Adipokines are currently widely studied cellular signaling proteins produced by adipose tissue and involved in various processes, including inflammation; energy and appetite modulation; lipid and glucose metabolism; insulin sensitivity; endothelial cell functioning; angiogenesis; the regulation of blood pressure; and hemostasis. The current review attempted to highlight the key functions of adipokines in the inflammatory mechanisms of obesity, its complications, and its associated diseases. An extensive search for materials on the role of adipokines in the pathogenesis of obesity was conducted online using the PubMed and Scopus databases until October 2022.

Osteoporosis is a widespread systemic disease characterized by a decrease in bone mass and an imbalance of the microarchitecture of bone tissue. Experimental and clinical studies devoted to investigating the main pathogenetic mechanisms of osteoporosis revealed the important role of estrogen deficiency, inflammation, oxidative stress, cellular senescence, and epigenetic factors in the development of bone resorption due to osteoclastogenesis, and decreased mineralization of bone tissue and bone formation due to reduced function of osteoblasts caused by apoptosis and age-depended differentiation of osteoblast precursors into adipocytes. The current review was conducted to describe the basic mechanisms of the development of osteoporosis at molecular and cellular levels and to elucidate the most promising therapeutic strategies of pathogenetic therapy of osteoporosis based on articles cited in PubMed up to September 2023.

The main cause of death in patients with type 2 DM is cardiovascular complications resulting from the progression of atherosclerosis. The pathophysiology of the association between diabetes and its vascular complications is complex and multifactorial and closely related to the toxic effects of hyperglycemia that causes increased generation of reactive oxygen species and promotes the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Subsequent oxidative stress and inflammation are major factors of the progression of type 2 DM and its vascular complications. Data on the pathogenesis of the development of type 2 DM and associated cardiovascular diseases, in particular atherosclerosis, open up broad prospects for the further development of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Atherosclerosis is the most common cardiovascular disease and is the number one cause of death worldwide. Today, atherosclerosis is a multifactorial chronic inflammatory disease with an autoimmune component, accompanied by the accumulation of cholesterol in the vessel wall and the formation of atherosclerotic plaques, endothelial dysfunction, and chronic inflammation. In the process of accumulation of atherogenic lipids, cells of the immune system, such as monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, etc., play an important role, producing and/or activating the production of various cytokines—interferons, interleukins, chemokines. In this review, we have tried to summarize the most important cytokines involved in the processes of atherogenesis.

Cardiovascular diseases associated with atherosclerosis are the major cause of death in developed countries. Early prevention and treatment of atherosclerosis are considered to be an important aspect of the therapy of cardiovascular disease. Preparations based on natural products affect the main pathogenetic steps of atherogenesis, and so represent a perspective for the long-term prevention of atherosclerosis development. Numerous experimental and clinical studies have demonstrated the multiple beneficial effects of licorice and its bioactive compounds—anti-inflammatory, anti-cytokine, antioxidant, anti-atherogenic, and anti-platelet action—which allow us to consider licorice as a promising atheroprotective agent. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge on the licorice anti-atherosclerotic mechanisms of action based on the results of experimental studies, including the results of the in vitro study demonstrating licorice effect on the ability of blood serum to reduce intracellular cholesterol accumulation in cultured macrophages, and presented the results of clinical studies confirming the ameliorating activity of licorice in regard to traditional cardiovascular risk factors as well as the direct anti-atherosclerotic effect of licorice.

Immunoglobulins are the potent effector proteins of the humoral immune response. In the course of evolution, immunoglobulins have formed extremely diverse types of molecular structures with antigen-recognizing, antigen-binding, and effector functions embedded in a single molecule. Polysaccharide moiety of immunoglobulins plays the essential role in immunoglobulin functioning. There is growing evidence that the carbohydrate composition of immunoglobulin-linked glycans, and especially their terminal sialic acid residues, provide a key effect on the effector functions of immunoglobulins. Possibly, sialylation of Fc glycan is a common mechanism of IgG anti-inflammatory action in vivo. Thus, the post-translational modification (glycosylation) of immunoglobulins opens up significant possibilities in the diagnosis of both immunological and inflammatory disorders and in their therapies. This review is focused on the analysis of glycosylation of immunoglobulins, which can be a promising addition to improve existing strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of various immuno-inflammatory diseases.