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Natural and Synthetic Drug Biological Activity in Modulating Immune System
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Natural and Synthetic Drug Biological Activity in Modulating Immune System

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmaceutical Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 December 2023) | Viewed by 11748

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Chi-Chien Lin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Biomedical Science, The iEGG and Animal Biotechnology Center, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung 402, Taiwan
Interests: Immuno-oncology; autoimmunity; bioactive natural/organic synthetic pharmaceuticals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Che Hsueh Yang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Tungs’ Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital, Taichung 435, Taiwan
Interests: prostate cancer; urothelial carcinoma; renal cell carcinoma; benign prostatic disease; urolithiasis; andrology; molecular biology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Due to advancements in molecular biology, human diseases can be elucidated more clearly, creating a rise in the use of biomedicines and precision medicines. At the same time, the increasingly common discovery of natural, semi-synthetic and synthetic compounds has equipped the pharmaceutical industry with more ammunition against diseases with various pathophysiologies. However, many diseases and disorders still lack effective medication with which they can be controlled. This unsatisfactory situation has prompted researchers and clinicians to pursue the use of more bioactive natural/synthetic compounds.

Aside from this, the immune system consists of a complex of cells and signal pathways that maintain homeostasis within the human body. Current evidence suggests that immune system imbalance can cause various diseases, ranging from inflammatory diseases to cancers. Currently, an increasing number of bioactive natural/synthetic compounds are being proven to be effective in controlling diseases via affecting the immune system in terms of reactive oxygen species, oxidative stress and apoptosis. However, many primary or secondary immune-related diseases and cancers still require alternative remedies. Herein, this Special Issue invites all researchers and clinicians to publish works concerning the following fields:

  1. Original research/review articles concerning the bioactivity of natural/synthetic compounds in a certain immune-related disease or cancer;
  2. Original research/review articles concerning how bioactive natural/synthetic compounds exert their therapeutic effect via modulating immune microenvironments;
  3. Original research/ review articles concerning how to refine the bioactive natural/synthetic compounds to make them more potent;
  4. Pre-clinical or clinical studies concerning bioactive natural/synthetic compounds regarding their safety or effectivity in treating immune-related diseases or cancers;
  5. Review articles concerning the bioactivity of a certain natural/synthetic compound in different immune-related diseases or cancers.

Dr. Chi-Chien Lin
Dr. Che Hsueh Yang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biological products / pharmacology
  • biological products / therapeutic use
  • humans
  • animals
 

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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7 pages, 866 KiB  
Communication
A Pre-Clinical Study of Sub-Anesthetic Ketamine as Remedy in 5-Fluorouracil-Induced Cachexia Model
by James Wang, Zen-Cheng Lin and Brian Bor-Chun Weng
Life 2023, 13(1), 8; https://doi.org/10.3390/life13010008 - 20 Dec 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1696
Abstract
Around 0.5–1% of the world population is suffering from cachexia. In particular, cancer patients under cancer radio-chemotherapy have a high prevalence of cachexia, especially during the end stages of therapeutic treatment. Clinically, chemotherapeutic 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) treatment often leads to the development of adverse [...] Read more.
Around 0.5–1% of the world population is suffering from cachexia. In particular, cancer patients under cancer radio-chemotherapy have a high prevalence of cachexia, especially during the end stages of therapeutic treatment. Clinically, chemotherapeutic 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu) treatment often leads to the development of adverse effects, such as leukopenia, immune dysfunction, anorexia, muscle wasting, etc., and 5-Fu also tends to exacerbate the occurrence of cancer cachexia. Currently, there are very limited drug choices when seeking to revive cachexia patient’s health quality while enduring a full therapeutic regimen as part of advanced cancer therapy. The present study employed chemotherapeutic drug 5-Fu-induced cachexia-like conditions in Balb/c mice. After 8 days of 5-Fu treatment, mice had begun to show cachexia-like symptoms such as weight loss and reduced food intake. After one day of washing out, the cachexia animals received a single dose of either saline solution as a mock dose or a low dose (15 mg/kg BW) or high dose (30 mg/kg BW) of ketamine at day 10. For the following 7 days, food intake, body weight, and mortality were monitored. Data were analyzed with the LOCF (last observation carried forward) method. Improved survival rates were obtained in ketamine groups. Ketamine administration at the high dose of 30 mg/kg BW demonstrated effectively diminished weight loss due to cachexia, and also successfully improved overall survival. The current study demonstrates that a sub-anesthetic level of ketamine administration supports overall beneficial outcomes in 5-Fu-induced cachexia and outlook as a potential clinical remedy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural and Synthetic Drug Biological Activity in Modulating Immune System)
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13 pages, 2880 KiB  
Article
Mechanisms and Effects of Isorhamnetin on Imiquimod-Induced Psoriasiform Dermatitis in Mice
by Chieh-Shan Wu, Chuan-Chao Lin, Yu-Ying Chen and Deng-Ho Yang
Life 2022, 12(12), 2107; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12122107 - 15 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2537
Abstract
Isorhamnetin (IRh), which has a wide range of pharmacological effects, is one of the most significant active components in the fruits of Hippophae rhamnoides L. and the leaves of Ginkgo biloba L. It protects the heart and brain, in addition to possessing anti-tumor, [...] Read more.
Isorhamnetin (IRh), which has a wide range of pharmacological effects, is one of the most significant active components in the fruits of Hippophae rhamnoides L. and the leaves of Ginkgo biloba L. It protects the heart and brain, in addition to possessing anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, organ protection, and anti-obesity properties. We sought to assess IRh’s anti-psoriatic activity, explore its immunomodulatory properties in reducing the severity of psoriatic symptoms, and evaluate its potential immunotherapeutic effects. We used IRh to treat imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis in BALB/C mice and examined the underlying mechanisms. The outcomes demonstrated that IRh reduced epidermal hyperplasia, lowered PASI scores, and improved histopathological psoriasiform lesions in IMQ-induced mice. IRh attenuated the accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA), and also reversed the reduction caused by IMQ of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) in skin tissues. Additionally, IRh effectively inhibited IMQ’s ability to increase proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α, IL-6, IL-17A, and transcription factor NF-κB. Furthermore, IRh significantly reduced the percentage of Th1 and Th17 in the spleens of mice treated with IMQ and suppressed the maturation of splenic dendritic cells. Overall, our research suggests that IRh protects against oxidative stress and inflammation in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, with potential for the development of new and potent medication for the treatment of psoriasis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural and Synthetic Drug Biological Activity in Modulating Immune System)
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15 pages, 8534 KiB  
Article
Guanidine Derivatives of Quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-Dione as NHE-1 Inhibitors and Anti-Inflammatory Agents
by Alexander Spasov, Alexander Ozerov, Vadim Kosolapov, Natalia Gurova, Aida Kucheryavenko, Ludmila Naumenko, Denis Babkov, Viktor Sirotenko, Alena Taran, Alexander Borisov, Elena Sokolova, Vladlen Klochkov, Darya Merezhkina, Mikhail Miroshnikov, Nadezhda Ovsyankina, Alexey Smirnov and Yulia Velikorodnaya
Life 2022, 12(10), 1647; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12101647 - 20 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2568
Abstract
Quinazolines are a rich source of bioactive compounds. Previously, we showed NHE-1 inhibitory, anti-inflammatory, antiplatelet, intraocular pressure lowering, and antiglycating activity for a series of quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones and quinazoline-4(3H)-one guanidine derivatives. In the present work, novel N1 [...] Read more.
Quinazolines are a rich source of bioactive compounds. Previously, we showed NHE-1 inhibitory, anti-inflammatory, antiplatelet, intraocular pressure lowering, and antiglycating activity for a series of quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones and quinazoline-4(3H)-one guanidine derivatives. In the present work, novel N1,N3-bis-substituted quinazoline-2,4(1H,3H)-dione derivatives bearing two guanidine moieties were synthesized and pharmacologically profiled. The most potent NHE-1 inhibitor 3a also possesses antiplatelet and intraocular-pressure-reducing activity. Compound 4a inhibits NO synthesis and IL-6 secretion in murine macrophages without immunotoxicity and alleviates neutrophil infiltration, edema, and tissue lesions in a model of LPS-induced acute lung injury. Hence, we considered quinazoline derivative 4a as a potential agent for suppression of cytokine-mediated inflammatory response and acute lung injury. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural and Synthetic Drug Biological Activity in Modulating Immune System)
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Review

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15 pages, 2035 KiB  
Review
Phloretin in Benign Prostate Hyperplasia and Prostate Cancer: A Contemporary Systematic Review
by Che-Hsueh Yang, Yen-Chuan Ou, Chi-Chien Lin, Yi-Sheng Lin, Min-Che Tung, Chia-Cheng Yu, Jen-Tai Lin and Chen-Yueh Wen
Life 2022, 12(7), 1029; https://doi.org/10.3390/life12071029 - 11 Jul 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2810
Abstract
Currently, medication for benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa) are mainly based on modulating the hormone and nervous systems. However, side effects often affect patients, and might decrease their commitment to continuing the medication and lower their quality of life. Some [...] Read more.
Currently, medication for benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer (PCa) are mainly based on modulating the hormone and nervous systems. However, side effects often affect patients, and might decrease their commitment to continuing the medication and lower their quality of life. Some studies have indicated that chronic inflammation might be the cause of BPH and PCa. Based on this hypothesis, the effect of phloretin, a potent anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative flavonoid, has been researched since 2010. Results from animal and in-vitro studies, obtained from databases, also indicate that the use of phloretin in treating BPH and PCa is promising. Due to its effect on inflammatory cytokines, apoptosis or anti-apoptosis, reactive oxygen species, anti-oxidant enzymes and oxidative stress, phloretin is worthy of further study in human clinical trials regarding safety and effective dosages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural and Synthetic Drug Biological Activity in Modulating Immune System)
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