Browsing by Subject "Nanocarrier"

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    Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Aquaporin reconstituted proteoliposomes as nanosystems for resveratrol encapsulation
    (MDPI, 2024-02-06) Yepes Molina, Lucía; Teruel Puche, José Antonio; Johanson, Urban; Carvajal, Micaela; Bioquímica y Biología Molecular A
    Aquaporins (AQPs), membrane proteins responsible for facilitating water transport, found in plant membrane vesicles (MV), have been related to the functionality and stability of MV. We focused on AQPs obtained from broccoli, as they show potential for biotechnological applications. To gain further insight into the role of AQPs in MV, we describe the heterologous overexpression of two broccoli AQPs (BoPIP1;2 and BoPIP2;2) in Pichia pastoris, resulting in their purification with high yield (0.14 and 0.99 mg per gram cells for BoPIP1;2 and BoPIP2;2). We reconstituted AQPs in liposomes to study their functionality, and the size of proteoliposomes did not change concerning liposomes. BoPIP2;2 facilitated water transport, which was preserved for seven days at 4 °C and at room temperature but not at 37 °C. BoPIP2;2 was incorporated into liposomes to encapsulate a resveratrol extract, resulting in increased entrapment efficiency (EE) compared to conventional liposomes. Molecular docking was utilized to identify binding sites in PIP2s for resveratrol, highlighting the role of aquaporins in the improved EE. Moreover, interactions between plant AQP and human integrin were shown, which may increase internalization by the human target cells. Our results suggest AQP-based alternative encapsulation systems can be used in specifically targeted biotechnological applications.
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    Membrane vesicles for nanoencapsulated sulforaphane increased their anti-inflammatory role on an In vitro human macrophage model.
    (MDPI, 2022-02-09) Yepes-Molina, Lucía; Pérez-Jiménez, María Isabel; Martínez-Esparza Alvargonzález, María Concepción; Teruel Puche, José Antonio; Ruiz Alcaraz, Antonio José; García Peñarrubia, María del Pilar; Carvajal, Micaela; Bioquímica y Biología Molecular B e Inmunología
    At present, there is a growing interest in finding new non‐toxic anti‐inflammatory drugs to treat inflammation, which is a key pathology in the development of several diseases with considerable mortality. Sulforaphane (SFN), a bioactive compound derived from Brassica plants, was shown to be promising due to its anti‐inflammatory properties and great potential, though its actual clinical use is limited due to its poor stability and bioavailability. In this sense, the use of nanocarriers could solve stability‐related problems. In the current study, sulforaphane loaded into membrane vesicles derived from broccoli plants was studied to determine the anti‐inflammatory potential in a human‐macrophage‐like in vitro cell model under both normal and inflammatory conditions. On the one hand, the release of SFN from membrane vesicles was modeled in vitro, and two release phases were stabilized, one faster and the other slower due to the interaction between SFN and membrane proteins, such as aquaporins. Furthermore, the anti‐inflammatory action of sulforaphane‐loaded membrane vesicles was demonstrated, as a decrease in interleukins crucial for the development of nflammation, such as TNF‐α, IL‐1β and IL‐6, was observed. Furthermore, these results also showed that membrane vesicles by themselves had anti‐inflammatory properties, opening the possibility of new lines of research to study these vesicles, not only as carriers but also as active compounds.