Insulin therapy; a valuable legacy and its future perspective

Extracellular vesicles and bioactive peptides for regenerative medicine in cosmetology

As life quality improves and the life pressure increases, people's awareness of maintaining healthy skin and hair grows. However, the use of bioactive peptides in regenerative medical aesthetics is often constrained by the high molecular weight, which impedes skin penetration. In contrast, extracellular vesicles not only possess regenerative properties but also serve as effective carriers for bioactive peptides. Given their anti-inflammatory and bactericidal properties, capacity to promote angiogenesis, optimize collagen alignment, facilitate re-epithelialization and stimulate hair growth, extracellular vesicles become an emerging and promising solution for skin regeneration treatments. The combination of peptides and extracellular vesicles enhances therapeutic efficacy and improves the bioavailability of bioactive peptides. In this review, we summarize the functions of bioactive peptides and plant- and animal-derived extracellular vesicles in regenerative medicine with cosmetology, along with examples of their combined applications. Additionally, we provide an overview of peptides and extracellular vesicles currently available on the market and in clinical practice, discussing the challenges and solutions associated with their use.

Insulin evolution: A holistic view of recombinant production advancements

The increased prevalence of diabetes and the growing popularity of non-invasive methods of recombinant human insulin uptake, such as oral insulin, have increased insulin demand, further limiting the affordability of insulin. Over 40 years have passed since the development of engineered microorganisms that replaced the animal pancreas as the primary source of insulin. To stay ahead of the need for insulin in the present and the future, a few drawbacks with the existing expression systems need to be alleviated, including the inclusion body formation, the use of toxic inducers, and high process costs. To address these bottlenecks and improve insulin production, a variety of techniques are being used in bacteria, yeasts, transgenic plants and animals, mammalian cell lines, and cell-free expression systems. Different approaches for the production of insulin, including two-chain, proinsulin or mini-proinsulin, preproinsulin coupled with fusion protein, chaperone, signal peptide, and purification tags, are explored in upstream, whereas downstream processing takes into account the recovery of intact protein in its bioactive form and purity. This article focuses on the strategies used in the upstream and downstream phases of the bioprocess to produce recombinant human insulin. This review also covers a range of analytical methods and tools employed in investigating the genuity of recombinant human insulin.

Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Associated With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Mechanistic Insight

A complex metabolic condition referred to as Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by insulin resistance (IR) and decreased insulin production. Obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and chronic inflammation are just a few of the cardiometabolic illnesses that people with T2DM are more likely to acquire and results in cardiovascular issues. It is essential to comprehend the mechanistic insights into these risk variables in order to prevent and manage cardiovascular problems in T2DM effectively. Impaired glycemic control leads to upregulation of De novo lipogenesis (DNL), promote hepatic triglyceride (TG) synthesis, worsening dyslipidemia that is accompanied by low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and high amounts of small, dense low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) further developing atherosclerosis. By causing endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and chronic inflammation, chronic hyperglycemia worsens already existing cardiometabolic risk factors. Vasoconstriction, inflammation, and platelet aggregation are caused by endothelial dysfunction, which is characterized by decreased nitric oxide production, increased release of vasoconstrictors, proinflammatory cytokines, and adhesion molecules. The loop of IR and endothelial dysfunction is sustained by chronic inflammation fueled by inflammatory mediators produced in adipose tissue. Infiltrating inflammatory cells exacerbate inflammation and the development of plaque in the artery wall. In addition, the combination of chronic inflammation, dyslipidemia, and IR contributes to the emergence of hypertension, a prevalent comorbidity in T2DM. The ability to target therapies and management techniques is made possible by improvements in our knowledge of these mechanistic insights. Aim of present review is to enhance our current understanding of the mechanistic insights into the cardiometabolic risk factors related to T2DM provides important details into the interaction of pathophysiological processes resulting in cardiovascular problems. Understanding these pathways will enable us to create efficient plans for the prevention, detection, and treatment of cardiovascular problems in T2DM patients, ultimately leading to better overall health outcomes.

Instability Challenges and Stabilization Strategies of Pharmaceutical Proteins

Maintaining the structure of protein and peptide drugs has become one of the most important goals of scientists in recent decades. Cold and thermal denaturation conditions, lyophilization and freeze drying, different pH conditions, concentrations, ionic strength, environmental agitation, the interaction between the surface of liquid and air as well as liquid and solid, and even the architectural structure of storage containers are among the factors that affect the stability of these therapeutic biomacromolecules. The use of genetic engineering, side-directed mutagenesis, fusion strategies, solvent engineering, the addition of various preservatives, surfactants, and additives are some of the solutions to overcome these problems. This article will discuss the types of stress that lead to instabilities of different proteins used in pharmaceutics including regulatory proteins, antibodies, and antibody-drug conjugates, and then all the methods for fighting these stresses will be reviewed. New and existing analytical methods that are used to detect the instabilities, mainly changes in their primary and higher order structures, are briefly summarized.

Mechanisms behind the Fibrillation and Toxicity of Insulin Fibrils on Neuron Cells by Engineered Curcumin Analogs

Among foods, the use of plant derivatives as promising drugs and/or excipients has been considered from various perspectives. In the present study, curcumin, which is one of the most important plant derivatives for biological uses, and four curcumin-based pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidine analogs (C2-C5) were used for investigating the mechanism of insulin fibrillation and evaluating the cytotoxicity of insulin fibrils. The synthesized analogs differed in terms of hydrophobicity and electrostatic charge. The analogs with more hydrophobicity (C1 and C4) in both acidic and neutral environments were able to reduce the rate of insulin fibrillation and the degree of cross-linking in the produced fibrils. Additionally, the toxicity of these fibrils for neural cells (N2a cell line) was very low. However, they did not show any significant effects on the toxicity of non-neural cells (HEK293 cell line), indicating the effect of the biochemical surface diversity on determining the vulnerability to fibrils and even the mechanism of action of additives on cell line survival. Although negatively charged analogs were able to reduce insulin fibrillation in the acidic environment, they indicated an opposite effect in the neutral environment. The resultant fibrils in the acidic medium appeared with a well-distinguished filament, but they were very close at neutral pH levels. Moreover, such fibrils indicated very poor toxicity against the N2a cell line and had no significant effects on HEK293 cells. Considering the docking studies, by creatively using the size exclusion chromatography, it was suggested that analogs C2 and C3 were capable of binding to the C-terminal end of the insulin B chain (low affinity) and HisB10 (high affinity). Hence, it was suggested that different compounds could play different protecting and/or destroying roles in cell toxicity by blocking some ligands at the surface of neuron cells.

The inhibitory effect of curcumin loaded poly (vinyl caprolactam) nanohydrogel on insulin fibrillation

Amyloidosis refers to a group of diseases caused by the deposition of abnormal proteins in tissues. Herein, curcumin was loaded in a nanohydrogel made of poly (vinylcaprolactam) to improve its solubility and was employed to exert an inhibitory effect on insulin fibrillation, as a protein model. Poly (vinyl caprolactam), cross-linked with polyethylene glycol diacrylate, was synthesized by the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer method. The release profile of curcumin exhibited a first-order kinetic model, signifying that the release of curcumin was mainly dominated by diffusion processes. The study of curcumin release showed that 78% of the compound was released within 72 h. The results also revealed a significant decline in insulin fibrillation in the presence of curcumin-loaded poly (vinyl caprolactam). These observations confirmed that increasing the ratio of curcumin-loaded poly (vinyl caprolactam) to insulin concentration would increase the hydrogel's inhibitory effect (P-value < 0.05). Furthermore, transmission electron and fluorescence microscopies and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy made it possible to study the size and interaction of fibrils. Based on the results, this nanohydrogel combination could protect the structure of insulin and had a deterrent effect on fibril formation.

Bioactive Peptides: Synthesis, Sources, Applications, and Proposed Mechanisms of Action

Bioactive peptides are a group of biological molecules that are normally buried in the structure of parent proteins and become active after the cleavage of the proteins. Another group of peptides is actively produced and found in many microorganisms and the body of organisms. Today, many groups of bioactive peptides have been marketed chemically or recombinantly. This article reviews the various production methods and sources of these important/ubiquitous and useful biomolecules. Their applications, such as antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antioxidant activities, blood-lipid-lowering effect, opioid role, antiobesity, ability to bind minerals, antidiabetic, and antiaging effects, will be explored. The types of pathways proposed for bioactive applications will be in the next part of the article, and at the end, the future perspectives of bioactive peptides will be reviewed. Reading this article is recommended for researchers interested in various fields of physiology, microbiology, biochemistry, and nanotechnology and food industry professionals.