1 4396 100 MODULATION OF CHRONIC INFLAMMATION BY QUERCETIN: THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ON OBESITY. OBESITY HAS BECOME A MAJOR RISK FACTOR FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC DISEASES SUCH AS INSULIN RESISTANCE, TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS, AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. MOREOVER, OBESITY INDUCES CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IN ADIPOSE TISSUE, LIVER, SKELETAL MUSCLE, AND THE VASCULAR SYSTEM. QUERCETIN IS THE MAJOR REPRESENTATIVE OF THE FLAVONOID SUBCLASS OF FLAVONOLS, WHICH IS UBIQUITOUSLY CONTAINED WITHIN NATURAL PLANTS SUCH AS GREEN TEA, AND VEGETABLES, INCLUDING ONIONS AND APPLES. RESEARCHERS HAVE FOCUSED GREATER ATTENTION TO THE BENEFICIAL PHYSIOLOGICAL ROLES OF QUERCETIN, WHICH HAS ANTI-OXIDATIVE, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, AND ANTI-FIBROTIC EFFECTS ON INSULIN RESISTANCE AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS IN OBESITY-RELATED DISEASES. ALSO, THE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS OF QUERCETIN ON INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA HAVE BEEN DEMONSTRATED IN OBESITY. IN ADDITION, THERE IS INCREASING EVIDENCE THAT QUERCETIN IS ASSOCIATED WITH EPIGENETIC ACTIVITIES IN CANCER, AND IN MATERNAL UNDERNUTRITION DURING GESTATION AND LACTATION. IN THIS REVIEW, WE FOCUS ON THE CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF QUERCETIN, ITS DIETARY SOURCES IN OBESITY, AND ITS ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS ON INSULIN RESISTANCE, ATHEROSCLEROSIS, INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA, AND MATERNAL UNDER-NUTRITION WITH EPIGENETIC ACTIVITY. 2020 2 6872 40 [POLYPHENOLS AS PROMISING BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS]. POLYPHENOLS ARE DIVERSE AND WIDESPREAD BIOACTIVE PLANT-BASED COMPOUNDS. THESE COMPOUNDS ARE FOUND IN VARIOUS FOODS SUCH AS BERRIES, FRUITS, VEGETABLES, CEREALS, NUTS, COFFEE, CACAO, SPICES, SEEDS. THEY ARE DIVIDED INTO PHENOLIC ACIDS, STILBENES, FLAVONOIDS, LIGNANS DEPENDING ON THEIR MOLECULAR STRUCTURE. THEY ATTRACT THE ATTENTION OF RESEARCHERS DUE TO WIDE RANGE OF BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS ON HUMAN BODY. THE PURPOSE OF THIS WORK WAS TO ANALYZE MODERN SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS ON THE BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF POLYPHENOLS. MATERIAL AND METHODS. THE REVIEW IS BASED ON PUBLICATIONS PRESENTED IN THE PUBMED, GOOGLE SCHOLAR, RESEARCHGATE, ELSEVIER, ELIBRARY, CYBERLENINKA DATABASES USING "POLYPHENOLS", "FLAVONOIDS", "RESVERATROL", "QUERCETIN", "CATECHINS" AS KEY WORDS. PREFERENCE WAS GIVEN TO ORIGINAL RESEARCHES OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS PUBLISHED IN REFEREED JOURNALS. RESULTS. OXIDATIVE STRESS, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, MICROBIOME DISORDERS, INSULIN RESISTANCE, EXCESSIVE PROTEIN GLYCATION, AND GENOTOXIC EFFECTS ARE AT THE HEART OF THE PATHOGENESIS OF MANY DISEASES, INCLUDING THOSE ASSOCIATED WITH AGE. A LARGE AMOUNT OF MATERIAL HAS BEEN ACCUMULATED ON THE ANTIOXIDANT, ANTICARCINOGENIC, EPIGENETIC, METABOLIC, GEROPROTECTIVE, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTIVIRAL EFFECTS OF POLYPHENOLS. THIS GIVES REASONS TO CONSIDER POLYPHENOLS AS VERY PROMISING MICRONUTRIENTS, WHICH INCLUSION IN THE DIET CAN REDUCE THE RISK OF DEVELOPING CARDIOVASCULAR, ONCOLOGICAL, NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES, DIABETES MELLITUS, OBESITY, METABOLIC SYNDROME, PREMATURE AGING, THAT IS, THE MAIN CAUSES OF DEATH, A DECREASE IN THE DURATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE OF A MODERN PERSON. CONCLUSION. EXPANDING THE RANGE OF PRODUCTS ENRICHED WITH POLYPHENOLS WITH THEIR HIGH BIOAVAILABILITY IS A PROMISING AREA OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF PRODUCTION IN ORDER TO PREVENT SOCIALLY SIGNIFICANT AGE-ASSOCIATED DISEASES. 2023 3 6290 27 THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF NUTRITIONAL GENOMICS TOOLS IN VALIDATING HIGH HEALTH FOODS FOR CANCER CONTROL: BROCCOLI AS EXAMPLE. NUTRITIONAL GENOMICS REFLECTS GENE/NUTRIENT INTERACTIONS, UTILISING HIGH-THROUGHPUT GENOMIC TOOLS IN NUTRITION RESEARCH. THE FIELD ALSO CONSIDERS THE CONTRIBUTION OF INDIVIDUAL GENOTYPES TO WELLNESS AND THE RISK OF CHRONIC DISEASE (NUTRIGENETICS), AND HOW SUCH GENETIC PREDISPOSITION MAY BE MODIFIED BY APPROPRIATE DIETS. FOR EXAMPLE, HIGH CONSUMPTION OF BRASSICACEOUS VEGETABLES, INCLUDING BROCCOLI, HAS REGULARLY ASSOCIATED WITH LOW CANCER RISK. BIOACTIVE CHEMICALS IN BROCCOLI INCLUDE GLUCOSINOLATES, PLANT PIGMENTS INCLUDING KAEMPFEROL, QUERCETIN, LUTEIN AND CAROTENOIDS, VARIOUS VITAMINS, MINERALS AND AMINO ACIDS. CANCER PREVENTION IS HYPOTHESISED TO ACT THROUGH VARIOUS MECHANISMS INCLUDING MODULATION OF XENOBIOTIC METABOLISING ENZYMES, NF-E2 P45-RELATED FACTOR-2 (NRF2)-MEDIATED STRESS-RESPONSE MECHANISMS, AND PROTECTION AGAINST GENOMIC INSTABILITY. BROCCOLI AND BROCCOLI EXTRACTS ALSO REGULATE THE PROGRESSION OF CANCER THROUGH ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECTS, EFFECTS ON SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION, EPIGENETIC EFFECTS AND MODULATION OF THE COLONIC MICROFLORA. HUMAN INTERVENTION STUDIES WITH BROCCOLI AND RELATED FOODS, USING STANDARD BIOMARKER METHODOLOGIES, REVEAL PART OF A COMPLEX PICTURE. NUTRIGENOMIC APPROACHES, ESPECIALLY TRANSCRIPTOMICS, ENABLE SIMULTANEOUS STUDY OF VARIOUS SIGNALLING PATHWAYS AND NETWORKS. PHENOTYPIC, GENETIC AND/OR METABOLIC STRATIFICATION MAY IDENTIFY INDIVIDUALS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND POSITIVELY TO FOODS OR DIETS. JOINTLY, THESE TECHNOLOGIES CAN PROVIDE PROOF OF HUMAN EFFICACY, AND MAY BE ESSENTIAL TO ENSURE EFFECTIVE MARKET TRANSFER AND UPTAKE OF BROCCOLI AND RELATED FOODS. 2012 4 4598 27 NATURAL PRODUCTS: THE ROLE AND MECHANISM IN LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN OXIDATION AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS. ATHEROSCLEROSIS IS A CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY, METABOLIC, AND EPIGENETIC DISEASE, WHICH LEADS TO THE LIFE-THREATENING CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE. EMERGING STUDIES FROM BENCH TO BEDSIDE HAVE DEMONSTRATED THE PIVOTAL ROLE OF LOW-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN (LDL) OXIDATION IN THE INITIATION AND PROGRESSION OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS. THIS ARTICLE HEREBY REVIEWS OXIDATION MECHANISM OF LDL, AND THE PRO-ATHEROGENIC AND BIOMARKER ROLE OF OXIDIZED LDL IN ATHEROSCLEROSIS. WE ALSO REVIEW THE PHARMACOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF SEVERAL REPRESENTATIVE NATURAL PRODUCTS (VITAMIN E, RESVERATROL, QUERCETIN, PROBUCOL, TANSHINONE IIA, EPIGALLOCATECHIN GALLATE, AND LYCOPENE) IN PROTECTING AGAINST LDL OXIDATION AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS. CLINICAL AND BASIC RESEARCH SUPPORTS THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF THESE NATURAL PRODUCTS IN INHIBITING LDL OXIDATION AND PREVENTING ATHEROSCLEROSIS, BUT THE DATA ARE STILL CONTROVERSIAL. THIS MAY BE RELATED TO FACTORS SUCH AS THE POPULATION AND THE DOSAGE AND TIME OF TAKING NATURAL PRODUCTS INVOLVED IN DIFFERENT STUDIES. UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANISM OF LDL OXIDATION AND EFFECT OF OXIDIZED LDL HELP RESEARCHERS TO FIND NOVEL THERAPIES AGAINST ATHEROSCLEROSIS. 2021 5 5919 19 TARGETING CELLULAR SENESCENCE FOR AGE-RELATED DISEASES: PATH TO CLINICAL TRANSLATION. BEYOND THE PALLIATIVE REACH OF TODAY'S MEDICINES, MEDICAL THERAPIES OF TOMORROW AIM TO TREAT THE ROOT CAUSE OF AGE-RELATED DISEASES BY TARGETING FUNDAMENTAL AGING MECHANISMS. PILLARS OF AGING INCLUDE, AMONG OTHERS, GENOMIC INSTABILITY, TELOMERE ATTRITION, EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, LOSS OF PROTEOSTASIS, DYSREGULATED NUTRIENT SENSING, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, CELLULAR SENESCENCE, STEM CELL EXHAUSTION, AND ALTERED INTERCELLULAR COMMUNICATION. THE UNITARY THEORY OF FUNDAMENTAL AGING PROCESSES POSITS THAT BY TARGETING ONE FUNDAMENTAL AGING PROCESS, IT MAY BE FEASIBLE TO IMPACT SEVERAL OR ALL OTHERS GIVEN ITS INTERDEPENDENCE. INDEED, PATHOLOGIC ACCUMULATION OF SENESCENT CELLS IS IMPLICATED IN CHRONIC DISEASES AND AGE-ASSOCIATED MORBIDITIES, SUGGESTING THAT SENESCENT CELLS ARE A GOOD TARGET FOR WHOLE-BODY AGING INTERVENTION. PRECLINICAL STUDIES USING SENOLYTICS, AGENTS THAT SELECTIVELY ELIMINATE SENESCENT CELLS, AND SENOMORPHICS, AGENTS THAT INHIBIT PRODUCTION OR RELEASE OF SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED SECRETORY PHENOTYPE FACTORS, SHOW PROMISE IN SEVERAL AGING AND DISEASE PRECLINICAL MODELS. EARLY CLINICAL TRIALS USING A SENOLYTIC COMBINATION (DASATINIB AND QUERCETIN), AND OTHER SENOLYTICS INCLUDING FLAVONOID, FISETIN, AND BCL-XL INHIBITORS, ILLUSTRATE THE POTENTIAL OF SENOLYTICS TO ALLEVIATE AGE-RELATED DYSFUNCTION AND DISEASES INCLUDING WOUND HEALING. TRANSLATION INTO CLINICAL APPLICATIONS REQUIRES PARALLEL CLINICAL TRIALS ACROSS INSTITUTIONS TO VALIDATE SENOTHERAPEUTICS AS A VANGUARD FOR DELAYING, PREVENTING, OR TREATING AGE-RELATED DISORDERS AND AESTHETIC AGING. 2022 6 616 33 BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN OXIDATIVE STRESS-MEDIATED DISEASES: TARGETING THE NRF2/ARE SIGNALING PATHWAY AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION. OXIDATIVE STRESS IS A PATHOLOGICAL CONDITION OCCURRING DUE TO AN IMBALANCE BETWEEN THE OXIDANTS AND ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE SYSTEMS IN THE BODY. NUCLEAR FACTOR E2-RELATED FACTOR 2 (NRF2), ENCODED BY THE GENE NFE2L2, IS THE MASTER REGULATOR OF PHASE II ANTIOXIDANT ENZYMES THAT PROTECT AGAINST OXIDATIVE STRESS AND INFLAMMATION. NRF2/ARE SIGNALING HAS BEEN CONSIDERED AS A PROMISING TARGET AGAINST OXIDATIVE STRESS-MEDIATED DISEASES LIKE DIABETES, FIBROSIS, NEUROTOXICITY, AND CANCER. THE CONSUMPTION OF DIETARY PHYTOCHEMICALS ACTS AS AN EFFECTIVE MODULATOR OF NRF2/ARE IN VARIOUS ACUTE AND CHRONIC DISEASES. IN THE PRESENT REVIEW, WE DISCUSSED THE ROLE OF NRF2 IN DIABETES, ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD), PARKINSON'S DISEASE (PD), CANCER, AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS. ADDITIONALLY, WE DISCUSSED THE PHYTOCHEMICALS LIKE CURCUMIN, QUERCETIN, RESVERATROL, EPIGALLOCATECHIN GALLATE, APIGENIN, SULFORAPHANE, AND URSOLIC ACID THAT HAVE EFFECTIVELY MODIFIED NRF2 SIGNALING AND PREVENTED VARIOUS DISEASES IN BOTH IN VITRO AND IN VIVO MODELS. BASED ON THE LITERATURE, IT IS CLEAR THAT DIETARY PHYTOCHEMICALS CAN PREVENT DISEASES BY (1) BLOCKING OXIDATIVE STRESS-INHIBITING INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS THROUGH INHIBITING KEAP1 OR ACTIVATING NRF2 EXPRESSION AND ITS DOWNSTREAM TARGETS IN THE NUCLEUS, INCLUDING HO-1, SOD, AND CAT; (2) REGULATING NRF2 SIGNALING BY VARIOUS KINASES LIKE GSK3BETA, PI3/AKT, AND MAPK; AND (3) MODIFYING EPIGENETIC MODULATION, SUCH AS METHYLATION, AT THE NRF2 PROMOTER REGION; HOWEVER, FURTHER INVESTIGATION INTO OTHER UPSTREAM SIGNALING MOLECULES LIKE NRF2 AND THE EFFECT OF PHYTOCHEMICALS ON THEM STILL NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED IN THE NEAR FUTURE. 2021 7 4523 47 MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO PROSTATITIS. THE MODERN CLINICAL RESEARCH ON PROSTATITIS STARTED WITH THE WORK OF STAMEY AND COWORKERS WHO DEVELOPED THE BASIC PRINCIPLES WE ARE STILL USING. THEY ESTABLISHED THE SEGMENTED CULTURE TECHNIQUE FOR LOCALIZING THE INFECTIONS IN THE MALES TO THE URETHRA, THE BLADDER, OR THE PROSTATE AND TO DIFFERENTIATE THE MAIN CATEGORIES OF PROSTATITIS. SUCH CATEGORIES WITH SLIGHT MODIFICATIONS ARE STILL USED ACCORDING TO THE NIH CLASSIFICATION: ACUTE BACTERIAL PROSTATITIS, CHRONIC BACTERIAL PROSTATITIS, CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN SYNDROME (CPPS) AND ASYMPTOMATIC PROSTATITIS. PROSTATIC INFLAMMATION IS CONSIDERED AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN INFLUENCING BOTH PROSTATIC GROWTH AND PROGRESSION OF SYMPTOMS OF BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA AND PROSTATITIS. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION/NEUROINFLAMMATION IS A RESULT OF A DEREGULATED ACUTE PHASE RESPONSE OF THE INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM AFFECTING SURROUNDING NEURAL TISSUE AT MOLECULAR, STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL LEVELS. CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS SUGGEST THAT CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CORRELATES WITH CHRONIC PROSTATITIS/CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN SYNDROME (CP/CPPS) AND BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERPLASIA (BPH) AND AN HISTORY OF CLINICAL CHRONIC PROSTATITIS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASES THE ODDS FOR PROSTATE CANCER. THE NIHNIDDK CLASSIFICATION BASED ON THE USE OF THE MICROBIOLOGICAL 4- GLASSES LOCALIZATION TEST OR SIMPLIFIED 2-GLASSES TEST, IS CURRENTLY ACCEPTED WORLDWIDE. THE UPOINT SYSTEM IDENTIFIES GROUPS OF CLINICIANS WITH HOMOGENEOUS CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND IS USED TO RECOGNIZE PHENOTYPES TO BE SUBMITTED TO SPECIFIC TREATMENTS. THE UPOINTS ALGORITHM IMPLEMENTED THE ORIGINAL UPOINT ADDING TO THE URINARY DOMAINS (U), PSYCHO-SOCIAL (P), ORGANSPECIFIC (O), INFECTION (I), NEUROLOGICAL (N), MUSCLE TENSION AND TENDERNESS (T) A FURTHER DOMAIN RELATED TO SEXUALITY (S). IN FACT SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION (ERECTILE, EJACULATORY, LIBIDO LOSS) HAS BEEN DESCRIBED IN 46-92% OF CASES WITH A HIGH IMPACT ON THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF PATIENTS WITH CP/CPPS. PROSTATIC ULTRASOUND REPRESENTS THE MOST POPULAR IMAGING TEST IN THE WORK-UP OF EITHER ACUTE AND CHRONIC PROSTATITIS ALTHOUGH NO SPECIFIC HYPO-HYPERECHOIC PATTERN HAS BEEN CLEARLY ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC BACTERIAL PROSTATITIS AND CPPS. USE OF A DIGITAL-PROCESSING SOFTWARE TO CALCULATE THE EXTENSION OF PROSTATIC CALCIFICATION AREA AT ULTRASOUND DEMONSTRATED A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF PROSTATIC CALCIFICATION IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC BACTERIAL PROSTATITIS. MULTIPARAMETRIC MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MPMRI) IS THE CURRENT STATE-OF-THE ART IMAGING MODALITY IN THE ASSESSMENT OF PATIENTS WITH PROSTATE CANCER ALTHOUGH A VARIETY OF BENIGN CONDITIONS, INCLUDING INFLAMMATION, MAY MIMIC PROSTATE CANCER AND ACT AS CONFOUNDING FACTORS IN THE DISCRIMINATION BETWEEN NEOPLASTIC AND NON-NEOPLASTIC LESIONS. BACTERIA CAN INFECT PROSTATE GLAND BY: ASCENDING THE URETHRA, REFLUX OF URINE INTO THE PROSTATIC DUCTS, DIRECT INOCULATION OF BACTERIA THROUGH INSERTED BIOPSY NEEDLES OR HEMATOGENOUS SEEDING. ENTEROBACTERIACEAE ARE THE PREDOMINANT PATHOGENS IN ACUTE AND CHRONIC BACTERIAL PROSTATITIS, BUT AN INCREASING ROLE OF ENTEROCOCCI HAS BEEN REPORTED. MANY STRAINS OF THESE UROPATHOGENS EXHIBIT THE ABILITY TO FORM BIOFILM AND MULTIDRUG- RESISTANCE. SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS (STI) AGENTS, IN PARTICULAR CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS AND MYCOPLASMA GENITALIUM, HAVE BEEN ALSO CONSIDERED AS CAUSATIVE PATHOGENS OF CHRONIC BACTERIAL PROSTATITIS. ON THE CONTRARY THE EFFECTIVE ROLE IN GENITAL DISEASES OF OTHER "GENITAL MYCOPLASMAS" IS STILL A MUCH DEBATED ISSUE. SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED INFECTIONS AGENTS SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED BY MOLECULAR METHODS IN BOTH PATIENT AND SEXUAL PARTNER. "NEXT GENERATION" INVESTIGATIONS, SUCH AS CYTOKINE ANALYSIS, CYTOLOGICAL TYPING OF IMMUNE CELLS COULD HELP STRATIFYING THE IMMUNE RESPONSE. EPIGENETIC DYSREGULATION OF INFLAMMATORY FACTORS SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED ACCORDING TO SYSTEMIC AND COMPARTMENT-SPECIFIC SIGNALS. THE SEARCH FOR BIOMARKERS SHOULD ALSO INCLUDE EVALUATION OF HORMONAL PATHWAYS, AS MEASUREMENT OF ESTROGEN LEVELS IN SEMEN. ANTIMICROBIALS ARE THE FIRST LINE AGENTS FOR THE TREATMENT OF BACTERIAL PROSTATITIS. THE SUCCESS OF ANTIMICROBIAL TREATMENT DEPENDS ON THE ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY AND THE PHARMACOKINETIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DRUG WHICH MUST REACH HIGH CONCENTRATIONS IN PROSTATE SECRETION AND PROSTATE TISSUE. ACUTE BACTERIAL PROSTATITIS CAN BE A SERIOUS INFECTION WITH A POTENTIAL RISK FOR UROSEPSIS FOR IINITIAL TREATMENT OF SEVERELY ILL PATIENTS, INTRAVENOUS ADMINISTRATION OF HIGH DOSES OF BACTERICIDAL ANTIMICROBIALS, SUCH AS BROAD-SPECTRUM PENICILLINS, THIRD-GENERATION CEPHALOSPORINS OR FLUOROQUINOLONES, IS RECOMMENDED IN COMBINATION WITH AN AMINOGLYCOSIDE. USE OF PIPERACILLIN-TAZOBACTAM AND MEROPENEM IS JUSTIFIED IN PRESENCE OF MULTIRESISTANT GRAMNEGATIVE PATHOGENS. THE ANTIBIOTIC TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PROSTATITIS IS CURRENTLY BASED ON THE USE OF FLUOROQUINOLONES THAT, GIVEN FOR 2 TO 4 WEEKS, CURED ABOUT 70% OF MEN WITH CHRONIC BACTERIAL PROSTATITIS. FOR THE TREATMENT OF CHLAMYDIAL PROSTATITIS MACROLIDES WERE SHOWN TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN FLUOROQUINOLONES, WHEREAS NO DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED IN MICROBIOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL EFFICACY BETWEEN MACROLIDES AND TETRACYCLINES FOR THE TREATMENT OF INFECTIONS CAUSED BY INTRACELLULAR PATHOGENS. AMINOGLYCOSIDES AND FOSFOMYCIN COULD BE CONSIDERED AS A THERAPEUTIC ALTERNATIVE FOR THE TREATMENT OF QUINOLONE RESISTANT PROSTATITIS. USE OF ALPHA-BLOCKERS IN CP/CPPS PATIENTS WITH URINARY SYMPTOMS AND ANALGESICS +/- NON STEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS (NSAID), IN PRESENCE OF PAIN DEMONSTRATED A REDUCTION OF SYMPTOMS REDUCTION AND AN IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE, ALTHOUGH LONG TERM USE OF NSAID IS LIMITED BY SIDE EFFECT PROFILE. HOWEVER, THE MULTIMODAL THERAPEUTIC REGIMEN BY CONTEMPORARY USE OF ALPHABLOCKERS, ANTIBIOTICS AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY SHOWED A BETTER CONTROL OF PROSTATITIS SYMPTOMS THAN SINGLE DRUG TREATMENT. NOVEL THERAPEUTIC SUBSTANCES FOR THE TREATMENT OF PAIN, SUCH AS THE CANNABINOID ANANDAMIDE WOULD BE HIGHLY INTERESTING TO TEST. AN ALTERNATIVE FOR THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC PROSTATITIS/CHRONIC PELVIC PAIN SYNDROME IS PHYTOTHERAPY, AS PRIMARY THERAPY OR IN ASSOCIATION WITH OTHER DRUGS. QUERCETIN, POLLEN EXTRACT, EXTRACT OF SERENOA REPENS AND OTHER MIXTURES OF HERBAL EXTRACTS SHOWED A POSITIVE EFFECT ON SYMPTOMS AND QUALITY OF LIFE WITHOUT SIDE EFFECTS. THE ASSOCIATION OF CP/CPPS WITH ALTERATIONS OF INTESTINAL FUNCTION HAS BEEN DESCRIBED. DIET HAS ITS EFFECTS ON INFLAMMATION BY REGULATION OF THE COMPOSITION OF INTESTINAL FLORA AND DIRECT ACTION ON THE INTESTINAL CELLS (STERILE INFLAMMATION). INTESTINAL BACTERIA (MICROBIOTA) INTERACTS WITH FOOD INFLUENCING THE METABOLIC, IMMUNE AND INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE OF THE ORGANISM. THE INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA HAS PROTECTIVE FUNCTION AGAINST PATHOGENIC BACTERIA, METABOLIC FUNCTION BY SYNTHESIS OF VITAMINS, DECOMPOSITION OF BILE ACIDS AND PRODUCTION OF TROPHIC FACTORS (BUTYRATE), AND MODULATION OF THE INTESTINAL IMMUNE SYSTEM. THE ALTERATION OF THE MICROBIOTA IS CALLED "DYSBIOSIS" CAUSING INVASIVE INTESTINAL DISEASES PATHOLOGIES (LEAKY GUT SYNDROME AND FOOD INTOLERANCES, IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME OR CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES) AND CORRELATING WITH NUMEROUS SYSTEMIC DISEASES INCLUDING ACUTE AND CHRONIC PROSTATITIS. ADMINISTRATION OF LIVE PROBIOTICS BACTERIA CAN BE USED TO REGULATE THE BALANCE IF INTESTINAL FLORA. SESSIONS OF HYDROCOLONTHERAPY CAN REPRESENT AN INTEGRATION TO THIS THERAPEUTIC APPROACH. FINALLY, MICROBIOLOGICAL EXAMINATION OF SEXUAL PARTNERS CAN OFFER SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION FOR TREATMENT. 2019 8 4652 27 NEUROPROTECTION WITH NATURAL ANTIOXIDANTS AND NUTRACEUTICALS IN THE CONTEXT OF BRAIN CELL DEGENERATION: THE EPIGENETIC CONNECTION. BIOACTIVE ANTIOXIDANT AGENTS PRESENT IN SELECTED PLANTS ARE KNOWN TO PROVIDE THE FIRST LINE OF BIOLOGICAL DEFENSE AGAINST OXIDATIVE STRESS. IN PARTICULAR, SOLUBLE VITAMIN C, E, CAROTENOIDS AND PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS HAVE DEMONSTRATED CRUCIAL BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS IN CELLS AGAINST OXIDATIVE DAMAGE, PREVENTING PREVALENT CHRONIC DISEASES, SUCH AS DIABETES, CANCER AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. THE REPORTED WIDE RANGE OF EFFECTS THAT INCLUDED ANTI-AGING, ANTI-ATHEROSCLEROSIS, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTICANCER ACTIVITY WERE STUDIED AGAINST DEGENERATIVE PATHOLOGIES OF THE BRAIN. VITAMINS AND DIFFERENT PHYTOCHEMICALS ARE IMPORTANT EPIGENETIC MODIFIERS THAT PREVENT NEURODEGENERATION. IN ORDER TO EXPLORE THE POTENTIAL ANTIOXIDANT SOURCES IN FUNCTIONAL FOODS AND NUTRACEUTICALS AGAINST NEURODEGENERATION, THE PRESENT PAPER AIMS TO SHOW A COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY AT CHEMICAL AND CELLULAR LEVELS. THE EFFECTS OF THE DIFFERENT BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS AVAILABLE AND THEIR ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY THROUGH AN EPIGENETIC POINT OF VIEW ARE ALSO DISCUSSED. 2019 9 6436 28 THERAPEUTIC ACTIONS OF TEA PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS AGAINST OXIDATIVE STRESS AND INFLAMMATION AS CENTRAL MEDIATORS IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION OF HEALTH PROBLEMS: A REVIEW FOCUSING ON MICRORNA REGULATION. MANY HEALTH PROBLEMS INCLUDING CHRONIC DISEASES ARE CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH OXIDATIVE STRESS AND INFLAMMATION. TEA HAS ABUNDANT PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS WITH VARIOUS HEALTH BENEFITS INCLUDING ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES. THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON THE PRESENT UNDERSTANDING OF THE IMPACT OF TEA PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS ON THE EXPRESSION OF MIRNAS, AND ELUCIDATES THE BIOCHEMICAL AND MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL AND POST-TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROTECTIVE ACTIONS OF TEA PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS AGAINST OXIDATIVE STRESS- AND/OR INFLAMMATION-MEDIATED DISEASES. CLINICAL STUDIES SHOWED THAT DRINKING TEA OR TAKING CATECHIN SUPPLEMENT ON A DAILY BASIS PROMOTED THE ENDOGENOUS ANTIOXIDANT DEFENSE SYSTEM OF THE BODY WHILE INHIBITING INFLAMMATORY FACTORS. THE REGULATION OF CHRONIC DISEASES BASED ON EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, AND THE EPIGENETIC-BASED THERAPIES INVOLVING DIFFERENT TEA PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS, HAVE BEEN INSUFFICIENTLY STUDIED. THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS AND APPLICATION STRATEGIES OF MIR-27 AND MIR-34 INVOLVED IN OXIDATIVE STRESS RESPONSE AND MIR-126 AND MIR-146 INVOLVED IN INFLAMMATION PROCESS WERE PRELIMINARILY INVESTIGATED. SOME EMERGING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT TEA PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS MAY PROMOTE EPIGENETIC CHANGES, INVOLVING NON-CODING RNA REGULATION, DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATION, UBIQUITIN AND SUMO MODIFICATIONS. HOWEVER, EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS AND EPIGENETIC-BASED DISEASE THERAPIES INVOLVING PHENOLIC COMPOUNDS FROM DIFFERENT TEAS, AND THE POTENTIAL CROSS-TALKS AMONG THE EPIGENETIC EVENTS, REMAIN UNDERSTUDIED. 2023 10 4786 36 NUTRITION AND HEALTH DURING MID-LIFE: SEARCHING FOR SOLUTIONS AND MEETING CHALLENGES FOR THE AGING POPULATION. INTERACTIONS BETWEEN GENETIC (GENOME) AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS (EPIGENOME) OPERATE DURING A PERSON'S ENTIRE LIFESPAN. THE AGING PROCESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH SEVERAL CELLULAR AND ORGANIC FUNCTIONAL ALTERATIONS THAT, AT THE END, CAUSE MULTI-ORGANIC CELL FAILURE. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS OF AGING ARE MODIFIABLE BY APPROPRIATE PREVENTIVE ACTIONS MEDIATED BY SIRTUINS, CALORIC INPUT, DIET COMPONENTS, ADIPOSE TISSUE-RELATED INFLAMMATORY REACTIONS, AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY. THE MEDITERRANEAN LIFESTYLE HAS BEEN FOR MANY MILLENNIA A DAILY HABIT FOR PEOPLE IN WESTERN CIVILIZATIONS LIVING AROUND THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA WHO WORKED INTENSIVELY AND SURVIVED WITH VERY FEW SEASONAL FOODS. A HIGH ADHERENCE TO THE TRADITIONAL MEDITERRANEAN DIET IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOW MORTALITY (HIGHER LONGEVITY) AND REDUCED RISK OF DEVELOPING CHRONIC DISEASES, INCLUDING CANCER, THE METABOLIC SYNDROME, DEPRESSION AND CARDIOVASCULAR AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES. REPORTS INDICATE THAT SOME DIETARY COMPONENTS, SUCH AS OLIVE OIL, ANTIOXIDANTS, OMEGA-3 AND -6 POLYUNSATURATED ACIDS, POLYPHENOLS AND FLAVONOIDS, MEDIATE BENEFICIAL ANTI-AGING EFFECTS (ANTI-CHRONIC DISEASES AND INCREASED LONGEVITY). EQUALLY, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY DISPLAYS A POSITIVE EFFECT, PRODUCING CALORIC CONSUMPTION AND REGULATION OF ADIPOSE AND PANCREATIC FUNCTION. THE PREDICTIVE STRENGTH OF SOME FOOD PATTERNS MAY BE A WAY OF DEVELOPING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FOOD AND HEALTH POLICIES. THIS PAPER WILL DISCUSS SEVERAL WAYS OF IMPROVING HEALTH DURING MID-LIFE, FOCUSING ON CERTAIN GROUPS OF FUNCTIONAL FOODS AND HEALTHY HABITS WHICH MAY REDUCE OR PREVENT AGE-RELATED CHRONIC DISEASES. 2013 11 5046 36 PHARMACOLOGICAL AND DIETARY ANTIOXIDANT THERAPIES FOR CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE. THE PROGRESSION AND EXACERBATIONS OF CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD) ARE INTIMATELY ASSOCIATED WITH TOBACCO SMOKE/BIOMASS FUEL-INDUCED OXIDATIVE AND ALDEHYDE/CARBONYL STRESS. ALTERATIONS IN REDOX SIGNALING PROINFLAMMATORY KINASES AND TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS, STEROID RESISTANCE, UNFOLDED PROTEIN RESPONSE, MUCUS HYPERSECRETION, EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX REMODELING, AUTOPHAGY/APOPTOSIS, EPIGENETIC CHANGES, CELLULAR SENESCENCE/AGING, ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION, AUTOIMMUNITY, AND SKELETAL MUSCLE DYSFUNCTION ARE SOME OF THE PATHOLOGICAL HALLMARKS OF COPD. IN LIGHT OF THE ABOVE IT WOULD BE PRUDENT TO TARGET SYSTEMIC AND LOCAL OXIDATIVE STRESS WITH AGENTS THAT CAN MODULATE THE ANTIOXIDANTS/ REDOX SYSTEM OR BY BOOSTING THE ENDOGENOUS LEVELS OF ANTIOXIDANTS FOR THE TREATMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF COPD. IDENTIFICATION OF VARIOUS ANTIOXIDANT AGENTS, SUCH AS THIOL MOLECULES (GLUTATHIONE AND MUCOLYTIC DRUGS, SUCH AS N-ACETYL-L-CYSTEINE, N-ACYSTELYN, ERDOSTEINE, FUDOSTEINE, ERGOTHIONEINE, AND CARBOCYSTEINE LYSINE SALT), DIETARY NATURAL PRODUCT-DERIVED POLYPHENOLS AND OTHER COMPOUNDS (CURCUMIN, RESVERATROL, GREEN TEA CATECHINS, QUERCETIN SULFORAPHANE, LYCOPENE, ACAI, ALPHA-LIPOIC ACID, TOCOTRIENOLS, AND APOCYNIN) HAVE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO MODULATE VARIOUS BIOCHEMICAL ASPECTS OF COPD. VARIOUS RESEARCHES AND CLINICAL TRIALS HAVE REVEALED THAT THESE ANTIOXIDANTS CAN DETOXIFY FREE RADICALS AND OXIDANTS, CONTROL EXPRESSION OF REDOX AND GLUTATHIONE BIOSYNTHESIS GENES, CHROMATIN REMODELING, AND ULTIMATELY INFLAMMATORY GENE EXPRESSION. IN ADDITION, MODULATION OF CIGARETTE SMOKE-INDUCED OXIDATIVE STRESS AND RELATED CELLULAR CHANGES HAVE ALSO BEEN REPORTED TO BE EFFECTED BY SYNTHETIC MOLECULES. THIS INCLUDES SPECIFIC SPIN TRAPS LIKE ALPHA-PHENYL-N-TERT-BUTYL NITRONE, A CATALYTIC ANTIOXIDANT (ECSOD MIMETIC), PORPHYRINS (AEOL 10150 AND AEOL 10113), AND A SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE MIMETIC M40419, LIPID PEROXIDATION AND PROTEIN CARBONYLATION BLOCKERS/INHIBITORS, SUCH AS EDARAVONE AND LAZAROIDS/TIRILAZAD, MYELOPEROXIDASE INHIBITORS, AS WELL AS SPECIALIZED PRO-RESOLVING MEDIATORS/INFLAMMATORY RESOLVING LIPID MEDIATORS, OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS, VITAMIN D, AND HYDROGEN SULFIDE. ACCORDING TO VARIOUS STUDIES IT APPEARS THAT THE ADMINISTRATION OF MULTIPLE ANTIOXIDANTS COULD BE A MORE EFFECTIVE MODE USED IN THE TREATMENT OF COPD. IN THIS REVIEW, VARIOUS PHARMACOLOGICAL AND DIETARY APPROACHES TO ENHANCE LUNG ANTIOXIDANT LEVELS AND BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF ANTIOXIDANT THERAPEUTICS IN TREATING OR INTERVENING THE PROGRESSION OF COPD HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED. 2013 12 5634 34 SENOLYTICS AND SENOMORPHICS: NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC THERAPEUTICS IN THE TREATMENT OF AGING AND CHRONIC DISEASES. CELLULAR SENESCENCE IS A HETEROGENEOUS PROCESS GUIDED BY GENETIC, EPIGENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, CHARACTERIZING MANY TYPES OF SOMATIC CELLS. IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED AS AN AGING HALLMARK THAT IS BELIEVED TO CONTRIBUTE TO AGING AND CHRONIC DISEASES. SENESCENT CELLS (SC) EXHIBIT A SPECIFIC SENESCENCE-ASSOCIATED SECRETORY PHENOTYPE (SASP), MAINLY CHARACTERIZED BY THE PRODUCTION OF PROINFLAMMATORY AND MATRIX-DEGRADING MOLECULES. WHEN SC ACCUMULATE, A CHRONIC, SYSTEMIC, LOW-GRADE INFLAMMATION, KNOWN AS INFLAMMAGING, IS INDUCED. IN TURN, THIS CHRONIC IMMUNE SYSTEM ACTIVATION RESULTS IN REDUCED SC CLEARANCE THUS ESTABLISHING A VICIOUS CIRCLE THAT FUELS INFLAMMAGING. SC ACCUMULATION REPRESENTS A CAUSAL FACTOR FOR VARIOUS AGE-RELATED PATHOLOGIES. TARGETING OF SEVERAL AGING HALLMARKS HAS BEEN SUGGESTED AS A STRATEGY TO AMELIORATE HEALTHSPAN AND POSSIBLY LIFESPAN. CONSEQUENTLY, SC AND SASP ARE VIEWED AS POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC TARGETS EITHER THROUGH THE SELECTIVE KILLING OF SC OR THE SELECTIVE SASP BLOCKAGE, THROUGH NATURAL OR SYNTHETIC COMPOUNDS. THESE COMPOUNDS ARE MEMBERS OF A FAMILY OF AGENTS CALLED SENOTHERAPEUTICS DIVIDED INTO SENOLYTICS AND SENOMORPHICS. FEW OF THEM ARE ALREADY IN CLINICAL TRIALS, POSSIBLY REPRESENTING A FUTURE TREATMENT OF AGE-RELATED PATHOLOGIES INCLUDING DISEASES SUCH AS ATHEROSCLEROSIS, OSTEOARTHRITIS, OSTEOPOROSIS, CANCER, DIABETES, NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES SUCH AS ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, HEPATIC STEATOSIS, CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE, IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS AND AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION. IN THIS REVIEW, WE PRESENT THE ALREADY IDENTIFIED SENOLYTICS AND SENOMORPHICS FOCUSING ON THEIR REDOX-SENSITIVE PROPERTIES. WE DESCRIBE THE STUDIES THAT REVEALED THEIR EFFECTS ON CELLULAR SENESCENCE AND ENABLED THEIR NOMINATION AS NOVEL ANTI-AGING AGENTS. WE REFER TO THE SENOLYTICS THAT ARE ALREADY IN CLINICAL TRIALS AND WE PRESENT VARIOUS ADVERSE EFFECTS EXHIBITED BY SENOTHERAPEUTICS SO FAR. FINALLY, WE DISCUSS ASPECTS OF THE SENOTHERAPEUTICS THAT NEED IMPROVEMENT AND WE SUGGEST THE DESIGN OF FUTURE SENOTHERAPEUTICS TO TARGET SPECIFIC REDOX-REGULATED SIGNALING PATHWAYS IMPLICATED EITHER IN THE REGULATION OF SASP OR IN THE ELIMINATION OF SC. 2021 13 617 38 BIOACTIVE FOOD COMPOUNDS, EPIGENETICS AND CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION: FOCUS ON EARLY-LIFE INTERVENTIONS WITH POLYPHENOLS. CONSUMPTION OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS SUCH AS POLYPHENOLS, ISOTHIOCYANATES, SULFUR-CONTAINING COMPOUNDS AND TERPENOIDS, FOUND IN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, IS ASSOCIATED WITH PREVENTION OF CHRONIC DISEASE. THESE BIOACTIVE FOOD COMPOUNDS ELICIT THEIR PROTECTIVE EFFECTS THROUGH COMPLEX MECHANISMS AT THE CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR, INCLUDING EPIGENETIC LEVELS. ACCORDING TO THE DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS OF HEALTH AND DISEASE (DOHAD) PARADIGM, IN UTERO EXPOSURE TO STRESSORS SUCH AS MALNUTRITION THROUGH MATERNAL DIET WOULD IMPAIR FETAL DEVELOPMENT AND EPIGENETICALLY PROGRAM INCREASED RISK OF METABOLIC DISEASES AND SOME CANCERS IN ADULT LIFE. IN ADDITION, A ROLE FOR FATHERS DIET DURING PRECONCEPTION ON THEIR OFFSPRING HEALTH AND CHRONIC DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY HAS ALSO EMERGED. THIS HIGHLIGHTS EARLY LIFE AS A PROMISING WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR STARTING DIETARY INTERVENTIONS FOCUSING ON PREVENTING CHRONIC DISEASES. HOWEVER, KNOWLEDGE ON THE POTENTIAL BENEFICIAL IMPACT OF EARLY LIFE EXPOSURE TO BIOACTIVE FOOD COMPOUNDS IS LIMITED. AMONG THE STUDIES THAT HAVE INVESTIGATED BIOACTIVE FOOD COMPOUNDS IN THE CONTEXT OF DOHAD, MOST HAVE FOCUSED ON THE IMPACT OF DIETARY POLYPHENOLS. THUS, IN THIS REVIEW WE DISCUSS EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE SUPPORTING A ROLE FOR THE DIETARY POLYPHENOLS RESVERATROL, GENISTEIN, EPIGALLOCATECHIN-3-GALLATE AND ANTHOCYANINS IN CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION CONSIDERING A PERSPECTIVE FROM EARLY-LIFE INTERVENTIONS THROUGH MATERNAL AND PATERNAL DIETS AND FOCUSING ON EPIGENETICS AS A POTENTIAL UNDERLYING MECHANISM. 2019 14 4211 30 METFORMIN FOR CARDIOVASCULAR PROTECTION, INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE, OSTEOPOROSIS, PERIODONTITIS, POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME, NEURODEGENERATION, CANCER, INFLAMMATION AND SENESCENCE: WHAT IS NEXT? DIABETES IS ACCOMPANIED BY SEVERAL COMPLICATIONS. HIGHER PREVALENCE OF CANCERS, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD), OBESITY, OSTEOPOROSIS, AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES HAS BEEN REPORTED AMONG PATIENTS WITH DIABETES. METFORMIN IS THE OLDEST ORAL ANTIDIABETIC DRUG AND CAN IMPROVE COEXISTING COMPLICATIONS OF DIABETES. CLINICAL TRIALS AND OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES UNCOVERED THAT METFORMIN CAN REMARKABLY PREVENT OR ALLEVIATE CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, OBESITY, POLYCYSTIC OVARIAN SYNDROME (PCOS), OSTEOPOROSIS, CANCER, PERIODONTITIS, NEURONAL DAMAGE AND NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES, INFLAMMATION, INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE (IBD), TUBERCULOSIS, AND COVID-19. IN ADDITION, METFORMIN HAS BEEN PROPOSED AS AN ANTIAGING AGENT. NUMEROUS MECHANISMS WERE SHOWN TO BE INVOLVED IN THE PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF METFORMIN. METFORMIN ACTIVATES THE LKB1/AMPK PATHWAY TO INTERACT WITH SEVERAL INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING PATHWAYS AND MOLECULAR MECHANISMS. THE DRUG MODIFIES THE BIOLOGIC FUNCTION OF NF-KAPPAB, PI3K/AKT/MTOR, SIRT1/PGC-1ALPHA, NLRP3, ERK, P38 MAPK, WNT/BETA-CATENIN, NRF2, JNK, AND OTHER MAJOR MOLECULES IN THE INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING NETWORK. IT ALSO REGULATES THE EXPRESSION OF NONCODING RNAS. THEREBY, METFORMIN CAN REGULATE METABOLISM, GROWTH, PROLIFERATION, INFLAMMATION, TUMORIGENESIS, AND SENESCENCE. ADDITIONALLY, METFORMIN MODULATES IMMUNE RESPONSE, AUTOPHAGY, MITOPHAGY, ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (ER) STRESS, AND APOPTOSIS AND EXERTS EPIGENETIC EFFECTS. FURTHERMORE, METFORMIN PROTECTS AGAINST OXIDATIVE STRESS AND GENOMIC INSTABILITY, PRESERVES TELOMERE LENGTH, AND PREVENTS STEM CELL EXHAUSTION. IN THIS REVIEW, THE PROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF METFORMIN ON EACH DISEASE WILL BE DISCUSSED USING THE RESULTS OF RECENT META-ANALYSES, CLINICAL TRIALS, AND OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES. THEREAFTER, IT WILL BE METICULOUSLY EXPLAINED HOW METFORMIN REPROGRAMS INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING PATHWAYS AND ALTERS MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR INTERACTIONS TO MODIFY THE CLINICAL PRESENTATIONS OF SEVERAL DISEASES. 2021 15 3689 29 INFLAMMATORY AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASES OF THE INTESTINE AND THEIR MANAGEMENT BY NATURAL BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS. AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES ARE CAUSED BY THE OVERACTIVITY OF THE IMMUNE SYSTEM TOWARDS SELF-CONSTITUENTS. RISK FACTORS OF AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES ARE MULTIPLE AND INCLUDE GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL. AUTOIMMUNE CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES, INCLUDING CELIAC AND INFLAMMATORY DISEASES (CROHN'S DISEASE AND ULCERATIVE COLITIS), CONSTITUTE A SIGNIFICANT HEALTH PROBLEM WORLDWIDE. BESIDES THE COMPLEXITY OF THE SYMPTOMS OF THESE DISEASES, THEIR TREATMENTS HAVE ONLY BEEN PALLIATIVE. NUMEROUS INVESTIGATIONS SHOWED THAT NATURAL PHYTOCHEMICALS COULD BE PROMISING STRATEGIES TO FIGHT AGAINST THESE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES. IN THIS RESPECT, PLANT-DERIVED NATURAL COMPOUNDS SUCH AS FLAVONOIDS, PHENOLIC ACIDS, AND TERPENOIDS EXHIBITED SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS AGAINST THREE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES AFFECTING THE INTESTINE, PARTICULARLY BOWEL DISEASES. THIS REVIEW FOCUSES ON THE ROLE OF NATURAL COMPOUNDS OBTAINED FROM MEDICINAL PLANTS IN MODULATING INFLAMMATORY AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASES OF THE INTESTINE. IT COVERS THE MOST RECENT LITERATURE RELATED TO THE EFFECT OF THESE NATURAL COMPOUNDS IN THE TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASES OF THE INTESTINE. 2022 16 1398 34 DIET, GUT MICROBIOME AND EPIGENETICS: EMERGING LINKS WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES AND PROSPECTS FOR MANAGEMENT AND PREVENTION. INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES (IBD) REPRESENT A GROWING PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN DUE TO INCREASING INCIDENCE WORLDWIDE. THE CURRENT NOTION ON THE PATHOGENESIS OF IBD IS THAT GENETICALLY SUSCEPTIBLE INDIVIDUALS DEVELOP INTOLERANCE TO DYSREGULATED GUT MICROFLORA (DYSBIOSIS) AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION DEVELOPS AS A RESULT OF ENVIRONMENTAL TRIGGERS. AMONG THE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH IBD, DIET PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN MODULATING THE GUT MICROBIOME, INFLUENCING EPIGENETIC CHANGES, AND, THEREFORE, COULD BE APPLIED AS A THERAPEUTIC TOOL TO IMPROVE THE DISEASE COURSE. NEVERTHELESS, THE CURRENT DIETARY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT ARE SCARCE AND HAVE WEAK EVIDENCE. THIS REVIEW SUMMARISES THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ON THE COMPLEX INTERACTIONS BETWEEN DIET, MICROBIOME AND EPIGENETICS IN IBD. WHEREAS AN OVERABUNDANCE OF CALORIES AND SOME MACRONUTRIENTS INCREASE GUT INFLAMMATION, SEVERAL MICRONUTRIENTS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO MODULATE IT. IMMUNONUTRITION HAS EMERGED AS A NEW CONCEPT PUTTING FORWARD THE IMPORTANCE OF VITAMINS SUCH AS VITAMINS A, C, E, AND D, FOLIC ACID, BETA CAROTENE AND TRACE ELEMENTS SUCH AS ZINC, SELENIUM, MANGANESE AND IRON. HOWEVER, WHEN ASSESSED IN CLINICAL TRIALS, SPECIFIC MICRONUTRIENTS EXERTED A LIMITED BENEFIT. BEYOND NUTRIENTS, AN ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DIETARY PATTERN AS A COMPLEX INTERVENTION APPROACH HAS BECOME POPULAR IN RECENT YEARS. HENCE, EXCLUSIVE ENTERAL NUTRITION IN PAEDIATRIC CROHN'S DISEASE IS THE ONLY NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTION CURRENTLY RECOMMENDED AS A FIRST-LINE THERAPY. OTHER NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTIONS OR SPECIFIC DIETS INCLUDING THE SPECIFIC CARBOHYDRATE DIET (SCD), THE LOW FERMENTABLE OLIGOSACCHARIDES, DISACCHARIDES, MONOSACCHARIDES, AND POLYOL (FODMAP) DIET AND, MOST RECENTLY, THE MEDITERRANEAN DIET HAVE SHOWN STRONG ANTI-INFLAMMATORY PROPERTIES AND SHOW PROMISE FOR IMPROVING DISEASE SYMPTOMS. MORE WORK IS REQUIRED TO EVALUATE THE ROLE OF INDIVIDUAL FOOD COMPOUNDS AND COMPLEX NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTIONS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO DECREASE INFLAMMATION AS A MEANS OF PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF IBD. 2017 17 6441 24 THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES FOR NONALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE: ESTABLISHED TARGETS AND DRUGS. NONALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE (NAFLD), AS A MULTISYSTEMIC DISEASE, IS THE MOST PREVALENT CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE CHARACTERIZED BY EXTREMELY COMPLEX PATHOGENIC MECHANISMS AND MULTIFACTORIAL ETIOLOGY, WHICH OFTEN DEVELOPS AS A CONSEQUENCE OF OBESITY, METABOLIC SYNDROME. PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF NAFLD INCLUDE DIET, OBESITY, INSULIN RESISTANCE (IR), GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC DETERMINANTS, INTESTINAL DYSBIOSIS, OXIDATIVE/NITROSATIVE STRESS, AUTOPHAGY DYSREGULATION, HEPATIC INFLAMMATION, GUT-LIVER AXIS, GUT MICROBES, IMPAIRED MITOCHONDRIAL METABOLISM AND REGULATION OF HEPATIC LIPID METABOLISM. SOME OF THE NEW DRUGS FOR THE TREATMENT OF NAFLD ARE INTRODUCED HERE. ALL OF THEM ACHIEVE THERAPEUTIC OBJECTIVES BY INTERFERING WITH CERTAIN PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS OF NAFLD, INCLUDING FIBROBLAST GROWTH FACTORS (FGF) ANALOGUES, PEROXISOME PROLIFERATOR-ACTIVATED RECEPTORS (PPARS) AGONISTS, GLUCAGON-LIKE PEPTIDE-1 (GLP-1) AGONISTS, G PROTEIN-COUPLED RECEPTORS (GPCRS), SODIUM-GLUCOSE COTRANSPORTER-2 INHIBITORS (SGLT-2I), FARNESOID X RECEPTOR (FXR), FATTY ACID SYNTHASE INHIBITOR (FASNI), ANTIOXIDANTS, ETC. THIS REVIEW DESCRIBES SOME PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF NAFLD AND ESTABLISHED TARGETS AND DRUGS. 2023 18 4136 30 MECHANISMS OF MANGANESE-INDUCED NEUROTOXICITY AND THE PURSUIT OF NEUROTHERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES. CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO ELEVATED LEVELS OF MANGANESE VIA OCCUPATIONAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL SETTINGS CAUSES A NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER KNOWN AS MANGANISM, RESEMBLING THE SYMPTOMS OF PARKINSON'S DISEASE, SUCH AS MOTOR DEFICITS AND COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT. NUMEROUS STUDIES HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED TO CHARACTERIZE MANGANESE'S NEUROTOXICITY MECHANISMS IN SEARCH OF EFFECTIVE THERAPEUTICS, INCLUDING NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC COMPOUNDS TO TREAT MANGANESE TOXICITY. SEVERAL POTENTIAL MOLECULAR TARGETS OF MANGANESE TOXICITY AT THE EPIGENETIC AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL LEVELS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED RECENTLY, WHICH MAY CONTRIBUTE TO DEVELOP MORE PRECISE AND EFFECTIVE GENE THERAPIES. THIS REVIEW UPDATES FINDINGS ON MANGANESE-INDUCED NEUROTOXICITY MECHANISMS ON INTRACELLULAR INSULTS SUCH AS OXIDATIVE STRESS, INFLAMMATION, EXCITOTOXICITY, AND MITOPHAGY, AS WELL AS TRANSCRIPTIONAL DYSREGULATIONS INVOLVING YIN YANG 1, RE1-SILENCING TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR, TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR EB, AND NUCLEAR FACTOR ERYTHROID 2-RELATED FACTOR 2 THAT COULD BE TARGETS OF MANGANESE NEUROTOXICITY THERAPIES. THIS REVIEW ALSO FEATURES INTRACELLULAR PROTEINS SUCH AS PTEN-INDUCIBLE KINASE 1, PARKIN, SIRTUINS, LEUCINE-RICH REPEAT KINASE 2, AND ALPHA-SYNUCLEIN, WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH MANGANESE-INDUCED DYSREGULATION OF AUTOPHAGY/MITOPHAGY. IN ADDITION, NEWER THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES TO TREAT MANGANESE'S NEUROTOXICITY INCLUDING NATURAL AND SYNTHETIC COMPOUNDS MODULATING EXCITOTOXICITY, AUTOPHAGY, AND MITOPHAGY, WERE REVIEWED. TAKEN TOGETHER, IN-DEPTH MECHANISTIC KNOWLEDGE ACCOMPANIED BY ADVANCES IN GENE AND DRUG DELIVERY STRATEGIES WILL MAKE SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RELIABLE THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS AGAINST MANGANESE-INDUCED NEUROTOXICITY. 2022 19 4792 31 NUTRITIONAL EPIGENETICS AND PHYTOCHEMICALS IN CANCER FORMATION. NUTRIGENETICS AND NUTRIGENOMICS ARE TWO CONCEPTS IN THE AREA OF NUTRITIONAL GENOMICS. EPIGENETICS IS A NEW DISCIPLINE WITH SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL IN THE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT OF CERTAIN CARCINOMAS AND DISEASES. EPIGENETICS CONSISTS OF DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATION, NON-CODING RNAS, AND TELOMERASE ACTIVITY. EPIGENETIC-BASED MECHANISMS ACT ON THE INHIBITION OF CANCER CELLS BY MODULATING ENZYMES SUCH AS DNA METHYLTRANSFERASE AND HISTONE DEACETYLASE, AS WELL AS NON-CODING RNAS. PHYTOCHEMICALS ARE NATURAL BIOACTIVE COMPONENTS OF PLANT ORIGIN THAT HAVE ANTIOXIDANT, ANTI-INFLAMMATORY, AND ANTI-ANGIOGENIC EFFECTS ON VARIOUS DISEASES, ESPECIALLY CANCER. THE EPIGENETIC DIET IS A NUTRITIONAL MODEL BASED ON THE CONSUMPTION OF VARIOUS PHYTOCHEMICALS SUCH AS EPIGALLOCATECHIN-3-GALLATE, MORIN, CAFFEIC ACID PHENYL ESTER, APIGENIN, GENISTEIN, CURCUMIN, RESVERATROL, AND SULFORAPHANE. PHYTOCHEMICALS EXERT THEIR EFFECTS ON CANCER-BASED BY REDUCING CELL PROLIFERATION, INVASION, AND METASTASIS AND INCREASING CELL APOPTOSIS. SIMULTANEOUSLY, IT HAS FUNCTIONS SUCH AS REDUCING ONCOGENES THAT HAVE EFFECTS ON CANCER ETIOLOGY AND INCREASING TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES.KEY TEACHING POINTSCANCER IS A CHRONIC DISEASE WITH A HIGH MORTALITY RATE, IN WHICH VARIOUS GENETIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ARE INVOLVED IN ITS ETIOLOGY.PROTOONCOGENES, TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENES, AND DNA REPAIR GENES ARE AMONG THE GENE GROUPS THAT FORM THE BASIS OF CANCER AND GENETIC STRUCTURE.THE BIDIRECTIONAL INTERACTION BETWEEN NUTRITION AND THE HUMAN GENOME HAS BEEN EFFECTIVE IN THE EMERGENCE OF THE CONCEPTS OF NUTRIGENETICS AND NUTRIGENOMICS.EPIGENETIC DIET IS A DIET BASED ON THE CONSUMPTION OF FOODS SUCH AS SOY, GRAPES, BLUEBERRIES, TURMERIC, CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLES, AND GREEN TEA, WHICH INDUCE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS THAT PROTECT AGAINST CANCER AND AGING. 2023 20 2320 32 EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION AND M2 MACROPHAGE POLARIZATION AS NEW POTENTIAL OMEGA-3 POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACID TARGETS IN COLON INFLAMMATION AND CANCER. INTRODUCTION: IT HAS BECOME INCREASINGLY CLEAR THAT DIETARY HABITS MAY AFFECT THE RISK/PROGRESSION OF CHRONIC DISEASES WITH A PATHOGENIC INFLAMMATORY COMPONENT, SUCH AS COLORECTAL CANCER. CONSIDERABLE ATTENTION HAS BEEN DIRECTED TOWARD THE ABILITY OF NUTRITIONAL AGENTS TO TARGET KEY MOLECULAR PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN THESE INFLAMMATORY-RELATED DISEASES. AREAS COVERED: OMEGA-3 POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS (PUFA) AND THEIR OXIDATIVE METABOLITES HAVE ATTRACTED CONSIDERABLE INTEREST AS POSSIBLE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTI-CANCER AGENTS, ESPECIALLY IN AREAS SUCH AS THE LARGE BOWEL, WHERE THE INFLUENCE OF ORALLY INTRODUCED SUBSTANCES IS HIGH AND TUMORS SHOW DERANGED PUFA PATTERNS. ON THIS BASIS, WE HAVE ANALYZED PRE-CLINICAL FINDINGS THAT HAVE RECENTLY REVEALED NEW INSIGHT INTO THE MOLECULAR PATHWAYS TARGETED BY OMEGA-3 PUFA. EXPERT OPINION: THE FINDINGS ANALYZED HEREIN DEMONSTRATE THAT OMEGA-3 PUFA MAY EXERT BENEFICIAL EFFECTS BY TARGETING THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF GENE EXPRESSION AND ALTERING M2 MACROPHAGE POLARIZATION DURING THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE. THESE MECHANISMS NEED TO BE BETTER EXPLORED IN THE LARGE BOWEL, AND FURTHER STUDIES COULD BETTER CLARIFY THEIR ROLE AND THE POTENTIAL OF DIETARY INTERVENTIONS WITH OMEGA-3 PUFA IN THE LARGE BOWEL. THE EPIGENOMIC MECHANISM IS DISCUSSED IN VIEW OF THE POTENTIAL OF OMEGA-3 PUFA TO ENHANCE THE EFFICACY OF OTHER AGENTS USED IN THE THERAPY OF COLORECTAL CANCER. 2016