Oxidative Stress, Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration

A special issue of Antioxidants (ISSN 2076-3921). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Outcomes of Antioxidants and Oxidative Stress".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2021) | Viewed by 37601

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular and Structural Biology, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: innate immune response; inflammasome; mitochondria; oxidative stress; proteinases and inhibitors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
1. Department of Biochemistry and Molecular and Structural Biology, Jožef Stefan Institute, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
2. Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Interests: mechanisms of protein folding and aggregation, amyloid metal interaction, amyloid-membrane interaction; amyloid pore formation; lipid composition modulation of protein aggregation; proteomics and bioinformatics; interactomes and protein function annotation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Neuroinflammation can be caused by various insults to the brain and represents an important pathological hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. It is characterized by the activation of the microglia and astrocyte population. The proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 play a crucial role in tissue homeostasis. Their secretion is determined by the inflammasome, a multicomponent complex that processes IL-1β and IL-18 into mature cytokines. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), particularly mitochondrial ROS, have been implicated in inflammasome activation. In this Special Issue, we propose to discuss how ROS influence the inflammatory immune response in the brain.

We invite you to submit your latest research findings or a review article to this Special Issue, which will focus on current research concerning neuroinflammation and the role of oxidative stress in this process.

We look forward to your contribution.

Dr. Nataša Kopitar Jerala
Prof. Dr. Eva Žerovnik 
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Antioxidant
  • Antioxidant enzymes
  • Autophagy
  • Inflammasome
  • Microglia
  • Mitochondria
  • Neuroinflammation
  • Neurodegenerative diseases
  • Oxidative stress
  • Reactive oxygen species

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Published Papers (8 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 2014 KiB  
Article
Microbiological-Chemical Sourced Chondroitin Sulfates Protect Neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y Cells against Oxidative Stress and Are Suitable for Hydrogel-Based Controlled Release
by Emiliano Bedini, Alfonso Iadonisi, Chiara Schiraldi, Laura Colombo, Diego Albani, Paola Petrini, Carmen Giordano and Marta Tunesi
Antioxidants 2021, 10(11), 1816; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10111816 - 16 Nov 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2506
Abstract
Chondroitin sulfates (CS) are a class of sulfated glycosaminoglycans involved in many biological processes. Several studies reported their protective effect against neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. CS are commonly derived from animal sources, but ethical concerns, the risk of contamination with animal proteins, [...] Read more.
Chondroitin sulfates (CS) are a class of sulfated glycosaminoglycans involved in many biological processes. Several studies reported their protective effect against neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease. CS are commonly derived from animal sources, but ethical concerns, the risk of contamination with animal proteins, and the difficulty in controlling the sulfation pattern have prompted research towards non-animal sources. Here we exploited two microbiological-chemical sourced CS (i.e., CS-A,C and CS-A,C,K,L) and Carbopol 974P NF/agarose semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (i.e., P.NaOH.0 and P.Ethanol.0) to set up a release system, and tested the neuroprotective role of released CS against H2O2-induced oxidative stress. After assessing that our CS (1–100 µM) require a 3 h pre-treatment for neuroprotection with SH-SY5Y cells, we evaluated whether the autoclave type (i.e., N- or B-type) affects hydrogel viscoelastic properties. We selected B-type autoclaves and repeated the study after loading CS (1 or 0.1 mg CS/0.5 mL gel). After loading 1 mg CS/0.5 mL gel, we evaluated CS release up to 7 days by 1,9-dimethylmethylene blue (DMMB) assay and verified the neuroprotective role of CS-A,C (1 µM) in the supernatants. We observed that CS-A,C exhibits a broader neuroprotective effect than CS-A,C,K,L. Moreover, sulfation pattern affects not only neuroprotection, but also drug release. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Oxidative Stress, Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration)
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11 pages, 284 KiB  
Article
Genetic Polymorphisms, Gene–Gene Interactions and Neurologic Sequelae at Two Years Follow-Up in Newborns with Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Treated with Hypothermia
by Katarina Esih, Katja Goričar, Aneta Soltirovska-Šalamon, Vita Dolžan and Zvonka Rener-Primec
Antioxidants 2021, 10(9), 1495; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10091495 - 20 Sep 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2555
Abstract
Inflammation and oxidative stress after hypoxic-ischemic brain injury may be modified by genetic variability in addition to therapeutic hypothermia. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between the polymorphisms in genes of antioxidant and inflammatory pathways in newborns treated with [...] Read more.
Inflammation and oxidative stress after hypoxic-ischemic brain injury may be modified by genetic variability in addition to therapeutic hypothermia. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between the polymorphisms in genes of antioxidant and inflammatory pathways in newborns treated with therapeutic hypothermia and the development of epilepsy or CP at two years follow-up. The DNA of 55 subjects was isolated from buccal swabs. Genotyping using competitive allele-specific PCR was performed for polymorphisms in antioxidant (SOD2 rs4880, CAT rs1001179, GPX1 rs1050450) and inflammatory (NLRP3 rs35829419, CARD8 rs2043211, IL1B rs1143623, IL1B rs16944, IL1B rs10716 76, TNF rs1800629) pathways. Polymorphic CARD8 rs2043211 T allele was less frequent in patients with epilepsy, but the association was not statistically significant. The interaction between CARD8 rs2043211 and IL1B rs16944 was associated with epilepsy after HIE: CARD8 rs2043211 was associated with lower epilepsy risk, but only in carriers of two normal IL1B rs16944 alleles (ORadj = 0.03 95% CI = 0.00–0.55; padj = 0.019). Additionally, IL1B rs16944 was associated with higher epilepsy risk only in carriers of at least one polymorphic CARD8 rs2043211 (ORadj = 13.33 95% CI = 1.07–166.37; padj = 0.044). Our results suggest that gene–gene interaction in inflammation pathways might contribute to the severity of brain injury in newborns with HIE treated with therapeutic hypothermia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Oxidative Stress, Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration)
10 pages, 3324 KiB  
Article
Synergy of the Inhibitory Action of Polyphenols Plus Vitamin C on Amyloid Fibril Formation: Case Study of Human Stefin B
by Alma Jahić Mujkić, Magda Tušek Žnidarič, Selma Berbić and Eva Žerovnik
Antioxidants 2021, 10(9), 1471; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10091471 - 15 Sep 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2340 | Correction
Abstract
In order to study how polyphenols and vitamin C (vitC) together affect protein aggregation to amyloid fibrils, we performed similar in vitro studies as before using stefin B as a model and a potentially amyloid-forming protein (it aggregates upon overexpression, under stressful conditions [...] Read more.
In order to study how polyphenols and vitamin C (vitC) together affect protein aggregation to amyloid fibrils, we performed similar in vitro studies as before using stefin B as a model and a potentially amyloid-forming protein (it aggregates upon overexpression, under stressful conditions and some progressive myoclonus epilepsy of tape 1—EPM1-missense mutations). In addition to the chosen polyphenol, this time, we added a proven antioxidant concentration of 0.5 mM vitC into the fibrillation mixture and varied concentrations of resveratrol, quercetin, and curcumin. Synergy with vitC was observed with curcumin and quercetin. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Oxidative Stress, Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration)
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14 pages, 2458 KiB  
Article
Ethyl Pyruvate Attenuates Microglial NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation via Inhibition of HMGB1/NF-κB/miR-223 Signaling
by Melis Olcum, Kemal Ugur Tufekci, Devrim Yagmur Durur, Bora Tastan, Irem Nur Gokbayrak, Kursad Genc and Sermin Genc
Antioxidants 2021, 10(5), 745; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10050745 - 8 May 2021
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5170
Abstract
Ethyl pyruvate is a molecule with anti-inflammatory and pro-metabolic effects. Ethyl pyruvate has been shown to ameliorate the clinical and pathological findings of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases in rodents. Its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects are widely investigated in animal [...] Read more.
Ethyl pyruvate is a molecule with anti-inflammatory and pro-metabolic effects. Ethyl pyruvate has been shown to ameliorate the clinical and pathological findings of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases in rodents. Its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects are widely investigated in animal and cellular models. Our study aimed to investigate the mechanism of the impact of Ethyl pyruvate on NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the N9 microglial cell line. Our results indicated that ethyl pyruvate significantly suppressed LPS and ATP-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation, decreased active caspase-1 level, secretion of IL-1β and IL-18 cytokines, and reduced the level of pyroptotic cell death resulting from inflammasome activation. Furthermore, ethyl pyruvate reduced the formation of total and mitochondrial ROS and suppressed inflammasome-induced HMGB1 upregulation and nuclear NF-κB translocation and reversed the inflammasome activation-induced miRNA expression profile for miR-223 in N9 cells. Our study suggests that ethyl pyruvate effectively suppresses the NLRP3 inflammasome activation in microglial cells regulation by miR-223 and NF-κB/HMGB1 axis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Oxidative Stress, Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration)
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17 pages, 2258 KiB  
Article
Fructose Removal from the Diet Reverses Inflammation, Mitochondrial Dysfunction, and Oxidative Stress in Hippocampus
by Arianna Mazzoli, Maria Stefania Spagnuolo, Martina Nazzaro, Cristina Gatto, Susanna Iossa and Luisa Cigliano
Antioxidants 2021, 10(3), 487; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10030487 - 20 Mar 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 8830
Abstract
Young age is often characterized by high consumption of processed foods and fruit juices rich in fructose, which, besides inducing a tendency to become overweight, can promote alterations in brain function. The aim of this study was therefore to (a) clarify brain effects [...] Read more.
Young age is often characterized by high consumption of processed foods and fruit juices rich in fructose, which, besides inducing a tendency to become overweight, can promote alterations in brain function. The aim of this study was therefore to (a) clarify brain effects resulting from fructose consumption in juvenile age, a critical phase for brain development, and (b) verify whether these alterations can be rescued after removing fructose from the diet. Young rats were fed a fructose-rich or control diet for 3 weeks. Fructose-fed rats were then fed a control diet for a further 3 weeks. We evaluated mitochondrial bioenergetics by high-resolution respirometry in the hippocampus, a brain area that is critically involved in learning and memory. Glucose transporter-5, fructose and uric acid levels, oxidative status, and inflammatory and synaptic markers were investigated by Western blotting and spectrophotometric or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. A short-term fructose-rich diet induced mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress, associated with an increased concentration of inflammatory markers and decreased Neurofilament-M and post-synaptic density protein 95. These alterations, except for increases in haptoglobin and nitrotyrosine, were recovered by returning to a control diet. Overall, our results point to the dangerous effects of excessive consumption of fructose in young age but also highlight the effect of partial recovery by switching back to a control diet. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Oxidative Stress, Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration)
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11 pages, 1108 KiB  
Article
Altered Expression of Peroxiredoxins in Mouse Model of Progressive Myoclonus Epilepsy upon LPS-Induced Neuroinflammation
by Mojca Trstenjak Prebanda, Petra Matjan-Štefin, Boris Turk and Nataša Kopitar-Jerala
Antioxidants 2021, 10(3), 357; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10030357 - 27 Feb 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2092
Abstract
Stefin B (cystatin B) is an inhibitor of endo-lysosomal cysteine cathepsin, and the loss-of-function mutations in the stefin B gene were reported in patients with Unverricht–Lundborg disease (EPM1), a form of progressive myoclonus epilepsy. Stefin B-deficient mice, a mouse model of the disease, [...] Read more.
Stefin B (cystatin B) is an inhibitor of endo-lysosomal cysteine cathepsin, and the loss-of-function mutations in the stefin B gene were reported in patients with Unverricht–Lundborg disease (EPM1), a form of progressive myoclonus epilepsy. Stefin B-deficient mice, a mouse model of the disease, display key features of EPM1, including myoclonic seizures. Although the underlying mechanism is not yet completely clear, it was reported that the impaired redox homeostasis and inflammation in the brain contribute to the progression of the disease. In the present study, we investigated if lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-triggered neuroinflammation affected the protein levels of redox-sensitive proteins: thioredoxin (Trx1), thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), peroxiredoxins (Prxs) in brain and cerebella of stefin B-deficient mice. LPS challenge was found to result in a marked elevation of Trx1 and TrxR in the brain and cerebella of stefin B deficient mice, while Prx1 was upregulated only in cerebella after LPS challenge. Mitochondrial peroxiredoxin 3 (Prx3), was upregulated also in the cerebellar tissue lysates prepared from unchallenged stefin B deficient mice, while after LPS challenge Prx3 was upregulated in stefin B deficient brain and cerebella. Our results imply the role of oxidative stress in the progression of the disease. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Oxidative Stress, Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration)
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Review

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21 pages, 1104 KiB  
Review
Pathophysiology of Lipid Droplets in Neuroglia
by Tina Smolič, Robert Zorec and Nina Vardjan
Antioxidants 2022, 11(1), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox11010022 - 23 Dec 2021
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 6601
Abstract
In recent years, increasing evidence regarding the functional importance of lipid droplets (LDs), cytoplasmic storage organelles in the central nervous system (CNS), has emerged. Although not abundantly present in the CNS under normal conditions in adulthood, LDs accumulate in the CNS during development [...] Read more.
In recent years, increasing evidence regarding the functional importance of lipid droplets (LDs), cytoplasmic storage organelles in the central nervous system (CNS), has emerged. Although not abundantly present in the CNS under normal conditions in adulthood, LDs accumulate in the CNS during development and aging, as well as in some neurologic disorders. LDs are actively involved in cellular lipid turnover and stress response. By regulating the storage of excess fatty acids, cholesterol, and ceramides in addition to their subsequent release in response to cell needs and/or environmental stressors, LDs are involved in energy production, in the synthesis of membranes and signaling molecules, and in the protection of cells against lipotoxicity and free radicals. Accumulation of LDs in the CNS appears predominantly in neuroglia (astrocytes, microglia, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells), which provide trophic, metabolic, and immune support to neuronal networks. Here we review the most recent findings on the characteristics and functions of LDs in neuroglia, focusing on astrocytes, the key homeostasis-providing cells in the CNS. We discuss the molecular mechanisms affecting LD turnover in neuroglia under stress and how this may protect neural cell function. We also highlight the role (and potential contribution) of neuroglial LDs in aging and in neurologic disorders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Oxidative Stress, Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration)
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46 pages, 2005 KiB  
Review
Anti-Oxidative, Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Apoptotic Effects of Flavonols: Targeting Nrf2, NF-κB and p53 Pathways in Neurodegeneration
by Maja Jazvinšćak Jembrek, Nada Oršolić, Lucija Mandić, Anja Sadžak and Suzana Šegota
Antioxidants 2021, 10(10), 1628; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox10101628 - 15 Oct 2021
Cited by 42 | Viewed by 5836
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are one of the leading causes of disability and death worldwide. Intracellular transduction pathways that end in the activation of specific transcription factors are highly implicated in the onset and progression of pathological changes related to neurodegeneration, of which those related [...] Read more.
Neurodegenerative diseases are one of the leading causes of disability and death worldwide. Intracellular transduction pathways that end in the activation of specific transcription factors are highly implicated in the onset and progression of pathological changes related to neurodegeneration, of which those related to oxidative stress (OS) and neuroinflammation are particularly important. Here, we provide a brief overview of the key concepts related to OS- and neuroinflammation-mediated neuropathological changes in neurodegeneration, together with the role of transcription factors nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). This review is focused on the transcription factor p53 that coordinates the cellular response to diverse genotoxic stimuli, determining neuronal death or survival. As current pharmacological options in the treatment of neurodegenerative disease are only symptomatic, many research efforts are aimed at uncovering efficient disease-modifying agents. Natural polyphenolic compounds demonstrate powerful anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects, partially acting as modulators of signaling pathways. Herein, we review the current understanding of the therapeutic potential and limitations of flavonols in neuroprotection, with emphasis on their anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic effects along the Nrf2, NF-κB and p53 pathways. A better understanding of cellular and molecular mechanisms of their action may pave the way toward new treatments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Oxidative Stress, Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration)
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