Unraveling the gut microbiota's role in Rheumatoid arthritis: dietary pathways to modulation and therapeutic potential.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a significant global health issue. Recent research highlights the gut microbiota's critical role in RA's development, noting how dietary factors can alter these microbial communities. This has led to an increased focus on how the gut microbiota (GM) influences RA and the potential for dietary ingredients to offer anti-RA benefits by modifying GM. This review presents a concise examination of the GM associated with RA, identifying specific microbial taxa at various levels that are implicated in the disease. It delves into dietary components known for their anti-RA properties through GM modulation and their mechanisms. Findings from numerous studies, including both animal and human research, show significant differences in the GM composition between individuals with early and established RA. Certain microbes like Tenericutes, Synergistetes, and Proteobacteria have been linked to RA progression, whereas Bacteroidetes and some strains of Lactobacillus are shown to have protective effects against RA. Dietary elements such as fibers, polysaccharides, resistant starch, and peptides have been identified as influential in combating RA. These components work by altering the GM's metabolites and impacting immune cells related to the GM. This review suggests the potential for developing functional foods aimed at treating RA by targeting GM.

Use of peptide-modified nanoparticles as a bacterial cell targeting agent for enhanced antibacterial activity and other biomedical applications.

Bacterial pathogens have posed a serious threat to human health because they are difficult to be eliminated inside cells. Here, an effective design of poly(lactic-co-glycolic) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs) modified with antimicrobial peptides and loaded with gentamicin (Gen) was reported with enhanced antibacterial activity and cellular internalization ability. The results showed that the drug loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency of OVTp12-modified NPs were 7.55 % and 81.3 %, respectively. We observed that OVTp12 and OVTp12-modified NPs significantly increased the interaction with Staphylococcus aureus cells. Moreover, OVTp12-modified NPs showed an effective inhibitory effect on S. aureus with low cytotoxicity. The results of cell internalization indicated that OVTp12-modified NPs were markedly higher than that of unmodified nanoparticles when incubated with MC3T3-E1 cells. In conclusion, the bacterial cell-targeting ability of this antimicrobial peptide provides advantages for the treatment of intracellular bacterial infections.