Evaluation of liposomal carnosine in adjuvant arthritis.

Liposomal carnosine could overcome the problems associated with direct application of this peptide. Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of liposomal and non-liposomal carnosine in adjuvant arthritis were compared. The experiments were done on healthy animals, untreated arthritic animals, arthritic animals with oral administration of carnosine, and with subcutaneous administration of liposomal carnosine, both administered in the same daily dose of 150 mg/kg b.w. during 28 days. Carnosine reduced hind paw volume on day 28. Both forms markedly decreased interleukin-1ß, matrix metalloproteinase-9 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in plasma on day 14. Only liposomal carnosine reduced significantly MCP-1. Malondialdehyde, 4-hydroxynonenal, resistance to Fe2+-induced oxidation and protein carbonyls were significantly corrected after administration of any form of carnosine. Liposomal carnosine corrected more effectively the oxidative stress in plasma than did carnosine. In brain tissue, our results showed protective ability of both forms of carnosine against oxidation of proteins and lipids. They also corrected the resistance to Fe2+-induced oxidation in arthritic animals. We found that only liposomal carnosine decreased the mRNA expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase in cartilage tissue. It can be concluded that the liposomal drug-delivery system is improving the pharmacological properties of carnosine administered in arthritis.

Effect of N-Feruloylserotonin and Methotrexate on Severity of Experimental Arthritis and on Messenger RNA Expression of Key Proinflammatory Markers in Liver.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease, leading to progressive destruction of joints and extra-articular tissues, including organs such as liver and spleen. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a potential immunomodulator, natural polyphenol N-feruloylserotonin (N-f-5HT), with methotrexate (MTX), the standard in RA therapy, in the chronic phase of adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) in male Lewis rats. The experiment included healthy controls (CO), arthritic animals (AA), AA given N-f-5HT (AA-N-f-5HT), and AA given MTX (AA-MTX). N-f-5HT did not affect the body weight change and clinical parameters until the 14th experimental day. Its positive effect was rising during the 28-day experiment, indicating a delayed onset of N-f-5HT action. Administration of either N-f-5HT or MTX caused reduction of inflammation measured as the level of CRP in plasma and the activity of LOX in the liver. mRNA transcription of TNF-α and iNOS in the liver was significantly attenuated in both MTX and N-f-5HT treated groups of arthritic rats. Interestingly, in contrast to MTX, N-f-5HT significantly lowered the level of IL-1ß in plasma and IL-1ß mRNA expression in the liver and spleen of arthritic rats. This speaks for future investigations of N-f-5HT as an agent in the treatment of RA in combination therapy with MTX.

[The relationship of lipid imbalance and chronic inflammation mediated by PPAR]. / Vztah dysbalancie lipidov a chronického zápalu sprostredkovaný PPAR.

UNLABELLED: Obesity is a serious metabolic disease that threatens patients with increasing incidence of the metabolic, cardiovascular, cancer1-3) and other associated, especially autoimmune diseases. It increases significantly the morbidity and mortality of patients and reduces quality of their life.The imbalance between lipolysis and lipogenesis results in a number of metabolic related disorders at the different regulatory levels of transcription, translation, and/or activity of enzymes. One of the extensively studied areas in regulating lipogenesis, often accompanied by inflammation, is a peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPARs), especially its isomer PPAR-γ. PPAR-γ is a ligand-activated transcription factor belonging to the family of nuclear receptors. It is mostly presented in differentiated macrophages and adipose tissue5, 6). It has an important function of adipocyte differentiation and inflammation management in terms of gene expression inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines. PPAR-γ inhibition of inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α may present the molecular mechanism of lipid disorders, thus contributing to the pathogenesis of various diseases, e.g. inflammation, insulin resistance and atherosclerosis, for which the lipid metabolism disorders are a common feature. Under the action of specific agonists, PPAR-γ alter the release of signal molecules from adipose tissue, which has far-reaching metabolic consequences in other tissues. It plays an important role in the inhibition of inflammation and the development of insulin resistance. KEY WORDS: obesity inflammation PPAR-γ cytokines.