown to have three main detrimental functions in the context of cardiovascular disease: (1) to promote tissue edema by activating the VEGF signal transduction cascade, disrupting endothelial tight junctions and increasing intercellular permeability; (2) to induce thrombus formation by activating the contact phase sy Read More

Neutrophil extracellular traps (NET), extruded decondensated chromatin entangled with neutrophil proteases, have been first identified in neutrophils stimulated with bacteria or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) via activation of NADPH oxidase and the generation of reactive oxygen species. Although the first findings demonstrated the beneficial role of NET formation by trapping the bacteria and limiting their dissemi Read More

The innate immune system protects against infectious microbes by the recognition of pathogen- associated molecular patterns, which serve to detect pathogens on the host cell surface or in endosomes by pattern recognition receptors such as Toll-like receptors, nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-containing protein-1-like receptors, mannose-receptor, or retinoic acid-inducible gene-1- like receptors that initi Read More

Background: Glucocorticoids are powerful and effective anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drugs. They have extensive use in the treatment of different diseases, even though their side effects, such as hypertension, osteoporosis and, in particular, diabetes, are well known. They can exacerbate hyperglycemia in patients with diabetes mellitus or facilitate the development of metabolic disease in apparently health Read More

Background: Plants extracts and their bioactive constituents can provide an alternative approach for new treatment. Pakistani flora reveals a huge, largely untapped source of potential antiviral constituents. Objective: High-cost concerns of direct-acting anti-HCV drugs limit their employment specifically in developing countries like Pakistan. Therefore, discovery of inexpensive and nontoxic agents is needed for HCV treatment. Read More

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the changes in the expression of genes - TNF-α, IFN-γ, depending on the time and concentration of IL-12 used to expose the Normal Human Dermal Fibroblast (NHDF) cells. Methods: The material for the study included NHDF exposed to IL-12 in various IL-12 concentrations (1/10/100 ng/ml) and exposure time 0.5h, 1h, 2h, 4h, 8h, 24h, compared to the control. Changes in gene ex Read More

Background: The genus Lactobacillus has recently been the focal point of researchers due to their ability to produce secondary metabolites with antimicrobial effects. Objective: The aim of this study was to identify vaginal Lactobacillus sp. by analyzing 16S rRNA gene sequence, to investigate into antimicrobial activities of secondary metabolites produced by these isolates and to determine the quantities of lactic acid, acetic aci Read More