Acta Pharmaceutica最新文献

The principal function of skin is to form an effective barrier between the human body and its environment. Impaired barrier function represents a precondition for the development of skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis (AD), which is the most common inflammatory skin disease characterized by skin barrier dysfunction. AD significantly affects patients' quality of life, thus, there is a growing interest in the development of novel delivery systems that would improve therapeutic outcomes. Herein, eight novel lyotropic liquid crystals (LCCs) were investigated for the first time in a double-blind, interventional, before-after, single-group trial with healthy adult subjects and a twice-daily application regimen. LCCs consisted of constituents with skin regenerative properties and exhibited lamellar micro-structure, especially suitable for dermal application. The short- and long-term effects of LCCs on TEWL, SC hydration, erythema index, melanin index, and tolerability were determined and compared with baseline. LCCs with the highest oil content and lecithin/Tween 80 mixture stood out by providing a remarkable 2-fold reduction in TEWL values and showing the most distinctive decrease in skin erythema levels in both the short- and long-term exposure. Therefore, they exhibit great potential for clinical use as novel delivery systems for AD treatment, capable of repairing skin barrier function.

Remifentanil is an ultra-short-acting synthetic opioid-class analgesic which might be increasingly used "off-label" as pain management during labour. Side effects in parturients during labour, and in the infant at birth are of particular concern, especially respiratory depression which is concentration-dependent, and can occur at levels as low as 3-5 ng mL^-1. The safety of such use, particularly in newborns due to remifentanil placental transfer, has not been fully demonstrated yet, partly due to the lack of a suitable non-invasive analytical method. The aim of our work was to develop a sensitive method to monitor the levels of remifentanil in neonates by a non-invasive sampling of umbi lical cord blood to support efficacy and safety trials. The presented LC-MS method is sensitive enough to reliably quantify remifentanil in just 20 µL of blood at only 0.3 ng mL^-1. The dried blood spot sample preparation included solvent extraction with subsequent solid-phase extraction. The method was validated in terms of accuracy, precision, recovery, matrix effect, and stability, and was successfully applied to a small pilot study. The estimated arterial blood concentrations at the time of delivery ranged from 0.2 to 0.3, and up to 0.9 ng mL^-1 in neonatal, and maternal samples, respectively.

This umbrella review examined systematic reviews of deprescribing studies by characteristics of intervention, population, medicine, and setting. Clinical and humanistic outcomes, barriers and facilitators, and tools for deprescribing are presented. The Medline database was used. The search was limited to systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in English up to April 2022. Reviews reporting deprescribing were included, while those where depre-scribing was not planned and supervised by a healthcare professional were excluded. A total of 94 systematic reviews (23 meta--analyses) were included. Most explored clinical or humanistic outcomes (70/94, 74 %); less explored attitudes, facilitators, or barriers to deprescribing (17/94, 18 %); few focused on tools (8/94, 8.5 %). Reviews assessing clinical or humanistic outcomes were divided into two groups: reviews with deprescribing intervention trials (39/70, 56 %; 16 reviewing specific deprescribing interventions and 23 broad medication optimisation interventions), and reviews with medication cessation trials (31/70, 44 %). Deprescribing was feasible and resulted in a reduction of inappropriate medications in reviews with deprescribing intervention trials. Complex broad medication optimisation interventions were shown to reduce hospitalisation, falls, and mortality rates. In reviews of medication cessation trials, a higher frequency of adverse drug withdrawal events underscores the importance of prioritizing patient safety and exercising caution when stopping medicines, particularly in patients with clear and appropriate indications.

Lipid-based systems, such as self-microemulsifying systems (SMEDDS) are attracting strong attention as a formulation approach to improve the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs. By applying the "spring and parachute" strategy in designing supersaturable SMEDDS, it is possible to maintain the drug in the supersaturated state long enough to allow absorption of the complete dose, thus improving the drug's bio-availability. As such an approach allows the incorporation of larger amounts of the drug in equal or even lower volumes of SMEDDS, it also enables the production of smaller final dosage forms as well as decreased gastrointestinal irritation, being of particular importance when formulating dosage forms for children or the elderly. In this review, the technological approaches used to prolong the drug supersaturation are discussed regarding the type and concentration of polymers used in liquid and solid SMEDDS formulation. The addition of hypromellose derivatives, vinyl polymers, polyethylene glycol, polyoxyethylene, or polymetacrylate copolymers proved to be effective in inhibiting drug precipitation. Regarding the available literature, hypromellose has been the most commonly used polymeric precipitation inhibitor, added in a concentration of 5 % (m/m). However, the inhibiting ability is mainly governed not only by the physicochemical properties of the polymer but also by the API, therefore the choice of optimal precipitation inhibitor is recommended to be evaluated on an individual basis.

Statin treatment may increase the risk of diabetes; there is insufficient data on how statins affect glucose regulation and glycemic control and the effects of statins on liver enzymes related to carbohydrate metabolism have not been fully studied. Therefore, we aimed to compare the effects of the statin derivatives, pravastatin, and rosuvastatin, on carbohydrate metabolism in an experimental diabetic rat model. Female Wistar albino rats were used and diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. Thereafter, 10 and 20 mg kg^-1 day^-1 doses of both pravastatin and rosuvastatin were administered by oral gavage to the diabetic rats for 8 weeks. At the end of the experiment, body masses, the levels of fasting blood glucose, serum insulin, insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), liver glycogen, and liver enzymes related to carbohydrate metabolism were measured. Both doses of pravastatin significantly in creased the body mass in diabetic rats, however, rosuvastatin, especially at the dose of 20 mg kg^-1 day^-1 reduced the body mass signi ficantly. Pravastatin, especially at a dose of 20 mg kg^-1 day^-1, caused significant increases in liver glycogen synthase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase levels but significant decreases in the levels of glycogen phosphorylase, lactate dehydrogenase, and glucose-6-phosphatase. Hence, pravastatin partially ameliorated the adverse changes in liver enzymes caused by diabetes and, especially at the dose of 20 mg kg^-1 day^-1, reduced the fasting blood glucose level and increased the liver glycogen content. However, rosuvastatin, especially at the dose of 20 mg kg^-1 day^-1, significantly reduced the liver glycogen synthase and pyruvate kinase levels, but increased the glycogen phosphorylase level in diabetic rats. Rosuvastatin, 20 mg kg^-1 day^-1 dose, caused significant decreases in the body mass and the liver glycogen content of diabetic rats. It can be concluded that pravastatin, especially at the dose of 20 mg kg^-1 day^-1 is more effective in ameliorating the negative effects of diabetes by modulating carbohydrate metabolism.

A diastereomeric mixture of racemic 3-phthalimido-b-lactam 2a/2b was synthesized by the Staudinger reaction of carboxylic acid activated with 2-chloro-1-methylpyridinium iodide and imine 1. The amino group at the C3 position of the b-lactam ring was used for further structural upgrade. trans-b-lactam ureas 4a-t were prepared by the condensation reaction of the amino group of b-lactam ring with various aromatic and aliphatic isocyanates. Antimicrobial activity of compounds 4a-t was evaluated in vitro and neither antibacterial nor antifungal activity were observed. Several of the newly synthesized trans-b-lactam ureas 4a-c, 4f, 4h, 4n, 4o, 4p, and 4s were evaluated for in vitro antiproliferative activity against liver hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), ovarian carcinoma (A2780), breast adenocarcinoma (MCF7) and untransformed human fibroblasts (HFF1). The b-lactam urea 4o showed the most potent antiproliferative activity against the ovarian carcinoma (A2780) cell line. Compounds 4o and 4p exhibited strong cytotoxic effects against human non-tumor cell line HFF1. The b-lactam ureas 4a-t were estimated to be soluble and membrane permeable, moderately lipophilic molecules (logP 4.6) with a predisposition to be CYP3A4 and P-glycoprotein substrates. The tools PASS and SwissTargetPrediction could not predict biological targets for compounds 4a-t with high probability, pointing to the novelty of their structure. Considering low toxicity risk, molecules 4a and 4f can be selected as the most promising candidates for further structure modifications.

Lung cancer (LC) is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Surgery, chemoradiotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy are considered dominant treatment strategies for LC in the clinic. However, drug resistance and meta-stasis are two major challenges in cancer therapies. Medicarpin (MED) is an isoflavone compound isolated from alfalfa, which is usually used in traditional medicine. This study was de sig ned to evaluate the anti-LC effect and reveal the underlying mechanisms of MED in vivo and in vitro. We found that MED could significantly inhibit proliferation, induce apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest of A549 and H157 cell lines. Basically, MED induced cell apoptosis of LC cells by upregu lating the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins BAX and Bak1, leading to the cleavage of caspase-3 (Casp3). Moreover, MED inhibited the proliferation of LC cells via downregulating the expression of proliferative protein Bid. Overall, MED inhibited LC cell growth in vitro and in vivo via suppressing cell proliferation and inducing cell apoptosis, suggesting the therapeutic potential of MED in treating LC.

Deguelin exhibits antiproliferative activity against various cancer cell types. Previous studies have reported that deguelin exhibits pro-apoptotic activity against human cancer cells. The current study aimed at further elaborating the anticancer effects of deguelin against multiple myeloma cells. Cell growth estimations were made through MTT assay. Phase contrast microscopy was used for the analysis of the viability of multiple myeloma cells. Colony formation from multiple myeloma cells was studied using a clonogenic assay. Antioxidative assays for determining levels of glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were carried out after treating multiple myeloma cells with deguelin. The apoptosis of multiple myeloma cells was studied using AO/EB and Annexin V-FITC/PI staining methods. Multiple myeloma cell cycle analysis was performed through flow cytometry. mRNA expression levels were depicted using qRT-PCR. Migration and invasion of multiple myeloma cells were determined with the wound-healing and transwell assays, respectively. Deguelin specifically inhibited the multiple myeloma cell growth while the normal plasma cells were minimally affected. Multiple myeloma cells when treated with deguelin exhibited remarkably lower viability and colony-forming ability. Multiple myeloma cells treated with deguelin produced more SOD and had higher GSH levels. The multiple myeloma cell growth, migration, and invasion were significantly declined by in vitro administration of deguelin. In conclusion, deguelin treatment, when applied in vitro, induced apoptotic cell death and resulted in mitotic cessation at the G2/M phase through modulation of cell cycle regulatory mRNAs in multiple myeloma cells.

There is increasing evidence that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a crucial role in the development and progression of malignant tumors, particularly pancreatic cancer. In this study, the influence of the lncRNA TINCR on the behavior of human pancreatic cancer cells was investigated with the aim of deciphering its role in growth, migration, and invasion. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to investigate TINCR expression in pancreatic cancer cells. Ectopic expression of TINCR in PANC-1 cells was induced to evaluate the effects on cell viability and apoptosis, examining the apoptotic genes Bax and Bcl-2. Migration and invasion assays were used to measure the impact of TINCR on these cellular processes. In vivo studies using a xenograft mouse model examined the effects of TINCR on tumor growth, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers, and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. PANC-1 cells showed strikingly low TINCR expression compared to other pancreatic cancer cell lines. Ectopic TINCR expression reduced the viability of PANC-1 cells primarily by inducing apoptosis, as evidenced by increased Bax and decreased Bcl-2 expression. Overexpression of TINCR significantly increased the percentage of apoptotic cells. It also decreased the migration and invasion ability of PANC-1 cells, as demonstrated in wound healing and transwell assays. In addition, overexpression of TINCR-suppressed proteins is associated with the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in PANC-1 cells. In the xenograft mouse model, overexpression of TINCR inhibited tumor growth, EMT markers, and proteins associated with the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. This study sheds light on the tumour-suppressive role of TINCR in PANC-1 cells and suggests its potential as a therapeutic target. These results shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying the impact of TINCR on pancreatic cancer and offer promising opportunities for innovative therapeutic strategies to improve outcomes in this serious malignancy.

This study aims to assess the chemical composition of the aqueous extract of Cistus albidus L. leaves, as well as the potential of aqueous and hydroethanol extracts of the leaves and seeds as analgesic, anti--inflammatory, and antioxidant agents. The contents of phenolics and inorganic constituents were determined in C. albidus seeds and leaves; antioxidant capacity was assessed by 3 complementary and diverse tests. The carrageenan-induced paw edema technique was used to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect in vivo, and albumin denaturation to evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect in vitro. The acetic acid-induced contortion test, the tail-flick test, and the plantar test were used to assess the analgesic effi cacy in vivo. Chemical analysis was performed by UPLC-MS/MS to quantify several phenolic compounds including catechin (1,627.6 mg kg^-1), quercitrin (1,235.8 mg kg-1) and gallic acid (628. 2 mg kg^-1). The ICP analysis revealed that potassium and calcium were the main inorganic components in the seeds and leaves of C. albidus. The hydroethanolic extract of the leaves showed the highest content of polyphenols/flavonoids, whereas the highest value of proantho cyanidins was detected in the aqueous extract of the seeds. All extracts showed potent antioxidant activity related to different phenolic compounds (quercetin, gallic acid, astragalin, catechin, and rutin). The aqueous extract of the leaves strongly inhibited paw edema (76.1 %) after 6 h of treatment and showed maximal inhibition of protein denaturation (191.0 µg mL^-1 for 50 % inhibition) and analgesic activity in different nociceptive models. The presented data reveal that C. albidus extracts potentially show antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic activities that could confirm the traditional use of this plant.