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Pharmaceuticals
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NeuroImmunoEndocrinology
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NeuroImmunoEndocrinology

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Pharmacology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 May 2025 | Viewed by 10038

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lenin Pavón

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Guest Editor
Laboratorio de Psicoinmunología, Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatria Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Ciudad de México 14370, Mexico
Interests: neuro-endocrine-immune interactions in stress; major depression; fibromyalgia; schizophrenia; infection diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Daniel Ortuño-Sahagún

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Instituto de Investigación en Ciencias Biomédicas (IICB), Centro Universitario de Ciencias de las Salud (CUCS), Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico
Interests: multiple sclerosis; neurodegenerative diseases; neuromodulation; gene expression; immunomodulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Gilberto Perez-Sanchez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratorio de Psicoinmunología, de la Dirección de Investigaciones en Neurociencias del Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatria Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz. Ciudad de México 14370, México
Interests: Neurochemistry and neurobiology of Psychiatric Disorders
Dr. Oscar Adelmo Bottasso

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasdisabled, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Interests: Immunopathology of Infectious Diseases, neuroimmune endocrine regulation, clinical research

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the middle of the 20th century, the existence of communication between the endocrine, immune, and nervous system is carried out through the soluble mediators of these three systems: hormones, neurotransmitters, and cytokines as well as the receptors for these soluble mediators expressed in neurons, leukocytes, and glandular cells. The presence of stimuli such as infections, injuries, and perception, as well as the consumption of drugs, depending on the duration and intensity of the stimulus, may modify the neuroendocrine‒immunological interactions, generating a greater susceptibility in the individual that favors the establishment of diseases or hinders the restoration of health when patients are not attended integrally. The study of neuroendocrine‒immunological interactions allows for the development of more efficient therapeutic approaches that improve patients’ qualities of life, improve the therapeutic process, and demonstrate the importance of the integrated management of diseases.

We invite our colleagues who study the effect of drugs on neuroimmunoendocrine communication or its bases to send their research progress to this Special Issue. 

Dr. Lenin Pavón
Dr. Daniel Ortuño-Sahagún
Dr. Gilberto Perez-Sanchez
Dr. Oscar Adelmo Bottasso
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cytokines
  • neurotransmitters
  • hormones
  • infections
  • antibiotics
  • antidepressants
  • antipsychotics
  • drugs
  • stress
  • depression
  • schizophrenia
  • immunomodulation

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 2689 KiB  
Article
Concomitant Treatment with Doxycycline and Rifampicin in Balb/c Mice Infected with Brucella abortus 2308 Fails to Reduce Inflammation and Motor Disability
by José Luis Maldonado-García, Samantha Alvarez-Herrera, Gilberto Pérez-Sánchez, Enrique Becerril-Villanueva, Lenin Pavón, Emiliano Tesoro-Cruz, Manuel Iván Girón-Pérez, Gabriela Hurtado-Alvarado, Gabriela Damián-Morales, Rubén López-Santiago and Martha C. Moreno-Lafont
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(5), 638; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17050638 - 15 May 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1577
Abstract
Brucellosis is an infection widely distributed around the world, and in some countries it is considered a public health problem. Brucellosis causes insidious symptoms that make it difficult to diagnose. Infection can also trigger chronic pain and neuropsychiatric complications. Antibiotics are not always [...] Read more.
Brucellosis is an infection widely distributed around the world, and in some countries it is considered a public health problem. Brucellosis causes insidious symptoms that make it difficult to diagnose. Infection can also trigger chronic pain and neuropsychiatric complications. Antibiotics are not always effective to eradicate infection, contributing to chronicity. We aimed to investigate the effects of antibiotic treatment on proinflammatory cytokines, neurotransmitters, corticosterone, and behavior in a murine model of infecrion of B. abortus strain 2308. Four study groups were created: (a) control; (b) antibiotic control; (c) infected with B. abortus 2308; and (d) infected and treated with rifampicin and doxycycline. We determined B. abortus 2308 colony-forming units (CFUs), the count of dendritic cells, and macrophages in the spleen; serum levels of cytokines and corticosterone; levels of serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine in the brain; and equilibrium, physical strength, anxiety, and hopelessness tests. The infected and treated mice group was compared with the control and infected mice to assess whether treatment is sufficient to recover neuroimmunoendocrine parameters. Our results showed that despite the treatment of brucellosis with rifampicin and doxycycline, antibiotic-treated mice showed a persistence of B. abortus 2308 CFUs, an increased count in macrophage number, and higher circulating levels of corticosterone. Furthermore, the levels of IL-12, IL-6, and TNF-α remained higher. We found a decrease in muscular strength and equilibrium concomitant to changes in neurotransmitters in the hippocampus, cerebellum, and frontal cortex. Our data suggest that the remaining bacterial load after antibiotic administration favors inflammatory, neurochemical, and behavioral alterations, partly explaining the widespread and paradoxical symptomatology experienced by patients with chronic brucellosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue NeuroImmunoEndocrinology)
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19 pages, 1846 KiB  
Article
Risperidone Decreases Expression of Serotonin Receptor-2A (5-HT2A) and Serotonin Transporter (SERT) but Not Dopamine Receptors and Dopamine Transporter (DAT) in PBMCs from Patients with Schizophrenia
by Samantha Alvarez-Herrera, Mauricio Rosel Vales, Gilberto Pérez-Sánchez, Enrique Becerril-Villanueva, Yvonne Flores-Medina, José Luis Maldonado-García, Ricardo Saracco-Alvarez, Raúl Escamilla and Lenin Pavón
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(2), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17020167 - 28 Jan 2024
Viewed by 3911
Abstract
Dopamine and serotonin receptors and transporters play an essential role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia; changes in their expression have been reported in neurons and leukocytes. Each antipsychotic induces a unique pattern in leukocyte function and phenotype. However, the use of polytherapy to [...] Read more.
Dopamine and serotonin receptors and transporters play an essential role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia; changes in their expression have been reported in neurons and leukocytes. Each antipsychotic induces a unique pattern in leukocyte function and phenotype. However, the use of polytherapy to treat schizophrenia makes it challenging to determine the specific effects of risperidone on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in the expression of D3, D5, DAT, 5-HT2A, and SERT in PBMCs from healthy volunteers (HV), drug-naive patients with schizophrenia (PWS), drug-free PWS, and PWS treated with risperidone for up to 40 weeks using quantitative PCR. Our study revealed elevated mRNA levels of D3, DAT, 5-HT2A, and SERT in unmedicated PWS. Treatment with risperidone led to a reduction only in the expression of 5-HT2A and SERT. Furthermore, we observed a moderate correlation between 5-HT2A expression and the positive and negative syndrome scale (PANSS), as well as SERT expression and PANSS scale. We also found a moderate correlation between 5-HT2A and SERT expression and the positive subscale. The duration of risperidone consumption had a significant negative correlation with the expression of 5-HT2A and SERT. Our study introduces the measurement of 5-HT2A and SERT expression in PBMCs as a useful parameter for assessing the response to risperidone in PWS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue NeuroImmunoEndocrinology)
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17 pages, 2821 KiB  
Article
Imipramine Administration in Brucella abortus 2308-Infected Mice Restores Hippocampal Serotonin Levels, Muscle Strength, and Mood, and Decreases Spleen CFU Count
by José Luis Maldonado-García, Gilberto Pérez-Sánchez, Enrique Becerril-Villanueva, Samantha Alvarez-Herrera, Lenin Pavón, Luvia Sánchez-Torres, Gabriel Gutiérrez-Ospina, Manuel Iván Girón-Pérez, Gabriela Damian-Morales, Jesús Octavio Maldonado-Tapia, Rubén López-Santiago and Martha C. Moreno-Lafont
Pharmaceuticals 2023, 16(11), 1525; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph16111525 - 27 Oct 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1794
Abstract
Brucellosis infection causes non-specific symptoms such as fever, chills, sweating, headaches, myalgia, arthralgia, anorexia, fatigue, and mood disorders. In mouse models, it has been associated with increased levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ, a decrease in serotonin and dopamine levels within the hippocampus, [...] Read more.
Brucellosis infection causes non-specific symptoms such as fever, chills, sweating, headaches, myalgia, arthralgia, anorexia, fatigue, and mood disorders. In mouse models, it has been associated with increased levels of IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ, a decrease in serotonin and dopamine levels within the hippocampus, induced loss of muscle strength and equilibrium, and increased anxiety and hopelessness. Imipramine (ImiP), a tricyclic antidepressant, is used to alleviate neuropathic pain. This study evaluated the effects of ImiP on Balb/c mice infected with Brucella abortus 2308 (Ba) at 14- and 28-days post-infection. Serum levels of six cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-12, MCP-1. and IL-10) were assessed by FACS, while the number of bacteria in the spleen was measured via CFU. Serotonin levels in the hippocampus were analyzed via HPLC, and behavioral tests were conducted to assess strength, equilibrium, and mood. Our results showed that mice infected with Brucella abortus 2308 and treated with ImiP for six days (Im6Ba14) had significantly different outcomes compared to infected mice (Ba14) at day 14 post-infection. The mood was enhanced in the forced swimming test (FST) (p < 0.01), tail suspension test (TST) (p < 0.0001), and open-field test (p < 0.0001). Additionally, there was an increase in serotonin levels in the hippocampus (p < 0.001). Furthermore, there was an improvement in equilibrium (p < 0.0001) and muscle strength (p < 0.01). Lastly, there was a decrease in IL-6 levels (p < 0.05) and CFU count in the spleen (p < 0.0001). At 28 days, infected mice that received ImiP for 20 days (Im20Ba28) showed preservation of positive effects compared to infected mice (Ba28). These effects include the following: (1) improved FST (p < 0.0001) and TST (p < 0.0001); (2) better equilibrium (p < 0.0001) and muscle strength (p < 0.0001); (3) decreased IL-6 levels (p < 0.05); and (4) reduced CFU count in the spleen (p < 0.0001). These findings suggest the potential for ImiP to be used as an adjuvant treatment for the symptoms of brucellosis, which requires future studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue NeuroImmunoEndocrinology)
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Review

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23 pages, 2427 KiB  
Review
Almost 50 Years of Monomeric Extracellular Ubiquitin (eUb)
by Ivette Mendoza-Salazar, Ana Fragozo, Aneth P. González-Martínez, Ismael Trejo-Martínez, Rodrigo Arreola, Lenin Pavón, Juan C. Almagro, Luis Vallejo-Castillo, Francisco A. Aguilar-Alonso and Sonia M. Pérez-Tapia
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(2), 185; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17020185 - 31 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1950
Abstract
Monomeric ubiquitin (Ub) is a 76-amino-acid highly conserved protein found in eukaryotes. The biological activity of Ub first described in the 1970s was extracellular, but it quickly gained relevance due to its intracellular role, i.e., post-translational modification of intracellular proteins (ubiquitination) that regulate [...] Read more.
Monomeric ubiquitin (Ub) is a 76-amino-acid highly conserved protein found in eukaryotes. The biological activity of Ub first described in the 1970s was extracellular, but it quickly gained relevance due to its intracellular role, i.e., post-translational modification of intracellular proteins (ubiquitination) that regulate numerous eukaryotic cellular processes. In the following years, the extracellular role of Ub was relegated to the background, until a correlation between higher survival rate and increased serum Ub concentrations in patients with sepsis and burns was observed. Although the mechanism of action (MoA) of extracellular ubiquitin (eUb) is not yet well understood, further studies have shown that it may ameliorate the inflammatory response in tissue injury and multiple sclerosis diseases. These observations, compounded with the high stability and low immunogenicity of eUb due to its high conservation in eukaryotes, have made this small protein a relevant candidate for biotherapeutic development. Here, we review the in vitro and in vivo effects of eUb on immunologic, cardiovascular, and nervous systems, and discuss the potential MoAs of eUb as an anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and cardio- and brain-protective agent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue NeuroImmunoEndocrinology)
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