Alleviate Disease Progression Research Articles

A Friend in Need May Not be a Friend Indeed: Role of Microglia in Neurodegenerative Diseases

Inflammation plays a critical role in the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Microglia are the resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS) which actively take part in the neuronal development of CNS and are involved in clearance of pathogens as well as cellular debris from the system upon insult to this organization. Chronic activation of microglia in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as well as inflammatory conditions of CNS such as multiple sclerosis (MS) results in overall upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in the brain parenchyma. This compromises the neuronal health which further activates microglia by releasing death associated molecules such as neuromelanin, Aβ peptides and cellular debris at the lesion site thereby forming a vicious cycle of disease advancement. Targeting microglial activation has proven to be a viable option in the treatment of inflammation related neurodegenerative diseases. This review will discuss the central position of inflammation and therapeutic strategies aiming to alleviate disease progression in some of the important inflammatory conditions of CNS.

Biochar Amendment Increases Resistance to Stem Lesions Caused by Phytophthora spp. in Tree Seedlings

Soil amendment with biochar is thought to confer multiple benefits to plants including induction of systemic resistance to plant pathogens. Pathogens in the genus Phytophthora cause damaging diseases of woody species throughout the world. The objective of this study was to test 1) whether biochar amendment induces resistance to canker causing Phytophthora pathogens; and 2) how this resistance is related to the amount of biochar amendment in two common landscape tree species: Quercus rubra (L.) and Acer rubrum (L.). Seedlings of Q. rubra and A. rubrum were planted in peatmoss-based potting mix uniformly amended with 0%, 5%, 10%, or 20% biochar by volume. Plants in each treatment group were stem wound-inoculated with an isolate of Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands (host: Q. rubra) or P. cactorum (Leb. and Cohn) Schröeter (host: A. rubrum) using standard agar-plug inoculation procedures. Amendment of potting media with 5% biochar reduced horizontal expansion of lesions in both hosts, whereas the same treatment significantly reduced vertical expansion of lesions in A. rubrum (P < 0.05). In addition, 5% biochar resulted in a higher midday stem water potential in Q. rubra (P = 0.066) and significantly greater stem biomass in A. rubrum compared with inoculated control plants (0% biochar, P < 0.05). Our results suggest that biochar amendment has the potential to alleviate disease progression and physiological stress caused by Phytophthora canker pathogens and there is likely an optimal level of biochar incorporation into the root media beyond which the effects may be less pronounced.

AFFITOPE®-based vaccination against C5a alleviates disease progression in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

AFFITOPE®-based vaccination against C5a alleviates disease progression in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Nrf2: A Potential Target for New Therapeutics in Liver Disease

Nuclear erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is an oxidative stress-mediated transcription factor with a variety of downstream targets aimed at cytoprotection. Nrf2 has recently been implicated as a new therapeutic target for the treatment of liver disease. Here, we focus on the most common liver diseases-nonalcoholic fatty liver disease/steatohepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, and drug-induced liver injury-and highlight areas in the development of these conditions where activation of Nrf2 may alleviate disease progression.

Antigen-Specific TGF-β–Induced Regulatory T Cells Secrete Chemokines, Regulate T Cell Trafficking, and Suppress Ongoing Autoimmunity

The ability to regulate ongoing inflammation using regulatory T cells (Tregs) is under intense investigation. Strategies to induce and expand Ag-specific Tregs are being developed, and whether various types of Tregs are suppressive in the inflammatory conditions associated with ongoing disease needs to be determined. In this study, we report that TGF-β-induced Tregs (iTregs) and expanded Tregs specific for a major self-Ag in autoimmune gastritis suppress inflammation and associated pathology when administered late in the process of ongoing disease. Transferred iTregs localized to the stomach, maintained Foxp3 and suppressor functions, and engaged several distinct mechanisms to alleviate disease progression. In addition to suppressing the production of inflammatory cytokines in the stomach and preventing the destruction of parietal cells, we show that iTregs secrete numerous chemokines and regulate both iTreg and effector T cell trafficking into the stomach. These data support efforts to use iTregs in therapies to treat autoimmunity and inflammatory diseases and provide novel insight into the biological mechanisms of iTreg-mediated immune suppression.

Moving towards a vaccine

An agent that clears disease-associated amyloid aggregates from the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease does not alleviate disease progression. Yet this disappointing news should not rule out such potential therapies.

The evaluation of Chinese herbal medicine effectiveness on periodontal pathogens.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of herbal medicines in treating periodontal diseases. Three Chinese herbal composites [Conth Su (CS), Chi Tong Ning (CTN) and Xi Gua Shuang (XGS)], widely used for prevention and treatment of periodontal diseases, and the major components of these composites were tested for their ability to: (1) alleviate disease progression of experimental periodontitis in hamsters, (2) inhibit bacterial growth, and (3) induce mutations. Our results indicate that in treating experimental periodontitis, there were no significant differences between the animal groups with or without the use of Chinese herbal medicines in terms of the degree of inflammation, alveolar bone resorption, and rate of repair. However, hamsters treated with CS presented earlier regenerative epithelium. CTN demonstrated superior bacterial inhibition ability among all tested herbs (MIC 0.025 g/ml); CS showed good anti-bacterial abilities at a concentration of 0.05 g/ml. It is interesting to note that while both CS and CTN were capable of inhibiting bacterial growth, none of the individual herb components showed comparable bacterial inhibition abilities. None of the tested herbal composites or their components showed signs of inducing cell mutations using the Ames test. These results indicated that traditional Chinese herbal medicines, which have been used to treat periodontal diseases for hundreds of years by Chinese people, can effectively inhibit bacterial growth without causing cell mutation. Further investigation into their possible clinical applications in periodontal therapy is encouraged.