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Chronic hyperglycemia caused by diabetes mellitus (DM) slows down the healing process due to prolonged inflammation which impedes the regeneration progression. Photobiomodulation (PBM) is considered a non-pharmacological intervention and has anti-inflammatory and biostimulatory effects that accelerate the healing process. Currently found IL-1β inhibitors are difficult to implement due to their cytotoxic potential, excessive amounts, and invasive administration, and therefore, the application of this peptide in diabetic wounds represents a promising intervention to help resolve the inflammatory response. This study aimed to investigate the effect of an IL-1β inhibitor molecule associated with PBM irradiation in a model of epithelial injury in diabetic mice. After the induction of the DM model with streptozotocin (STZ), the skin lesion model was implemented through surgical excision. Sixty C57BL/6 mice divided into five experimental groups (n = 12) were used: excisional wound (EW), DM + EW, DM + EW + DAP 1-2 (inhibitor peptide), DM + EW + PBM, and DM + EW + PBM + DAP 1-2. Treatment started 12 h after wound induction and was performed daily for 5 days. Twenty-four hours after the last application, the animals were euthanized and the outer edge of the wound was removed. The results obtained demonstrate that the DM + EW + PBM + DAP 1-2 group caused a reduction in the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, an increase in anti-inflammatory cytokines, and an increase in TGF-β and maintenance of the cellular redox state with a consequent reduction in levels of inflammatory infiltrate and concomitant stimulation of type III collagen gene expression, as well as a decrease in the size of the wound in square centimeter 6 days after the injury. Only the combination of therapies was able to favor the process of tissue regeneration due to the development of an approach capable of acting at different stages of the regenerative process, through the mechanisms of action of interventions on the inflammatory process by avoiding its stagnation and stimulating progression of regeneration., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Obesity results from an energy imbalance and has been considered an epidemic due to its increasing rates worldwide. It is classified as a low-grade chronic inflammatory disease and has associated comorbidities. Different nutritional strategies are used for the purpose of weight loss, highlighting low-carbohydrate (LC) diets, ketogenic diets, and intermittent fasting (IF). These strategies can lead to metabolic and behavioral changes as they stimulate different biochemical pathways. Therefore, this study evaluated memory, energy metabolism, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and antioxidant defense parameters in mice subjected to an LC diet, ketogenic diet (KD), or IF. Eighty male Swiss mice, 60 days old, were divided into 4 groups: control, LC, KD, or IF. Body weight was measured weekly, and food intake every 48 h. After 15 days of nutritional interventions, the animals were subjected to the behavioral object recognition test and subsequently euthanized. Then, visceral fat was removed and weighed, and the brain was isolated for inflammatory and biochemical analysis. We concluded from this study that the LC and KD strategies could damage memory, IF improves the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and the LC, KD, and IF strategies do not lead to neuroinflammatory damage but present damage at the level of oxidative stress., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

A perfect graft for wound care must be readily available without affecting the immune response, covering and protecting the wound bed. Considering previous studies have already established the use of hyaluronic acid (HA) for the treatment of wounds but the data presented on the amniotic membrane (AM) and its promising effects on healing still requires further investigation, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of the application of a decellularized amniotic membrane solubilized with hyaluronic acid on the healing process of cutaneous wounds on the 7th and 14th day, to evaluate the evolution of the wound and the inflammatory phases in these two times. Cutaneous lesions were excised from the dorsal region and 96 Wistar rats were divided into four groups: I-Excisional wound (EW); II-EW + AM; III-EW + HA; IV-EW + AM + HA. The present study demonstrated that the proposed combined therapy favors the tissue repair process of the epithelial lesion. Results showed a reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines, an increase in anti-inflammatory cytokines, an increase in TGF-β, and attenuation of oxidative stress, reducing the acute inflammatory response and promoting the beginning of tissue repair. We concluded that the proposed therapies accelerated the inflammatory process with anticipation of the repair phase., (© 2022. The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Biomedical Engineering Society.)

This study aimed to investigate the effects of iontophoresis and hyaluronic acid (HA) combined with a gold nanoparticle (GNP) solution in an excisional wound model. Fifty Wistar rats (n = 10/group) were randomly assigned to the following groups: excisional wound (EW); EW + MC; EW + MC + HA; EW + MC + GNPs; and EW + MC + HA + GNPs. The animals were induced to a circular excision, and treatment started 24 h after injury with microcurrents (300 µA) containing gel with HA (0.9%) and/or GNPs (30 mg/L) in the electrodes (1 mL) for 7 days. The animals were euthanized 12 h after the last treatment application. The results demonstrate a reduction in the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IFNϒ, IL-1β, TNFα, and IL-6) in the group in which the therapies were combined, and they show increased levels of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10) and growth factors (FGF and TGF-β) in the EW + MC + HA and EW + MC + HA + GNPs groups. As for the levels of dichlorofluorescein (DCF) and nitrite, as well as oxidative damage (carbonyl and sulfhydryl), they decreased in the combined therapy group when compared to the control group. Regarding antioxidant defense, there was an increase in glutathione (GSH) and a decrease in superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the combined therapy group. A histological analysis showed reduced inflammatory infiltrate in the MC-treated groups and in the combination therapy group. There was an increase in the wound contraction rate in all treated groups when compared to the control group, proving that the proposed therapies are effective in the epithelial healing process. The results of this study demonstrate that the therapies in combination favor the tissue repair process more significantly than the therapies in isolation.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Cynara cardunculus leaf ethanol extract on inflammatory and oxidative stress parameters in the hypothalamus, prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, striatum, cerebral cortex and liver of high-fat diet-induced obese mice. Food intake, body weight, visceral fat weight, and liver weight were also evaluated. Male Swiss mice were divided into control (low-fat purified diet) and obese (high-fat purified diet) groups. After 6 weeks, mice were divided into control + saline, control + C. cardunculus leaf ethanol extract, obese + saline, obese + C. cardunculus leaf ethanol extract. Cynara cardunculus leaf ethanol extract (1600 mg/kg/day) or saline was administered orally for 4 weeks. Brain structures (hypothalamus, hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, striatum and cerebral cortex) and liver were removed. Treatment with C. cardunculus leaf ethanol extract did not affect body weight but did reduce visceral fat. Obesity can cause inflammation and oxidative stress and increase the activity of antioxidant enzymes in brain structures. Treatment with ethanolic extract of C. cardunculus leaves partially reversed the changes in inflammatory damage parameters and oxidative damage parameters and attenuated changes in the antioxidant defense. The C. cardunculus leaf ethanol extract benefited from the brains of obese animals by partially reversing the changes caused by the consumption of a high-fat diet and the consequent obesity. These results corroborate those of studies indicating that the C. cardunculus leaf ethanol extract can contribute to the treatment of obesity., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: To evaluate formulations of 1 % silver (Ag) nanoparticles for treating traumatic lesions induced in the oral mucosa of rats, because these lesions are commonly observed in the dental clinic, and their therapeutic forms are scarce., Methods: Wistar rats were punch-injured (two circular fragments, 4.0 mm in diameter) in the oral mucosa (one on each side), and were treated topically (twice per week) with the treatments/groups including: no injury, control, vehicle, diluted Ag, soluble Ag, and solid Ag. On the 2nd, 7th, and 14th days postinjury, biopsies were collected for immunohistochemistry and biochemical analysis., Results: The group diluted Ag revealed a higher level of inflammatory infiltrate on the 2nd day, whereas solid Ag presented lower levels. The Ag solid group presented higher IL-1β on the 2nd day and increased IL-10 and TGF-β1 throughout the follow-up. Moreover, all three Ag groups presented lower levels of oxidative stress markers and, on the 7th day, the diluted Ag and solid Ag groups revealed higher antioxidants. Diluted Ag and soluble Ag groups presented greater blood vessels proliferation, whereas soluble Ag and solid Ag groups revealed greater VEGF on the 2nd and 14th days. Furthermore, all three Ag groups were highlighted during fibroplasia, although collagenesis was similar to that observed in the control group., Conclusions: Although diluted Ag was noticeable for its important angiogenesis and fibroplasia, solid Ag was the most suitable formulation in healing oral lesions as it efficiently controlled inflammation and oxidative stress, thus favoring angiogenesis and tissue formation., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Percutaneous collagen induction (PCI) is an alternative treatment for skin dysfunctions, it aims to stimulate collagen production by encouraging normal wound healing that occurs after any trauma by inducing microlesions; also it may be potentiated with the association with drugs such as hyaluronic acid (HA). Our objective was to evaluate the effects of PCI associated with hyaluronic acid (0.9%) on inflammatory process, oxidative stress, and collagen production in rat epidermis. For the study, 36 adult Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups (n = 6): Control; PCI 0.5; PCI 1.0; HA; PCI 0.5 + HA; and PCI 1.0 + HA. The animals were anesthetized, trichotomized, and the application of therapies was performed once; After 7 days, the animals were euthanized for removal of the skin region. Levels of pro-inflammatory (IL1, IL6, TNFα), anti-inflammatory (IL4 and IL10) cytokines and growth factors (FGF, TGFβ) were evaluated, besides oxidative stress parameters and histological analysis. In combination groups, there is a decrease in TNFα compared with the control and PCI groups in contrast to a significant increase in anti-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors. Oxidant and oxidative damage levels showed a significant decrease in PCI + HA groups in relation to PCI groups while antioxidant defense increased in PCI + HA groups compared with the control group. The number of fibroblasts was increased in the PCI 1.0 group in relation to the control, HA, and PCI 0.5. The number of blood vessels and collagen area was increased in groups PCI and PCI + HA compared with the HA group. We conclude that the combination of PCI with HA is able to accelerate the acute inflammatory process, reducing its deleterious effects and anticipating the chronic response, contributing to tissue repair.