The Combination of Gold and Silver Food Nanoparticles with Gluten Peptides Alters the Autophagic Pathway in Intestinal Crypt-like Cells.

Metallic nanoparticles (mNPs) are widely used as food additives and can interact with gliadin triggering an immune response, but evaluation of the effects on crypts, hypertrophic in celiac subjects, is still lacking. This study evaluated the effects of gold and silver mNPs in combination with gliadin on crypt-like cells (HIEC-6). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to evaluate gliadin-mNP aggregates in cells.

Current Therapeutical Approaches Targeting Lipid Metabolism in NAFLD.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD, including nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)) is a high-prevalence disorder, affecting about 1 billion people, which can evolve to more severe conditions like cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma. NAFLD is often concomitant with conditions of the metabolic syndrome, such as central obesity and insulin-resistance, but a specific drug able to revert NAFL and prevent its evolution towards NASH is still lacking. With the liver being a key organ in metabolic processes, the potential therapeutic strategies are many, and range from directly targeting the lipid metabolism to the prevention of tissue inflammation.

Interactions between Nanoparticles and Intestine.

The use of nanoparticles (NPs) has surely grown in recent years due to their versatility, with a spectrum of applications that range from nanomedicine to the food industry. Recent research focuses on the development of NPs for the oral administration route rather than the intravenous one, placing the interactions between NPs and the intestine at the centre of the attention. This allows the NPs functionalization to exploit the different characteristics of the digestive tract, such as the different pH, the intestinal mucus layer, or the intestinal absorption capacity.

Celiac disease: From genetics to epigenetics.

Celiac disease (CeD) is a multifactorial autoimmune disorder spread worldwide. The exposure to gluten, a protein found in cereals like wheat, barley and rye, is the main environmental factor involved in its pathogenesis. Even if the genetic predisposition represented by HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 haplotypes is widely recognised as mandatory for CeD development, it is not enough to explain the total predisposition for the disease.

The mode of dexamethasone decoration influences avidin-nucleic-acid-nano-assembly organ biodistribution and in vivo drug persistence.

Avidin-Nucleic-Acid-NanoASsemblies (ANANAS) possess natural tropism for the liver and, when loaded with dexamethasone, reduce clinical progression in an autoimmune hepatitis murine model. Here, we investigated the linker chemistry (hydrazide-hydrazone, Hz-Hz, or carbamate hydrazide-hydrazone, Cb-Hz bond) and length (long, 5 kDa PEG, or short, 5-6 carbons) in biotin-dexamethasone conjugates used for nanoparticle decoration through in vitro and in vivo studies. All four newly synthesized conjugates released the drug at acidic pH only.

Dietary Nanoparticles Interact with Gluten Peptides and Alter the Intestinal Homeostasis Increasing the Risk of Celiac Disease.

The introduction of metallic nanoparticles (mNPs) into the diet is a matter of concern for human health. In particular, their effect on the gastrointestinal tract may potentially lead to the increased passage of gluten peptides and the activation of the immune response. In consequence, dietary mNPs could play a role in the increasing worldwide celiac disease (CeD) incidence.

Gliadin, through the Activation of Innate Immunity, Triggers lncRNA NEAT1 Expression in Celiac Disease Duodenal Mucosa.

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune enteropathy arising in genetically predisposed subjects exposed to gluten, which activates both innate and adaptive immunity. Although the pathogenesis is common to all patients, the clinical spectrum is quite variable, and differences could be explained by gene expression variations. Among the factors able to affect gene expression, there are lncRNAs.