Sulfuretin alleviates atopic dermatitis-like symptoms in mice via suppressing Th2 cell activity

Sulfuretin: Unraveling its potent therapeutic potential in a holistic literature review

Sulfuretin is widely distributed in different families of nature, such as Anacardiaceae, Compositae and Leguminosae. Since it was isolated, modern pharmacological researches revealed that this compound exhibited various bioactivities, namely neuroprotection, antioxidant, anti-cancer, hepatoprotection, anti-microbial, anti-inflammation, anti-diabetes, etc., which were attributed to many important molecular targets, such as NF-κB, PI3K/AKT/mTOR, Nrf2/HO1, MAPKs and JNK/ERK. However, there was no comprehensive and critical review of this compound searched on the Internet since it was discovered, which have been recognized for more than seventy years. Hence, this review comprehensively summarizes the pharmacological effects of sulfuretin (from 1953 to 2024) by searching Scifinder, Web of Science, CNKI, PubMed and the Plant List (www.theplantlist.org) as well as other published databases and books. By this review, we hope that further study of sulfuretin will focus on the mechanism exploration and to evaluate its toxicity, then to perform related clinical assessment.

An update of aurones: food resource, health benefit, biosynthesis and application

Aurones are a subclass of active flavonoids characterized with a scaffold of 2-benzylidene-3(2H)-benzofuranone. This type of chemicals are widely distributed in fruit, vegetable and flower, and contribute to human health. In this review, we summarize the natural aurones isolated from dietary plants. Their positive effects on immunomodulation, antioxidation, cancer prevention as well as maintaining the health status of cardiovascular, nervous system and liver organs are highlighted. The biosynthesis strategies of plant-derived aurones are elaborated to provide solutions for their limited natural abundance. The potential application of natural aurones in food coloration are also discussed. This paper combines the up-to-date information and gives a full image of dietary aurones.

Isoliquiritigenin as a modulator of the Nrf2 signaling pathway: potential therapeutic implications

Nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a transcription factor responsible for cytoprotection, plays a crucial role in regulating the expression of numerous antioxidant genes, thereby reducing reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and safeguarding cells against oxidative stress. Extensive research has demonstrated the involvement of Nrf2 in various diseases, prompting the exploration of Nrf2 activation as a potential therapeutic approach for a variety of diseases. Consequently, there has been a surge of interest in investigating the Nrf2 signaling pathway and developing compounds that can modulate its activity. Isoliquiritigenin (ISL) (PubChem CID:638278) exhibits a diverse range of pharmacological activities, including antioxidant, anticancer, and anti-tumor properties. Notably, its robust antioxidant activity has garnered significant attention. Furthermore, ISL has been found to possess therapeutic effects on various diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, kidney diseases, and cancer, through the activation of the Nrf2 pathway. This review aims to evaluate the potential of ISL in modulating the Nrf2 signaling pathway and summarize the role of ISL in diverse diseases prevention and treatment through modulating the Nrf2 signaling pathway.

Small-molecule agents for treating skin diseases

Skin diseases are a class of common and frequently occurring diseases that significantly impact daily lives. Currently, the limited effective therapeutic drugs are far from meeting the clinical needs; most drugs typically only provide symptomatic relief rather than a cure. Developing small-molecule drugs with improved efficacy holds paramount importance for treating skin diseases. This review aimed to systematically introduce the pathogenesis of common skin diseases in daily life, list related drugs applied in the clinic, and summarize the clinical research status of candidate drugs and the latest research progress of candidate compounds in the drug discovery stage. Also, it statistically analyzed the number of publications and global attention trends for the involved skin diseases. This review might provide practical information for researchers engaged in dermatological drugs and further increase research attention to this disease area.

Nanotechnology-Based Topical Delivery of Natural Products for the Management of Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic eczematous inflammatory disease that may arise from environmental, genetic, and immunological factors. Despite the efficacy of current treatment options such as corticosteroids, such approaches are mainly focused on symptom relief and may present certain undesirable side effects. In recent years, isolated natural compounds, oils, mixtures, and/or extracts have gained scientific attention because of their high efficiency and moderate to low toxicity. Despite their promising therapeutic effects, the applicability of such natural healthcare solutions is somewhat limited by their instability, poor solubility, and low bioavailability. Therefore, novel nanoformulation-based systems have been designed to overcome these limitations, thus enhancing the therapeutic potential, by promoting the capacity of these natural drugs to properly exert their action in AD-like skin lesions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first literature review that has focused on summarizing recent nanoformulation-based solutions loaded with natural ingredients, specifically for the management of AD. We suggest that future studies should focus on robust clinical trials that may confirm the safety and effectiveness of such natural-based nanosystems, thus paving the way for more reliable AD treatments.

Genome-Wide Integration of Genetic and Genomic Studies of Atopic Dermatitis: Insights into Genetic Architecture and Pathogenesis

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common heterogeneous, chronic, itching, and inflammatory skin disease. Genetic studies have identified multiple AD susceptibility genes. However, the genetic architecture of AD has not been elucidated. In this study, we conducted a large-scale meta-analysis of AD (35,647 cases and 1,013,885 controls) to characterize the genetic basis of AD. The heritability of AD in different datasets varied from 0.6 to 7.1%. We identified 31 previously unreported genes by integrating multiomics data. Among the 31 genes, MCL1 was identified as a potential treatment target for AD by mediating gene‒drug interactions. Tissue enrichment analyses and phenome-wide association study provided strong support for the role of the hemic and immune systems in AD. Across 1,207 complex traits and diseases, genetic correlations indicated that AD shared links with multiple respiratory phenotypes. The phenome-wide Mendelian randomization analysis (Mendelian randomization‒phenome-wide association study) revealed that the age of onset of diabetes exhibited a positive causal effect on AD (inverse-variance weighted β = 0.39, SEM = 0.09, P = 2.77 × 10^-5). Overall, these results provide important insights into the genetic architecture of AD and will lead to a more thorough and complete understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying AD.

Bioactive Aurones, Indanones, and Other Hemiindigoid Scaffolds: Medicinal Chemistry and Photopharmacology Perspectives

Hemiindigoids comprise a range of natural and synthetic scaffolds that share the same aromatic hydrocarbon backbone as well as promising biological and optical properties. The encouraging therapeutic potential of these scaffolds has been unraveled by many studies over the past years and uncovered representants with inspiring pharmacophoric features such as the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor donezepil and the tubulin polymerization inhibitor indanocine. In this review, we summarize the last advances in the medicinal potential of hemiindigoids, with a special attention to molecular design, structure-activity relationship, ligand-target interactions, and mechanistic explanations covering their effects. As their strong fluorogenic potential and photoswitch behavior recently started to be highlighted and explored in biology, giving rise to the development of novel fluorescent probes and photopharmacological agents, we also discuss these properties in a medicinal chemistry perspective.

Different molecular weight hyaluronic acid alleviates inflammation response in DNFB-induced mice atopic dermatitis and LPS-induced RAW 264.7 cells

AIMS

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is an inflammatory chronic disease which severely interferes the life of patients. Hence, there is a great need for new therapies. Hyaluronic acid (HA) is an effective potential inflammation modifier; however, there is limited information about their implementation in inflammation therapies. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory activities of HA and the influence of its molecular weight.

MAIN METHODS

Male C57BL/6 J mice were stimulated by 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene to induce AD-like symptoms and immune response. The skin lesions and histopathological change, as well as levels of inflammatory factors were evaluated. RAW 264.7 mouse macrophages were treated with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to induce inflammation. NO, IL-6, and TNF-α levels were detected through ELISA kits.

KEY FINDINGS

DNFB challenge induced mice AD symptoms including epidermal thickening, mast cell infiltration, Th2/Th1 immune response, skin lesions IL-4 and IFN-γ, and serum IgE elevation. HA treatment ameliorated such symptoms through the inhibition of PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. LPS induction stimulated the secretion of NO, IL-6, and TNF-α in RAW 264.7 cells, while HA pre-treatment reduced the concentration of the cytokines in cell supernatants.

SIGNIFICANCE

These findings give clear insight into the interaction between HA and inflammatory response, which can help guiding the utilization of HA in the AD therapies.

A comprehensive review of natural products against atopic dermatitis: Flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenes, glycosides and other compounds

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is considered a great challenge for human communities and imposes both physiological and mental burdens on patients. Natural products have widely been used to treat a wide range of diseases, including cancer, gastrointestinal diseases, asthma, neurological disorders, and infections. To seek potential natural products against AD, in the current review, we searched the terms "atopic dermatitis" and "natural product" in Pubmed, Medline, Web of Science，Science Direct, Embase, EBSCO, CINAHL, ACS. The results show that many natural products, especially puerarin, ferulic acid and ginsenosides, cound protect against AD. Meanwhile, we discussed the therapeutic mechanisms and showed that the natural products exert their anti-inflammatory effects by suppressing the quantity and activity of many inflammatory cell types and cytokines, including neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, Langerhans cells, interleukins (ILs, including IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-4), TNF-α, and TSLP, IgE. via inhibition of JAK/STAT, MAPKs and NF-κB signaling pathways, thereby, halting the inflammatory cascade. Future investigations should focus on studies with more reflective of the clinical characteristics and demographics, so as to develop natural products that will be hopefully available for the treatment of human AD disease.

Integrating Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacology of Cotinus coggygria and Toxicodendron vernicifluum: What Predictions can be Made for the European Smoketree?

The smoketree (Cotinus coggygria) is a historically known medicinal plant from Southeast Europe. Its ethnomedicinal use in skin and mucosal lesions is commonly accepted across countries. Other utilizations reported locally include fever reduction, cardiac diseases, hypertension, urinary diseases, cough, asthma, hemorrhoids, diabetes, numbness of arm, liver disease, and cancer. Departing from the smoketree's traditional uses, this review summarizes investigations on the phytochemistry and bioactivity of the plant. In vitro and in vivo experiments supporting wound-healing, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, cytotoxic, antioxidative, hepatoprotective, and antidiabetic effects are presented. Metabolites from smoketree that are responsible for the main pharmacological effects of smoketree are pointed out. Furthermore, the review performs a comparison between C. coggygria and the lacquer tree (Toxicodendron vernicifluum). The latter is a comprehensively studied species used in Asian phytotherapy, with whom the European smoketree shares a consistent pool of secondary metabolites. The comparative approach aims to open new perspectives in the research of smoketree and anticipates an optimized use of C. coggygria in therapy. It also points out the relevance of a chemosystematic approach in the field of medicinal plants research.

Traditional uses, phytochemistry, and pharmacology of Toxicodendron vernicifluum (Stokes) F.A. Barkley - A review

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE

Toxicodendron vernicifluum (Stokes) F.A. Barkley (syn. Rhus verniciflua or vernicifera Stokes, Anacardiaceae) (RVS), the lacquer tree, also known as sumac, has been used in China, Japan and South Korea for thousands of years as a highly durable coating material and a traditional herbal medicine, which contains medicinal ingredients with anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and anti-rheumatic activities.

AIM OF THIS REVIEW

This review intends to provide a comprehensive and critical appraisal of RVS, including its phytochemical data, botanical and pharmacological literature that support its therapeutic potential in treatment on human diseases, with emphasis on the isolation of natural occurring compounds and detailed pharmacological investigations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Specific information of RVS was collected by using the key words "Toxicodendron vernicifluum", "Rhus verniciflua Stokes", "Rhus vernicifera Stokes" and "Lacquer tree" through published scientific materials (including PubMed, ScienceDirect, Wiley, ACS, CNKI, Scifinder, Springer, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Baidu Scholar) and other literature sources.

RESULTS

The major phytoconstituents, 175 of which are presented in this review, including flavonoids, urushiols, terpenes, phenolic acids and other types of compounds, of which flavonoids and urushiols are main components. The extracts and isolates purified from RVS showed a wide range of in vitro and in vivo pharmacological effects, such as anti-cancer, anti-oxidation, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, tyrosinase inhibition and so on.

CONCLUSION

The modern pharmacological research of RVS mainly focus on the pharmacological effects of crude extract or active constituents, of which the flavonoids are widely studied. However, there are few reports on the relationship between pharmacological effects and their structures. And at present, there is still a lack of researches that are of both effective and in-depth. Meanwhile, there is little research on quality control. Apart from the wood and lacquer, other botanical parts also need to be explored further. In addition to phenolic compounds, the study on other types of components in T. vernicifluum would start more sparks for the discovery of new bioactive principles.