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Costa A, Micheli L, Sordi V, Ciampi C, Lucci J, Passani MB, Provensi G. Preventing social defeat stress-induced behavioural and neurochemical alterations by repeated treatment with a mix of Centella asiatica, Echinacea purpurea and Zingiber officinale standardized extracts. Front Pharmacol 2024; 15:1439811. [PMID: 39253374 PMCID: PMC11381240 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1439811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 08/12/2024] [Indexed: 09/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Background: Prolonged exposure to stress is a risk factor for the onset of several disorders. Modern life is burdened by a pervasive prevalence of stress, which represents a major societal challenge requiring new therapeutic strategies. In this context, botanical drug-based therapies can have a paramount importance. Methods: Here we studied the preventive effects of a repeated treatment (p.o. daily, 3 weeks) with a combination of Centella asiatica (200 mg/kg), Echinacea purpurea (20 mg/kg) and Zingiber officinale (150 mg/kg) standardized extracts, on the chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) deleterious outcomes. After 10 days of CSDS exposure, male mice' performances were evaluated in paradigms relevant for social (social interaction test), emotional (tail suspension test), cognitive (novel object recognition) domains as well as for pain perception (cold plate and von Frey tests) and motor skills (rotarod). Mice were then sacrificed, the spinal cords, hippocampi and frontal cortices dissected and processed for RT-PCR analysis. Results: Extracts mix treatment prevented stress-induced social aversion, memory impairment, mechanical and thermal allodynia and reduced behavioural despair independently of stress exposure. The treatment stimulated hippocampal and cortical BDNF and TrkB mRNA levels and counteracted stress-induced alterations in pro- (TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6) and anti-inflammatory (IL4, IL10) cytokines expression in the same areas. It also modulated expression of pain related genes (GFAP and Slc1a3) in the spinal cord. Conclusion: The treatment with the extracts mix obtained from C. asiatica, E. purpurea and Z. officinale may represent a promising strategy to promote resilience and prevent the deleterious effects induced by extended exposure to psychosocial stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessia Costa
- Section of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Laura Micheli
- Section of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Virginia Sordi
- Section of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Pharmacology Unit, School of Pharmacy, University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
| | - Clara Ciampi
- Section of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Jacopo Lucci
- Bios-Therapy, Physiological Systems for Health S.p.A., Sansepolcro, Italy
- Aboca S.p.A. Società Agricola, Innovation and Medical Science Division, Sansepolcro, Italy
| | | | - Gustavo Provensi
- Section of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, Florence, Italy
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Rawls A, Nyugen D, Dziabis J, Anbarci D, Clark M, Dzirasa K, Bilbo S. Microglial MyD88-dependent pathways are regulated in a sex-specific manner in the context of HMGB1-induced anxiety. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.22.590482. [PMID: 38712142 PMCID: PMC11071353 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.22.590482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
Chronic stress is a significant risk factor for the development and recurrence of anxiety disorders. Chronic stress impacts the immune system, causing microglial functional alterations in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), a brain region involved in the pathogenesis of anxiety. High mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) is an established modulator of neuronal firing and a potent pro-inflammatory stimulus released from neuronal and non-neuronal cells following stress. HMGB1, in the context of stress, acts as a danger-associated molecular pattern (DAMP), instigating robust proinflammatory responses throughout the brain, so much so that localized drug delivery of HMGB1 alters behavior in the absence of any other forms of stress, i.e., social isolation, or behavioral stress models. Few studies have investigated the molecular mechanisms that underlie HMGB1-associated behavioral effects in a cell-specific manner. The aim of this study is to investigate cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying HMGB1-induced behavioral dysfunction with regard to cell-type specificity and potential sex differences. Here, we report that both male and female mice exhibited anxiety-like behavior following increased HMGB1 in the mPFC as well as changes in microglial morphology. Interestingly, our results demonstrate that HMGB1-induced anxiety may be mediated by distinct microglial MyD88-dependent mechanisms in females compared to males. This study supports the hypothesis that MyD88 signaling in microglia may be a crucial mediator of the stress response in adult female mice.
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Ahmed AR, Kalesinskas M, Kaveri SV. Restoring immune tolerance in pemphigus vulgaris. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2317762121. [PMID: 38261616 PMCID: PMC10835025 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2317762121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), a preparation of polyclonal serum IgG pooled from numerous blood donors, has been used for nearly three decades and is proving to be an efficient treatment for many autoimmune blistering diseases, including pemphigus vulgaris (PV). Despite its widespread use and therapeutic success, its mechanisms of action are not completely understood. Some of its anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory actions have been studied. In this study, the authors present a twenty-year follow-up of 21 patients with clinical and immunopathological confirmed PV, treated with IVIg as monotherapy, according to an established published protocol. IVIg therapy produced long-term sustained, clinical, serological, and immunopathological remission. For 20 y, these patients received no drugs and experienced no disease. This observation suggests that there was the establishment of immune balance or restoration of immune regulation in these PV patients. Twelve (57%) patients experienced no relapse during follow-up. Six (29%) patients experienced a relapse due to acute stress or post-coronavirus infection and/or vaccination. Reinstitution of IVIg resulted in prompt sustained recovery. Three (14.2%) patients, in clinical and serological remission, died due to unrelated causes. No severe adverse effects from IVIg were documented in all 21 patients. The simultaneous or sequential anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of IVIg may have influenced the long-term clinical remission observed. This study provides a human prototype to examine the pathophysiology of autoimmunity and a model to study immune regulation and mechanisms that can facilitate restoring immune tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Razzaque Ahmed
- Department of Dermatology, Center for Blistering Diseases, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA02135
| | - Mikole Kalesinskas
- Department of Dermatology, Center for Blistering Diseases, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA02135
| | - Srini V. Kaveri
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris, ParisF-75006, France
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Akil H, Nestler EJ. The neurobiology of stress: Vulnerability, resilience, and major depression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2312662120. [PMID: 38011574 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2312662120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Huda Akil
- Michigan Neuroscience Institute, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
| | - Eric J Nestler
- Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
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