Obesity is characterized as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation harmful to one’s health, linked to hormonal imbalances, cardiovascular illness, and coronary artery disease. Since the disease stems mainly from overconsumption, studies have aimed to control intestinal absorption as a route for treatment. In this study, chitosan-thioglycolic acid (CT) was developed as a physical barrier in the gastrointestinal tracts to inhibit nutrient uptake. CT exhibits a superior mucoadhesive property compared to chitosan both in vitro and in vivo for the ability to form disulfide bonds with the intestinal mucosa. For CT as a potential drug delivery platform, hesperidin, a herb for bodyweight control in traditional Chinese medication, is encapsulated in CT and can be released consistently from this absorption barrier. In animal studies, CT encapsulated with hesperidin (CTH) not only results in a weight-controlling effect but limits adipose accumulation by hindering absorption, suggesting a potential role in obesity treatment. Neither CT nor CTH exhibit cytotoxicity or produce adverse immunological reactions in vivo.
Oxidative stress and later-induced chronic inflammation have been reported to play an important role on the progression of sarcopenia. Current treatments for sarcopenia are mainly administered to patients whom sarcopenia already developed. However, there has been no promising results shown in therapy. Therefore, the development of therapeutic and preventive strategies against sarcopenia would be necessary. Curcumin is a traditional medicine that possesses anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties. In the present study, hydroxyapatite was subjected to hydrophobic surface modifications for curcumin loading (Cur-SHAP). It was, subsequently, utilized for delivery to the patient’s body via intramuscular injection in order to achieve constant release for more than 2 weeks, preventing the progression of the sarcopenia or even leading to recovery from the early stage of the illness. According to the results of WST-1, LIVE/DEAD, DCFDA, and gene expression assays, Cur-SHAP exhibited good biocompatibility and showed great antioxidant/anti-inflammatory effects through the endocytic pathway. The results of the animal studies showed that the muscle endurance, grip strength, and fat/lean mass ratio were all improved in Cur-SHAP-treated rats from LPS-induced sarcopenia. In summary, we successfully synthesized hydrophobic surface modification hydroxyapatite for curcumin loading (Cur-SHAP) and drug delivery via the IM route. The LPS-induced sarcopenia rats were able to recover from disease after the Cur-SHAP treatment.
Due to its excellent bioactivity, bioactive glass (BG) is suitable for use as bone graft substitutes in biomedical applications. In this study, carbon nanotubes (CNT‐COOH) served as templates for depositing bioactive glass based on 60SiO2–36CaO–4P2O5 wt.% were synthesized via the solgel process. The BG and BG/CNT‐COOH composites were treated at 300, 500, 700, and 900°C; their properties were also examined by X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The experimental results showed that BG/CNT‐COOH composites treated at 500 and 700°C were amorphous and contained silicate nanocrystals. By altering precursor concentration, bioactive glass of various thicknesses was successfully solgel coated on CNT‐COOH. Immersion of the BG/CNT‐COOH composites in simulated body fluid solution and MG‐63 cell culture assessment showed the 500°C treated BG/CNT‐COOH exhibits excellent bioactivity.
Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is characterized by progressive deterioration and loss of articular cartilage with associatedstructural and performance changes in the entire joint, and current treatments for OA only aim to relieve symptoms, rather than to prevent or reverse disease progression. Recently, treatments targeting “early osteoarthritis” (EOA) have attracted attention. However, during EOA stage, chondrocytes may change behaviors to express pro‐inflammatory cytokines and free radicals, which would cause detrimental effects to the synovial cavity and further cartilage wear. In this study, we combined resveratrol (Res) and Bletilla striata polysaccharide (BSP) as anti‐inflammatories and antioxidants to diffuse free radicals and to alleviate inflammation from the synovial cavity both short term and long term. The current study introduced a new method for harvesting BSP from as‐received Bletilla striata to achieve high yields, shortened extraction times, and maintained structure/functions. In addition, it combined Res and home‐extracted BSP (Res‐BSP) to alleviate oxidative stress and inflammation in a Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)‐induced OA model. The gene expressions of inflammatory genes iNOs, IL‐1β, IL‐6, and MMP‐13 were upregulated 5.7‐fold, 6.5‐fold, 8.6‐fold, and 4.5‐fold, respectively on OA‐like chondrocytes and the gene expressions were significantly downregulated to 3.3‐fold, 2.1‐fold, 4.9‐fold, and 0.1‐fold, respectively, once OA‐like chondrocytes were treated with Res‐BSP (p < 0.05, compared with OA‐like chondrocytes). The gene expressions of chondrogenic genes TGFβ1, SOX9, and type II collagen were downregulated by 0.8‐fold, 2.2‐fold, and 0.8‐fold, respectively, based on the control group as a baseline. While it was significantly upregulated by 3.4‐fold, 0.32‐fold, and 0.4‐fold, respectively, once OA‐like chondrocytes were treated with Res‐BSP. (p < 0.05, compared with OA‐like chondrocytes). Finally, we elucidated the role of Res‐BSP in EOA in suppressing COX‐2 and activating p‐Smad 2/3 and p‐Erk1/2. We believe that the combination of Res and BSP has great potential as an alternative therapeutic strategy for EOA treatment in future.
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