Inflamm-aging is a challenging and promising new branch of aging-related research fields that includes areas such as immunosenescence. Increasing evidence indicates that inflamm-aging is intensively associated with many aging diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, atherosclerosis, heart disease, type II diabetes, and cancer. Mounting studies have focused on the role of inflamm-aging in disease progression and many advances have been made in the last decade. However, the underlying mechanisms by which inflamm-aging affects pathological changes and disease development are still unclear. Here, we review studies of inflamm-aging that explore the concept, pathological features, mechanisms, intervention, and the therapeutic strategies of inflamm-aging in disease progression.

Age is an independent risk factor of cardiovascular disease, even in the absence of other traditional factors. Emerging evidence in experimental animal and human models has emphasized a central role for two main mechanisms of age-related cardiovascular disease: oxidative stress and inflammation. Excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) and superoxide generated by oxidative stress and low-grade inflammation accompanying aging recapitulate age-related cardiovascular dysfunction, that is, left ventricular hypertrophy, fibrosis, and diastolic dysfunction in the heart as well as endothelial dysfunction, reduced vascular elasticity, and increased vascular stiffness. We describe the signaling involved in these two main mechanisms that include the factors NF-κB, JunD, p66Shc, and Nrf2. Potential therapeutic strategies to improve the cardiovascular function with aging are discussed, with a focus on calorie restriction, SIRT1, and resveratrol.

Accumulating evidence indicates that abnormal deposition of amyloid-b (Ab) peptide in the brain is responsible for endothelial cell damage and consequently leads to bloodbrain barrier (BBB) leakage. However, the mechanisms underlying BBB disruption are not well described. We employed an monolayer BBB model comprising bEnd.3 cell and found that BBB leakage was induced by treatment with Ab 1-42, and the levels of tight junction (TJ) scaffold proteins (ZO-1, Claudin-5, and Occludin) were decreased. Through comparisons of the effects of the different components of Ab 1-42 , including monomer (Ab 1-42 -Mono), oligomer (Ab 1-42 -Oligo), and fibril (Ab 1-42 -Fibril), our data confirmed that Ab 1-42 -Oligo is likely to be the most important damage factor that results in TJ damage and BBB leakage in Alzheimer's disease. We found that the incubation of bEnd.3 cells with Ab 1-42 significantly up-regulated the level of receptor for advanced glycation end-products (RAGE). Co-incubation of a polyclonal antibody to RAGE and Ab 1-42 -Oligo in bEnd.3 cells blocked RAGE suppression of Ab 1-42 -Oligo-induced alterations in TJ scaffold proteins and reversed Ab 1-42 -Oligoinduced up-regulation of RAGE, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, and MMP-9. Furthermore, we found that these effects induced by Ab 1-42 -Oligo treatment were effectively suppressed by knockdown of RAGE using small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfection. We also found that GM 6001, a broad-spectrum MMP inhibitor, partially reversed the Ab 1-42 -Oligo-induced inhibitor effects in bEnd.3 cells. Thus, these

Circular RNA (circRNA) generated by alternative splicing represents a special class of non-coding RNA molecule. CircRNAs are abundant in the eukaryotic cell cytoplasm and have a characteristic organization, timing of action and disease specificity. In contrast to linear RNA, circRNAs are resistant to RNA exonuclease. Consequently, circRNA escapes normal RNA turnover and this improves circRNA stability. CircRNAs can be degraded by microRNA (miRNA) and this results in linearization of the circRNA, which can then act as competitor to endogenous RNA. Through interactions with disease-related miRNA, circRNA can play an important regulatory role in specific diseases. Furthermore, circRNAs have significant potential to become new clinical diagnostic markers.

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Accumulating evidence supports a key role for Wnt signaling in the development of the central nervous system (CNS) during embryonic development and in the regulation of the structure and function of the adult brain. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of senile dementia, which is characterized by β-amyloid (Aβ) deposition in specific brain regions. However, the molecular mechanism underlying AD pathology remains elusive. Dysfunctional Wnt signaling is associated with several diseases such as epilepsy, cancer, metabolic disease, and AD. Increasing evidence suggests that downregulation of Wnt signaling, induced by Aβ, is associated with disease progression of AD. More importantly, persistent activation of Wnt signaling through Wnt ligands, or inhibition of negative regulators of Wnt signaling, such as Dickkopf-1 (DKK-1) and glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) that are hyperactive in the disease state, is able to protect against Aβ toxicity and ameliorate cognitive performance in AD. Together, these data suggest that Wnt signaling might be a potential therapeutic target of AD. Here, we review recent studies related to the progression of AD where Wnt signaling might be relevant and participate in the development of the disease. Then, we focus on the potential relevance of manipulating the Wnt signaling pathway for the treatment of AD.

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of icariin (ICA) on cardiac aging through its effects on the SIRT6 enzyme and on the NF-κB pathway. Investigating the effect of ICA on the enzymatic activity of histone deacetylase SIRT6 revealed a concentration of 10−8 mol/L ICA had a maximum activating effect on histone deacetylase SIRT6 enzymatic activity. Western analysis showed that ICA upregulated SIRT6 protein expression and downregulated NF-κB (p65) protein expression in animal tissues and cell models. ICA upregulated the expression of SIRT6 and had an inhibitory effect on NF-κB inflammatory signaling pathways as shown by decreasing mRNA levels of the NF-κB downstream target genes TNF-α, ICAM-1, IL-2, and IL-6. Those effects were mediated directly or indirectly by SIRT6. We provided evidence that inflammaging may involve a novel link between the effects of ICA on SIRT6 (a regulator of aging) and NF-κB (a regulator of inflammation).

Neuropathic pain (NPP) is intolerable, persistent, and specific type of long-term pain. It is considered to be a direct consequence of pathological changes affecting the somatosensory system and can be debilitating for affected patients. Despite recent progress and growing interest in understanding the pathogenesis of the disease, NPP still presents a major diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) mediates inflammatory and immune reactions in nervous system and emerging evidence reveals that HMGB1 plays an essential role in neuroinflammation through receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLR), receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), C-X-X motif chemokines receptor 4 (CXCR4), and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. In this review, we present evidence from studies that address the role of HMGB1 in NPP. First, we review studies aimed at determining the role of HMGB1 in NPP and discuss the possible mechanisms underlying HMGB1-mediated NPP progression where receptors for HMGB1 are involved. Then we review studies that address HMGB1 as a potential therapeutic target for NPP.