Polymeric Microneedles: Advancing Potential Through Innovative Manufacturing, Polymer Design, and Characterization Techniques.

Microneedles (MNs) represent a transformative technology in pharmaceutics, offering a minimally invasive method for drug delivery that enhances patient compliance and therapeutic efficacy. By enabling transdermal administration, MNs provide a promising option to conventional routes of drug delivery, such as injections and oral administration, which may cause discomfort and lead to poor adherence. This review provides a comprehensive analysis of polymeric MNs, with a particular focus on their fabrication techniques, polymer selection strategies, and pharmaceutical characterization methods.

Repurposing tetracyclines for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and severe COVID-19: a critical discussion of recent publications.

Introduction: Drug repurposing can be a successful approach to deal with the scarcity of cost-effective therapies in situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Tetracyclines have previously shown efficacy in preclinical acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) models and initial predictions and experimental reports suggest a direct antiviral activity against SARS-CoV2. Furthermore, a few clinical reports indicate their potential in COVID-19 patients.

Anti-inflammatory activity of hydroalcoholic extracts of Lavandula dentata L. and Lavandula stoechas L.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Plants from genus Lavandula have been used as anti-inflammatory drugs in Mediterranean traditional medicine. Nowadays, there is a growing interest for complementary medicine, including herbal remedies, to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Aim Of The Study: To test the anti-inflammatory properties of Lavandula dentata and Lavandula stoechas extracts in two inflammatory experimental models: TNBS model of rat colitis and the carrageenan-induced paw edema in mice, in order to mimic the intestinal conditions and the extra-intestinal manifestations of human IBD, respectively.

Interleukin 6 Increases Production of Cytokines by Colonic Innate Lymphoid Cells in Mice and Patients With Chronic Intestinal Inflammation.

Background & Aims: Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a heterogeneous group of mucosal inflammatory cells that participate in chronic intestinal inflammation. We investigated the role of interleukin 6 (IL6) in inducing activation of ILCs in mice and in human beings with chronic intestinal inflammation.

Methods: ILCs were isolated from colons of Tbx21(-/-) × Rag2(-/-) mice (TRUC), which develop colitis; patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); and patients without colon inflammation (controls).

A new therapeutic association to manage relapsing experimental colitis: Doxycycline plus Saccharomyces boulardii.

Immunomodulatory antibiotics have been proposed for the treatment of multifactorial conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease. Probiotics are able to attenuate intestinal inflammation, being considered as safe when chronically administered. The aim of the study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effects of doxycycline, a tetracycline with immunomodulatory properties, alone and in association with the probiotic Saccharomyces boulardii CNCMI-745.

The viability of Lactobacillus fermentum CECT5716 is not essential to exert intestinal anti-inflammatory properties.

Probiotics have been used as alternative therapies in intestinal inflammatory disorders. Many studies have shown that different bacterial probiotic strains possess immuno-modulatory and anti-inflammatory properties. However, there is an increasing interest in the use of non-viable bacteria to reduce the risk of microbial translocation and infection.

Silk fibroin nanoparticles constitute a vector for controlled release of resveratrol in an experimental model of inflammatory bowel disease in rats.

Purpose: We aimed to evaluate the intestinal anti-inflammatory properties of silk fibroin nanoparticles, around 100 nm in size, when loaded with the stilbene compound resveratrol, in an experimental model of rat colitis.

Methods: Nanoparticles were loaded with resveratrol by adsorption. The biological effects of the resveratrol-loaded nanoparticles were tested both in vitro, in a cell culture of RAW 264.

Intestinal anti-inflammatory effects of oligosaccharides derived from lactulose in the trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid model of rat colitis.

Intestinal microbiota modulation is becoming an interesting approach to manage inflammatory bowel disease and can be achieved by the administration of prebiotics. Previous studies showed the intestinal anti-inflammatory effects of the prebiotic lactulose. The aim of the present study was to test the preventative effects of oligosaccharides derived from lactulose with prebiotic properties (OsLu) in the trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid model of rat colitis and compare them with those of lactulose.

Intestinal anti-inflammatory activity of the Serpylli herba extract in experimental models of rodent colitis.

Introduction: Nowadays, there is an increasing interest for alternative options in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) that combine efficacy and an adequate safety profile.

Methods: The intestinal anti-inflammatory effects of Serpylli herba, the officinal drug in the European Pharmacopeia composed by the aerial parts of wild thyme (Thymus serpyllum), were evaluated in the trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced rat colitis and dextran sodium sulfate (DSS)-induced mouse colitis, which are well characterized experimental models with some resemblance to human IBD.

Results: S.

The probiotic Lactobacillus coryniformis CECT5711 reduces the vascular pro-oxidant and pro-inflammatory status in obese mice.

Obesity is associated with intestine dysbiosis and is characterized by a low-grade inflammatory status, which affects vascular function. In the present study, we evaluated the effects of a probiotic with immunomodulatory properties, Lactobacillus coryniformis CECT5711, in obese mice fed on an HFD (high-fat diet). The probiotic treatment was given for 12 weeks, and it did not affect the weight evolution, although it reduced basal glycaemia and insulin resistance.

Functional plasticity of Th17 cells: implications in gastrointestinal tract function.

The gastrointestinal tract is an active player of the human immune system, participating in the innate and adaptive immune responses, keeping the homeostasis of the human being in a healthy status. However, most intestinal conditions are associated with an altered immune response, which implies the activation of CD4(+) T helper (Th) cells. Based on their cytokine secretion, transcription factor expression and immunological functions, the differentiated Th cells were initially subdivided into different lineages: Th1 (that express the transcription factor T-box (T-bet), secrete interferon (IFN)-γ and protect the host against intracellular infections) and Th2 (that express GATA binding protein 3 (GATA-3), secrete interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5 and IL-13, and mediate host defense against helminths).

Active colitis exacerbates immune response to internalized food antigens in mice.

Background: Previous studies have indicated that colitis increases intestinal permeability to food antigens. This condition also generates an immunoreactive milieu in the gut, which may exacerbate or counteract allergy reactions. This, along with the fact that both colitis and allergy are being codiagnosed more frequently, means the scientific interest on the immune relation between these pathologies is increasing.

Intestinal anti-inflammatory activity of hydroalcoholic extracts of Phlomis purpurea L. and Phlomis lychnitis L. in the trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid model of rat colitis.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Different species from genus Phlomis, frequently native from the the eastern Mediterranean zone, have been used in traditional medicine as an anti-inflammatory remedy. Among other constituents, they contain polyphenols that show antioxidant properties, which are interesting for the treatment of inflammatory pathologies associated with oxidative stress in humans, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The aim of this study was to evaluate the intestinal anti-inflammatoy effect of hydroalcoholic extracts of Phlomis lychnitis and P.

SAP expression in invariant NKT cells is required for cognate help to support B-cell responses.

One of the manifestations of X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP) is progressive agammaglobulinemia, caused by the absence of a functional signaling lymphocyte activation molecule (SLAM)-associated protein (SAP) in T, invariant natural killer T (NKT) cells and NK cells. Here we report that α-galactosylceramide (αGalCer) activated NKT cells positively regulate antibody responses to haptenated protein antigens at multiple checkpoints, including germinal center formation and affinity maturation. Whereas NKT cell-dependent B cell responses were absent in SAP(-/-).

A shorter and more specific oral sensitization-based experimental model of food allergy in mice.

Cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA) is one of the most prevalent human food-borne allergies, particularly in children. Experimental animal models have become critical tools with which to perform research on new therapeutic approaches and on the molecular mechanisms involved. However, oral food allergen sensitization in mice requires several weeks and is usually associated with unspecific immune responses.

Suppression of TNBS-induced colitis in rats by 4-methylesculetin, a natural coumarin: comparison with prednisolone and sulphasalazine.

The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of the 4-methylesculetin with those produced by prednisolone and sulphasalazine and to elucidate the mechanisms involved in its action. Colitis was induced in rat by instillation of trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid (TNBS). The colon damage was evaluated using macroscopic, microscopic and biochemical analysis.

The association of minocycline and the probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 results in an additive beneficial effect in a DSS model of reactivated colitis in mice.

Antibiotics have been empirically used for human inflammatory bowel disease, being limited to short periods. Probiotics are able to attenuate intestinal inflammation due to its immunomodulatory properties, being considered as safe when chronically administered. The aim was to test the association of minocycline, a tetracycline with immunomodulatory properties, and the probiotic Escherichia coli Nissle 1917 (EcN) in a mouse model of reactivated colitis.

DNFB-DNS hapten-induced colitis in mice should not be considered a model of inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: The dinitrofluorobenzene/dinitrosulfonic acid (DNFB/DNS) model was originally described as an experimental model of intestinal inflammation resembling human ulcerative colitis (UC). Due to the absence of acceptable UC experimental models for pharmacological preclinical assays, here we examine the immune response induced in this model.

Methods: Balb/c mice were sensitized by skin application of DNFB on day 1, followed by an intrarectal challenge with DNS on day 5.

The immunomodulatory properties of viable Lactobacillus salivarius ssp. salivarius CECT5713 are not restricted to the large intestine.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to better characterise the biological effects of Lactobacillus salivarius ssp. salivarius CECT5713, a probiotic with immunomodulatory properties.

Methods: Live or dead probiotic was assayed in the TNBS model of rat colitis to determine whether viability was a requisite to exert the beneficial effects.

The intestinal anti-inflammatory effect of minocycline in experimental colitis involves both its immunomodulatory and antimicrobial properties.

Some antibiotics, including minocycline, have recently been reported to display immunomodulatory properties in addition to their antimicrobial activity. The use of a compound with both immunomodulatory and antibacterial properties could be very interesting in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), so the aim of our study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect of minocycline in several experimental models of IBD. Firstly, the immunomodulatory activity of the antibiotic was tested in vitro using Caco-2 intestinal epithelial cells and RAW 264.

The combination of fructooligosaccharides and resistant starch shows prebiotic additive effects in rats.

Different types of dietary fiber can be distinguished considering their rate of fermentability, thus determining the location of the large intestine where they exert their beneficial effect. Their combination could be interesting to obtain health-promoting effects throughout the entire colon. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the synergistic effect of two dietary fibers with different fermentation patterns, fructooligosaccharides (FOS) (Beneo(®)-95) and resistant starch (Fibersol(®)-2), after their administration to healthy rats or in trinitrobenzenesulphonic acid-(TNBS) colitic rats, with an altered colonic immune response.

Di-D-fructose dianhydride-enriched caramels: effect on colon microbiota, inflammation, and tissue damage in trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid-induced colitic rats.

In the present study we describe the preparation and chemical characterization of a caramel with a high (70%) content of difructose dianhydrides (DFAs) and glycosylated derivatives (DFAs). This product was obtained by thermal activation (90 degrees C) of highly concentrated (90% w/v) aqueous D-fructose solutions using the sulfonic acid ion-exchange resin Lewatit S2328 as caramelization catalyst. DFAs represent a unique family of cyclic fructans with prebiotic properties already present in low proportions (<15%) in commercial caramel.

Butyrate in vitro immune-modulatory effects might be mediated through a proliferation-related induction of apoptosis.

Survival and proliferation signals are two processes closely interrelated and finely controlled in most cell types, whose deregulation may lead to carcinogenesis. In the last decade, different studies have suggested that both cellular functions are also intimately associated with other cellular activities such as differentiation and cellular activation, especially in immune cells. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) butyrate on the proliferation and activation state of different cell types involved in inflammatory bowel disease.