The effects of Phycocyanobilin on experimental arthritis involve the reduction in nociception and synovial neutrophil infiltration, inhibition of cytokine production, and modulation of the neuronal proteome.

Introduction: The antinociceptive and pharmacological activities of C-Phycocyanin (C-PC) and Phycocyanobilin (PCB) in the context of inflammatory arthritis remain unexplored so far. In the present study, we aimed to assess the protective actions of these compounds in an experimental mice model that replicates key aspects of human rheumatoid arthritis.

Methods: Antigen-induced arthritis (AIA) was established by intradermal injection of methylated bovine serum albumin in C57BL/6 mice, and one hour before the antigen challenge, either C-PC (2, 4, or 8 mg/kg) or PCB (0.

Positive effects of Phycocyanobilin on gene expression in glutamate-induced excitotoxicity in SH-SY5Y cells and animal models of multiple sclerosis and cerebral ischemia.

Background: Oxidative stress has a predominant role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and therefore the modulation of genes and the identification of biological pathways associated with antioxidant therapies, have an impact on its treatment.

Objective: The objective of this study was the comparison of 2 methods for the analysis of real-time PCR (qPCR) data, through the use of the evaluation of genes that mediate the effect of Phycocyanobilin (PCB) and its validation in animal models.

Methods: We evaluated the effect of PCB:" in vitro" on gene modulation through qPCR analyzed by parametric ANOVA and multivariate principal component analysis (PCA) in a model of glutamate-induced excitotoxicity in the SH-SY5Y cell line and" in vivo"; in animal models of multiple sclerosis (MS) and cerebral ischemia (CI).

The microglial NLRP3 inflammasome is involved in human SARS-CoV-2 cerebral pathogenicity: A report of three post-mortem cases.

We herein report, by using confocal immunofluorescence, the colocalization of the SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid within neurons, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and microglia in three deceased COVID-19 cases, of between 78 and 85 years of age at death. The viral nucleocapsid was detected together with its ACE2 cell entry receptor, as well as the NLRP3 inflammasome in cerebral cortical tissues. It is noteworthy that NLRP3 was colocalized with CD68 + macrophages in the brain and lung of the deceased, suggesting the critical role of this type of inflammasome in SARS-CoV-2 lesions of the nervous system/lungs and supporting its potential role as a therapeutic target.

Phycocyanobilin reduces brain injury after endothelin-1- induced focal cerebral ischaemia.

Pharmacological therapies for interrupting biochemical events of the ischaemic cascade and protecting against stroke in humans are as yet unavailable. Up to now, the neuroprotective activity in cerebral ischaemia of phycocyanobilin (PCB), a tetrapyrrolic natural antioxidant, has not been fully examined. Here, we evaluated if PCB protects PC12 neuronal cells against oxygen and glucose deprivation plus reperfusion, and its protective effects in a rat model of endothelin-1-induced focal brain ischaemia.

Report on the Symposium "Molecular Mechanisms Involved in Neurodegeneration".

The prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases is currently a major concern in public health because of the lack of neuroprotective and neuroregenerative drugs. The symposium on Molecular Mechanisms Involved in Neurodegeneration held in Varadero, Cuba, updated the participants on the basic mechanisms of neurodegeneration, on the different approaches for drug discovery, and on early research results on therapeutic approaches for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Alzheimer's disease and in silico research were covered by many of the presentations in the symposium, under the umbrella of the "State of the Art of Non-clinical Models for Neurodegenerative Diseases" International Congress, held from 20 to 24 June 2017.