Showing papers by "Maria Teresa Cruz published in 2014"

Neurotensin Decreases the Proinflammatory Status of Human Skin Fibroblasts and Increases Epidermal Growth Factor Expression

Abstract: Fibroblasts colonization into injured areas during wound healing (WH) is responsible for skin remodelling and is also involved in the modulation of inflammation, as fibroblasts are immunologically active. Herein, we aimed to determine neurotensin effect on the immunomodulatory profile of fibroblasts, both in homeostatic and inflammatory conditions. Neurotensin mediated responses occurred through NTR1 or NTR3 receptors, while under inflammatory conditions NTR1 expression increase seemed to modulate neurotensin responses. Among different immunomodulatory genes, CCL11, IL-8, and IL-6 were the most expressed genes, while CCL4 and EGF were the less expressed genes. After neurotensin exposure, IL-8 mRNA expression was increased while CCL11 was decreased, suggesting a proinflammatory upregulation and chemoattractant ability downregulation of fibroblasts. Under inflammatory conditions, gene expression was significantly increased. After neurotensin exposure, CCL4 and IL-6 mRNA expression were decreased while CCL11 was increased, suggesting again a decrease in the chemoattractant capacity of fibroblasts and in their proinflammatory status. Furthermore, the expression of EGF, a crucial growth factor for skin cells proliferation and WH, was increased in all conditions. Overall, neurotensin, released by nerve fibers or skin cells, may be involved in the decrease of the chemotaxis and the proinflammatory status in the proliferation and remodelling phases of WH.

The effect of neurotensin in human keratinocytes – implication on impaired wound healing in diabetes:

Abstract: Diabetic foot ulcers are an important complication of diabetes mellitus characterized by chronic, non-healing ulcers resulting from poor proliferation and migration of fibroblasts and keratinocytes, thus impairing a correct re-epithelialization of wounded tissues. This healing process can be modulated by neuropeptides released from peripheral nerves; however, little is known regarding the role of neurotensin (NT) as a modulator of human keratinocyte function under hyperglycemic conditions. Therefore, this work is focused on the effect of NT in human keratinocytes, under normal and hyperglycemic conditions at different functional levels, namely NT receptors, cytokine, and growth factor expression, as well as proliferation and migration. Human keratinocyte cells were maintained at either 10/30 mM glucose and treated with or without NT (10 nM). The results show that NT did not affect keratinocyte viability. In addition, NT and all NT receptor expression levels were significantly reduced by hyperglycemia; how...

Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Polyphenols on Dendritic Cells

Abstract: Since their discovery by Steinman and Cohn, dendritic cells (DCs) have become increasingly recognized for their capacity of inducing immunogenic or tolerogenic responses. Accordingly, new therapeutic strategies for infection, cancer, transplantation, autoimmunity and allergy have been developed based on DCs manipulation. Polyphenols are plant secondary metabolites that have long been assumed to provide health benefits, including anti-inflammatory activity. In recent years, the effects of polyphenols on the function of DCs, and consequently, in the modulation of immune responses, have been researched. However, the therapeutic and pharmacological potential of these natural compounds remains to be translated into human clinical conditions. This is in part due to the lack of knowledge of their mode of action as well as their multiple signaling targets, which should be considered in future works. This review presents an overview of the immunobiology of DCs and summarizes the current knowledge about the modulation of DC properties by polyphenols.

Cytisus multiflorus and Eriocephalus africanus as source of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds

Abstract: Historically, extracts and preparations of plants are the basis of traditional medicine and the starting point for the discovery of new therapeutic agents [1]. Cytisus multiflorus and Eriocephalus africanus are small shrubs native from Iberian Peninsula and South Africa, respectively, and distributed in Mediterranean region. Despite their common application in folk medicine and claimed health benefits, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties [2, 3, 4], there is still a lack of scientific data supporting this [5, 6]. In this work, phenolic-enriched extracts of Cytisus multiflorus and Eriocephalus africanus were obtained and evaluated in chemical models for their phenolic content, reducing power capacity, scavenging ability for DPPH radical, nitric oxide and hypochlorous acid, as well as for their ability to inhibit 5-Lipoxygenase activity i.e., a central enzyme in inflammatory process. Overall, the results from the chemical tests indicated that Cytisus multiflorus extract was more promising regarding antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties reason why this extract was then further tested for these activities in biological models. The present communication will focus on the experimental data obtained so far by our group for the phenolic-enriched extracts of Cytisus multiflorus and Eriocephalus africanus, as a valid contribution to clarify the mechanisms of action of the claimed antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities of the two plants.