An Overview of the Protective Effects of Chitosan and Acetylated Chitosan Oligosaccharides against Neuronal Disorders

Abstract

Chitin is the second most abundant biopolymer on Earth and is mainly comprised of a marine invertebrate, consisting of repeating β-1,4 linked N-acetylated glucosamine units, whereas its N-deacetylated product, chitosan, has broad medical applications. Interestingly, chitosan oligosaccharides have therapeutic effects on different types of neuronal disorders, including, but not limited to, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and nerve crush injury. A common link among neuronal disorders is observed at a sub-cellular level, such as atypical protein assemblies and induced neuronal death. Chronic activation of innate immune responses that lead to neuronal injury is also common in these diseases. Thus, the common mechanisms of neuronal disorders might explain the general therapeutic effects of chitosan oligosaccharides and their derivatives in these diseases. This review provides an update on the pathogenesis and therapy for neuronal disorders and will be mainly focused on the recent progress made towards the neuroprotective properties of chitosan and acetylated chitosan oligosaccharides. Their structural features and the underlying molecular mechanisms will also be discussed.

Use of Natural Products in Asthma Treatment

“…Nonetheless, many studies describe the use of animal-based products, such as oils, milk, and spleen as a complementary therapy for several diseases, including asthma. e traditional medicine reports the benefits of consuming some animal parts and animal products, once they can be rich in compounds such as lipids, prostaglandins, unsaturated fatty acids, enzymes, and polysaccharides, which are responsible for their pharmacological activities [220,221]. In addition, animal sources are also widely cited as biocompatible and biodegradable sources, suggesting their safe use.…”

“…Ozdemir and colleagues [87] investigated the pharmacological activity of chitin, a polysaccharide formed by repeated units of N-acetylglucosamine to form long chain Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine through β- (1)(2)(3)(4) linkage [221], the major compound of the shrimp (Penaeus) exoskeleton. In this study, the authors performed the intranasal administration of chitin microparticles in the asthma-induced mice model, which promoted the reduction of serum IgE and peripheral blood eosinophilia, besides the decrease of the airway hypersensitivity [87].…”

Neuroprotective Investigation of Chitosan Nanoparticles for Dopamine Delivery

“…Furthermore, its utility in delivering drugs for treating neurological diseases has been recognized because of its ability to positively interfere in neurological processes, which occurs by chelating Cu 2+ ions that can produce hydroxyl radicals causing lipid peroxidation [18,19].…”

Diferenciação neuronal e efeito neuroprotetor de novas moléculas híbridas inibidoras de acetilcolinesterase em modelo SH-SY5Y

“…Desta forma, novas moléculas sintéticas com atividade antioxidante e neuroprotetora têm sido desenvolvidas com o intuito de proporcionar tratamentos mais eficazes para os pacientes com a DA(Luchtman et al, 2012;Zhang et al, 2017). O objetivo da neuroproteção, nestes casos, é minimizar a disfunção neuronal ou morte após a lesão do sistema nervoso central (SNC), na tentativa de manter a integridade das interações celulares no cérebro, reduzindo assim alterações nas funções neuronais(Hao et al, 2017). Por conseguinte, a possibilidade de encontrar estratégias para minimizar os efeitos de ROS pode abrir um caminho promissor na busca de terapias para os pacientes com doenças neurodegenerativas.…”

“…Em vista disso, novos métodos e estratégias têm sido desenvolvidos na tentativa de alcançar proteção contra danos neuronais, os quais envolvem apoptose, disfunção neuronal, estresse oxidativo e degeneração. O objetivo final é minimizar a disfunção ou morte neuronal, na tentativa de manter a integridade das interações celulares no cérebro, reduzindo assim alterações nas funções neuronais(Hao et al, 2017). Supõe-se que os inibidores específicos de AChE possam impedir a agregação adicional de fibrilas Aβ, levando à indução de neuroproteção.…”