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Immunomodulatory Activities of Natural Products and Related Compounds in Inflammatory Diseases

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2025) | Viewed by 2458

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Horyue Tan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Centre for Chinese Herbal Medicine Drug Development, School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
Interests: natural products; cancer biology; immune targeted drug discovery from natural products; cellular interactions and molecular mechanisms in the inflammatory microenvironment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Inflammatory diseases are characterized as chronic inflammation in various tissues and organs, always emerging from the over-activation of the immune system in response to environmental threats. Immune cells detect the invading pathogens or damaged cells and release pro-inflammatory signalling molecules for the following disease exacerbation. Inflammatory diseases can range from autoimmune disorders where the immune system mistakenly attack the tissues, to condition such as allergies where immune system respond excessively to allergens, and even cancer or diabetes that develop as a result of chronic inflammation.  

Natural products, primarily produced by living organisms such as plants, invertebrate and microorganisms, have been extensively explored as potential candidates for the treatment of various diseases. It is important to note that the efficacy and safety of natural products may vary widely, and rigorous scientific evaluation is always needed to justify the use of natural products for disease management.

This Special Issue, titled ‘Immunomodulatory Activities of Natural Products and Related Compounds in Inflammatory Diseases’, aims to report on the current knowledge of the natural products with immunomodulatory activities in the prevention or treatment of inflammatory diseases. We will accept submissions of original papers, reviews, and perspective articles addressing any aspects of the aforementioned title.

Dr. Horyue Tan
Guest Editor

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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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

  • immunomodulatory
  • natural products
  • inflammatory diseases
  • chronic inflammation

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 5210 KiB  
Article
Paeoniflorin Directly Targets ENO1 to Inhibit M1 Polarization of Microglia/Macrophages and Ameliorates EAE Disease
by Ying Sun, Guojue Wang, Shengzhe Li, Yongshuai Jiang, Yunhui Liu, Yidan Gao, Yuanyang Yuan and Hong Nie
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(8), 3677; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26083677 - 13 Apr 2025
Viewed by 592
Abstract
The chronic autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS) now remains incurable. Paeoniflorin (PF), which is a monoterpene glucoside obtained from Paeonia lactiflora Pall, is recognized for neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the precise mechanism by which PF regulates MS is unclear. This work [...] Read more.
The chronic autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS) now remains incurable. Paeoniflorin (PF), which is a monoterpene glucoside obtained from Paeonia lactiflora Pall, is recognized for neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties. However, the precise mechanism by which PF regulates MS is unclear. This work aims to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of PF in EAE, a well established animal model of MS, and to discover the target proteins that PF directly acts on. Our results revealed that PF administration can significantly attenuate the clinical symptoms of EAE and alleviate the central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory environment by inhibiting M1-type microglia/macrophages. Mechanistically, PF was found to directly interact with the glycolytic enzyme α-enolase (ENO1), inhibiting its enzymatic activity and expression to impair glucose metabolism, thereby suppressing microglia/macrophage M1 polarization and ameliorating CNS inflammation. Significantly, Eno1 knockdown in microglia/macrophages diminished their pro-inflammatory phenotype, while treatment with ENOBlock or the specific knockout of Eno1 in microglia led to EAE remission, underscoring the critical role of ENO1 in EAE progression. This study uncovers the molecular mechanism of PF in treating EAE, linking the anti-inflammatory property of PF to the glucose metabolism process, which will broaden the prospective applications of PF. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Immunomodulatory Activities of Natural Products and Related Compounds in Inflammatory Diseases)
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15 pages, 2804 KiB  
Article
Immunomodulatory Potential of 6-Gingerol and 6-Shogaol in Lactobacillus plantarum-Fermented Zingiber officinale Extract on Murine Macrophages
by Ji Eun Kim, Kwang-Hyun Park, Jinny Park, Byeong Soo Kim, Geun-Seop Kim and Dong Geon Hwang
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(5), 2159; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26052159 - 27 Feb 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1154
Abstract
In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the physiological activity of ethanol extracts of Zingiber officinale was improved after fermentation with Lactobacillus plantarum strains KCTC 3108 (FLP8) and KCL005 (FLP9). Total polyphenol and flavonoid content was substantially increased after fermentation with FLP8 [...] Read more.
In this study, we aimed to investigate whether the physiological activity of ethanol extracts of Zingiber officinale was improved after fermentation with Lactobacillus plantarum strains KCTC 3108 (FLP8) and KCL005 (FLP9). Total polyphenol and flavonoid content was substantially increased after fermentation with FLP8 and FLP9 for 48 h and 24 h, respectively, compared with the unfermented control. The 6-gingerol content was significantly increased in FLP9 after 24 h of fermentation, whereas in FLP8, it remained comparable to pre-fermentation levels. The 6-shogaol content significantly increased in FLP8 and FLP9 at 48 h and 24 h, respectively, compared with the pre-fermentation levels. The anti-inflammatory effects were evaluated using RAW 264.7 cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharides. The fermented product of FLP8 at 48 h and FLP9 at 24 h maintained over 80% cell viability at a concentration of 200 µg/mL and significantly reduced nitric oxide production compared to the lipopolysaccharide-stimulated control. Moreover, each extract downregulated pro-inflammatory gene expression. Furthermore, the purified 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol, which were purchased as reference compounds, were included in the fermentation extracts of FLP8 at 48 h and FLP9 at 24 h, and both inhibited cell migration in a dose-dependent manner without any cytotoxicity. In conclusion, the fermentation of Z. officinale with these L. plantarum strains enhanced its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, with significant increases in bioactive compound content. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Immunomodulatory Activities of Natural Products and Related Compounds in Inflammatory Diseases)
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