Novel application of bergapten and quercetin with anti-bacterial, osteogenesis-potentiating, and anti-inflammation tri-effects

Osteogenic Effects of Bioactive Compounds Found in Fruits on Mesenchymal Stem Cells: A Review

Phytochemicals, which are bioactive compounds contained in fruits, vegetables, and teas, have a positive effect on human health by having anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticarcinogenic effects. Several studies have highlighted the ability of bioactive compounds to activate key cellular enzymes associated with important signaling pathways related to cell division and proliferation, as well as their role in inflammatory and immunological responses. Some phytochemicals are associated with increased proliferation, differentiation, and expression of markers related to osteogenesis, bone formation, and mineralization by activating various signaling pathways. The objective of this study was to clarify which bioactive compounds present in fruits have osteogenic effects on mesenchymal stem cells and the possible associated mechanisms. A literature search was conducted in the LILACS, MEDLINE, and PubMed databases for pertinent articles published between 2014 and 2024. This review included 34 articles that report the osteogenic effects of various bioactive compounds found in different fruits. All the articles reported that phytochemicals play a role in enhancing the regenerative properties of mesenchymal cells, such as proliferation, osteogenic differentiation, secretion of angiogenic factors, and extracellular matrix formation. This review highlights the potential of these phytochemicals in the prevention and treatment of bone diseases. However, more studies are recommended to identify and quantify the therapeutic dose of phytochemicals, investigate their mechanisms in humans, and ensure their safety and effectiveness for health, particularly for bone health.

Phytoestrogens: Pharmacological Potential and Therapeutic Insights for Urinary Tract Infections

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are exceptionally common in postmenopausal female or patients with diabetes mellitus or nephrolithiasis, carrying substantial burden on patients and healthcare system. Increasing proportion and ongoing spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens have further debilitated the condition in battlefield against the UTIs. Lack of estrogen may contribute to high inclination of UTIs after menopause and hormone replacement therapy can mitigate symptoms of hot flashes, vaginal dryness and UTIs, rationalizing the usage of estrogen and analogues in treatment and prophylaxis of UTIs. Phytoestrogens which comprise flavonoids, coumerins, stilbenes, and lignans, are natural botanical compounds with estrogen structural similarity and biochemical features. Phytoestrogens have emerged as adjuvant remedy and prophylaxis for uropathogenic bacteria even for multidrug-resistant ones, with the multifaceted mechanisms such as inhibition of adhesion and invading ability of bacteria, destruction of biofilms, synergistically enhancement of antibiotics activity. It is plausible to propose phytoestrogens as potential agents or combination with other strategies to ameliorate the challenge of multi-drug resistance in UTIs.

Biodegradable Janus sonozyme with continuous reactive oxygen species regulation for treating infected critical-sized bone defects

Critical-sized bone defects are usually accompanied by bacterial infection leading to inflammation and bone nonunion. However, existing biodegradable materials lack long-term therapeutical effect because of their gradual degradation. Here, a degradable material with continuous ROS modulation is proposed, defined as a sonozyme due to its functions as a sonosensitizer and a nanoenzyme. Before degradation, the sonozyme can exert an effective sonodynamic antimicrobial effect through the dual active sites of MnN4 and Cu2O8. Furthermore, it can promote anti-inflammation by superoxide dismutase- and catalase-like activities. Following degradation, quercetin-metal chelation exhibits a sustaining antioxidant effect through ligand-metal charge transfer, while the released ions and quercetin also have great self-antimicrobial, osteogenic, and angiogenic effects. A rat model of infected cranial defects demonstrates the sonozyme can rapidly eliminate bacteria and promote bone regeneration. This work presents a promising approach to engineer biodegradable materials with long-time effects for infectious bone defects.

Network pharmacology-based pharmacological mechanism prediction of Lycii Fructus against postmenopausal osteoporosis

Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) has become one of most frequent bone diseases worldwide with aging population. Lycii Fructus, a common plant fruit with the property of drug homologous food, has long since been used to treat PMOP. The aim of this study is to explore pharmacological mechanisms of Lycii Fructus against PMOP through using network pharmacology approach. The active ingredients of Lycii Fructus were obtained from Traditional Chinese Medicine System Pharmacology database. Target fishing was performed on these ingredients in UniProt database for identification of the relative targets. Then, we screened the targets related to PMOP using GeneCards database and DisGeNET database. The overlapping genes between PMOP and Lycii Fructus were obtained to perform protein-protein interaction, gene ontology analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis. A total of 35 active ingredients were identified in Lycii Fructus, and fished 158 related targets. Simultaneously, 292 targets associated with PMOP were obtained from GeneCards database and DisGeNET database. By drawing Venn diagram, 41 overlapping genes were obtained, and were considered as therapeutically relevant. Gene ontology enrichment analysis predicted that anti-inflammation and promotion of angiogenesis might be 2 potential mechanism of Lycii Fructus for PMOP treatment. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analysis revealed several pathways, such as IL-17 pathway, TNF pathway, MAPK pathway, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway and HIF signaling pathway were involved in regulating these 2 biological processes. Through the method of network pharmacology, we systematically investigated the mechanisms of Lycii Fructus against PMOP. The identified multi-targets and multi-pathways provide new insights to further determinate its exact pharmacological mechanisms.

Crosstalk between integrin/FAK and Crk/Vps25 governs invasion of bovine mammary epithelial cells by S. agalactiae

Streptococcus agalactiae (S. agalactiae) is a contagious obligate parasite of the udder in dairy cows. Here, we examined S. agalactiae-host interactions in bovine mammary epithelial cells (BMECs) in vitro. We found that S. agalactiae infected BMECs through laminin β2 and integrin. Crk, Vps25, and RhoA were differentially expressed in S. agalactiae-infected cells. S. agalactiae infection activated FAK and Crk. FAK deficiency decreased the number of intracellular S. agalactiae and Crk activation. Knockdown of Crk or Vps25 increased the level of intracellular S. agalactiae, whereas its overexpression had the opposite effect. RhoA expression and actin cytoskeleton were altered in S. agalactiae-infected BMECs. Crk and Vps25 interact in cells, and invaded S. agalactiae also activates Crk, allowing it to cooperate with Vps25 to defend against intracellular infection by S. agalactiae. This study provides insights into the mechanism by which intracellular infection by S. agalactiae is regulated in BMECs.

Self-healing, injectable hydrogel based on dual dynamic covalent cross-linking against postoperative abdominal cavity adhesion

Clinically, increasing the peritoneal barrier is an effective adjunct to reducing postoperative peritoneal adhesion. This study presents a facile template for preparing a supramolecular hybrid hydrogel through dynamic covalent cross-linking between carboxymethyl chitosan (CMCS), 2-formylphenylboronic acid (2-FPBA), and quercetin (Que). The as-prepared complex CMCS/2-FPBA/Que (CFQ) hydrogel exhibited favorable antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant effects. A L929 cytotoxicity evaluation confirmed the favorable cytocompatibility of the CFQ hydrogel. The postoperative anti-adhesion ability of the CFQ hydrogel was further evaluated in rats with lateral wall defects and cecal abrasions. Compared with control groups, the tissue adhesion rate was significantly reduced by increasing the Que concentration in all the hydrogel-treated groups. Additionally, the sustained-release time of the C3F0.8Q0.08 hydrogel can exceed 14 days, which is highly desirable for clinical wound treatment. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Postoperative adhesions are a very common postoperative complication that seriously affects the quality of life of patients. The currently commonly used methods for preventing adhesion mainly use degradable barrier materials for physical separation. In this study, we prepared a dual dynamic covalently cross-linked CFQ hydrogel, which is not only degradable and injectable, but also has multiple properties such as antibacterial, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, which can effectively prevent postoperative adhesion and promote wound healing.

Research progress of coumarins and their derivatives in the treatment of diabetes

Diabetes is a group of metabolic diseases characterised by chronic hyperglycaemia caused by multiple causes, which is caused by insulin secretion and/or utilisation defects. It is characterised by increased fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels due to insulin deficiency or insulin resistance. It is reported that the harm of diabetes mainly comes from its complications, and the cardiovascular disease caused by diabetes is the primary cause of its harm. China has the largest number of diabetic patients in the world, and the prevention and control of diabetes are facing great challenges. In recent years, many kinds of literature have been published abroad, which have proved that coumarin and its derivatives are effective in the treatment of diabetic complications such as nephropathy and cardiovascular disease. In this paper, the types of antidiabetic drugs and the anti-diabetic mechanism of coumarins were reviewed.