Role of Preclinical Arthritis Models for the Clinical Translation of Anti-Arthritic Therapeutics

The overcomplicated and elusive pathophysiology with unclear etiology, have been the main driving force of the medical scientists all over the world to develop a predictive, reliable, robust and reproducible simulation model of arthritis. This review highlights osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis with distinct conditions pertaining to each type of disease. The advances in various in vitro and in vivo experimental models of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis have been presented along with their pros and cons for antiarthritic drug discovery and formulation development. Additionally, the ethical issues to be considered while selecting animal models and handling them have been covered briefly. The current status quo on clinical trials of antiarthritic therapeutic interventions has also been covered

BOX-BEHNKEN DESIGN APPROACH TO DEVELOP NANO-VESICULAR HERBAL GEL FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF SKIN CANCER IN EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL MODEL

Objective: To manage the increasing burden of skin cancer cases globally and to replace conventional invasive treatments and their side effects, the present study is aimed to develop a transfersomal herbal gel of Green Tea Catechins (GTC) extracted from indigenous green tea and evaluate it for in vivo management of skin cancer in an experimental animal model. Methods: GTC-loaded transfersomes (GTCTF) were prepared by the thin-film hydration method. After optimizing the GTCTFs using the Box-Behnken design, they were characterized for zeta potential, structure, in vitro drug release, and in vitro skin permeation. Carbopol 940 gel was developed for the topical delivery of GTCTF and characterized for pH, viscosity, spreadability and in vitro skin permeation. In vitro MTT assay and in vivo chemopreventive and anticancer efficacy of the GTCTF gel were evaluated in mice. Results: The GTCTF has shown a particle size of 151.4±1.9 nm, entrapment efficiency of 68.25±0.06 %, and drug loading of 10.41±0.02 %. The in vitro MTT assay in B16F10 melanoma cell lines showed promising anticancer efficacy of the GTCTF. GTCTF gel was found suitable for topical delivery with favorable pH, viscosity, spreadability, and permeability and effective in preventing and curing skin cancer in mice, with a significant reduction of tissue biochemical parameters like TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. Conclusion: Collectively, successful prevention and curing of the induced skin cancer in the experimental animal model by the GTCTF gel have established a novel herbal nanomedicine approach for the management of skin cancer