Effectiveness of Losartan-Loaded Hyaluronic Acid (HA) Micelles for the Reduction of Advanced Hepatic Fibrosis in C3H/HeN Mice Model

Advanced hepatic fibrosis therapy using drug-delivering nanoparticles is a relatively unexplored area. Angiotensin type 1 (AT1) receptor blockers such as losartan can be delivered to hepatic stellate cells (HSC), blocking their activation and thereby reducing fibrosis progression in the liver. In our study, we analyzed the possibility of utilizing drug-loaded vehicles such as hyaluronic acid (HA) micelles carrying losartan to attenuate HSC activation. Losartan, which exhibits inherent lipophilicity, was loaded into the hydrophobic core of HA micelles with a 19.5% drug loading efficiency. An advanced liver fibrosis model was developed using C3H/HeN mice subjected to 20 weeks of prolonged TAA/ethanol weight-adapted treatment. The cytocompatibility and cell uptake profile of losartan-HA micelles were studied in murine fibroblast cells (NIH3T3), human hepatic stellate cells (hHSC) and FL83B cells (hepatocyte cell line). The ability of these nanoparticles to attenuate HSC activation was studied in activated HSC cells based on alpha smooth muscle actin (α-sma) expression. Mice treated with oral losartan or losartan-HA micelles were analyzed for serum enzyme levels (ALT/AST, CK and LDH) and collagen deposition (hydroxyproline levels) in the liver. The accumulation of HA micelles was observed in fibrotic livers, which suggests increased delivery of losartan compared to normal livers and specific uptake by HSC. Active reduction of α-sma was observed in hHSC and the liver sections of losartan-HA micelle-treated mice. The serum enzyme levels and collagen deposition of losartan-HA micelle-treated mice was reduced significantly compared to the oral losartan group. Losartan-HA micelles demonstrated significant attenuation of hepatic fibrosis via an HSC-targeting mechanism in our in vitro and in vivo studies. These nanoparticles can be considered as an alternative therapy for liver fibrosis.     

The influence of age and sex on phagocyte chemiluminescence

The process of ageing is associated with increased susceptibility to infection. Phagocytes form the primary defence mechanism against infecting microorganisms, but the influence of ageing on phagocyte function remains controversial. In this study we have applied a microtitre plate phagocyte chemiluminescence (CL) assay suitable for clinical use to compare phagocyte oxidative metabolism in younger healthy subjects (age 20–60 years) and healthy older (60–70 years) subjects. Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL) and monocytes were stimulated using phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), serum opsonized zymosan (SOZ), and non-opsonized zymosan (ZYM) in the presence of both lucigenin and luminol. Monocytes showed a higher luminolenhanced CL response to PMA in males compared with females in the younger age group. No PMNL differences were observed between the sexes. Although no difference were found in relation to age when cells were stimulated with PMA and SOZ, significantly lower background (unstimulated) CL was obtained from PMNL with luminol. PMNL luminol-enhanced CL responses were also lower in response to ZYM. The findings suggest a reduced response of PMNL from older subjects to minimal stimulation. This could be related to abnormalities in the triggering of the respiratory burst or myeloperoxidase release due to ageing. The influence of age and sex should be taken into account in clinical studies of phagocyte CL.     

Effects on NaeI-DNA recognition of the leucine to lysine substitution that transforms restriction endonuclease NaeI to a topoisomerase: a model for restriction endonuclease evolution.

Substituting lysine for leucine at position 43 (L43K) transforms NaeI from restriction endonuclease to topoisomerase and makes NaeI hypersensitive to intercalative anticancer drugs. Here we investigated DNA recognition by Nael-L43K. Using DNA competition and gel retardation assays, NaeI-L43K showed reduced affinity for DNA substrate and the ability to bind both single- and double-stranded DNA with a definite preference for the former. Sedimentation studies showed that under native conditions NaeI-L43K, like NaeI, is a dimer. Introduction of mismatched bases into double-stranded DNA significantly increased that DNA's ability to inhibit NaeI-L43K. Wild-type NaeI showed no detectable binding of either single-stranded DNA or mismatched DNA over the concentration range studied. These results demonstrate that the L43K substitution caused a significant change in recognition specificity by NaeI and imply that NaeI-L43K's topoisomerase activity is related to its ability to bind single-stranded and distorted regions in DNA. A mechanism is proposed for the evolution of the NaeI restriction-modification system from a topoisomerase/ligase by a mutation that abolished religation activity and provided a needed change in DNA recognition.