The role of the microbiome in human aging is important: the microbiome directly impacts aging through the gastrointestinal system. However, the microbial impact on skin has yet to be fully understood. For example, cellular senescence is an intrinsic aging process that has been recently associated with microbial imbalance. With age, cells become senescent in response to stress wherein they undergo irreversible growth arrest while maintaining high metabolic activity. An accumulation of senescent cells has been linked to various aging and chronic pathologies due to an overexpression of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) comprised of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, growth factors, proteases, lipids and extracellular matrix components. In particular, dermatological disorders may be promoted by senescence as the skin is a common site of accumulation. The gut microbiota influences cellular senescence and skin disruption through the gut-skin axis and secretion of microbial metabolites. Metabolomics can be used to identify and quantify metabolites involved in senescence. Moreover, novel anti-senescent therapeutics are warranted given the poor safety profiles of current pharmaceutical drugs. Probiotics and prebiotics may be effective alternatives, considering the relationship between the microbiome and healthy aging. However, further research on gut composition under a senescent status is needed to develop immunomodulatory therapies.

Coronary stents have saved millions of lives in the last three decades by treating atherosclerosis especially, by preventing plaque protrusion and subsequent aneurysms. They attenuate the vascular SMC proliferation and promote reconstruction of the endothelial bed to ensure superior revascularization. With the evolution of modern stent types, nanotechnology has become an integral part of stent technology. Nanocoating and nanosurface fabrication on metallic and polymeric stents have improved their drug loading capacity as well as other mechanical, physico‐chemical, and biological properties. Nanofeatures can mimic the natural nanofeatures of vascular tissue and control drug‐delivery. This review will highlight the role of nanotechnology in addressing the challenges of coronary stents and the recent advancements in the field of related medical devices. Different generations of stents carrying nanoparticle‐based formulations like liposomes, lipid‐polymer hybrid NPs, polymeric micelles, and dendrimers are discussed highlighting their roles in local drug delivery and anti‐restenotic properties. Drug nanoparticles like Paclitaxel embedded in metal stents are discussed as a feature of first‐generation drug‐eluting stents. Customized precision stents ensure safe delivery of nanoparticle‐mediated genes or concerted transfer of gene, drug, and/or bioactive molecules like antibodies, gene mimics via nanofabricated stents. Nanotechnology can aid such therapies for drug delivery successfully due to its easy scale‐up possibilities. However, limitations of this technology such as their potential cytotoxic effects associated with nanoparticle delivery that can trigger hypersensitivity reactions have also been discussed in this review.This article is categorized under: Implantable Materials and Surgical Technologies > Nanotechnology in Tissue Repair and Replacement Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Nanomedicine for Cardiovascular Disease Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Discovery > Emerging Technologies

Hydrogel wound dressings are effective in their ability to provide a wound-healing environment but are limited by their ability to promote later stages of revascularization. Here, a biosafe recombinant baculovirus expressing VEGFA tagged with EGFP is encapsulated in chitosan-coated alginate hydrogels using ionic cross-linking. The VEGFA, delivered by the baculovirus, significantly improves cell migration and angiogenesis to assist with the wound-healing process and revascularization. Moreover, the hydrogels have an encapsulation efficiency of 99.9%, no cytotoxicity, antimicrobial properties, good blood compatibility, promote hemostasis, and enable sustained delivery of baculoviruses over eight days. These hydrogels sustain baculovirus delivery and may have clinical implications in wound dressings or future gene therapy applications.

Metabolic syndrome is a leading medical concern that affects one billion people worldwide. Metabolic syndrome is defined by a clustering of risk factors that predispose an individual to cardiovascular disease, diabetes and stroke. In recent years, the apparent role of the gut microbiota in metabolic syndrome has drawn attention to microbiome-engineered therapeutics. Specifically, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) harbors beneficial metabolic characteristics, including the production of exopolysaccharides and other microbial byproducts. We recently isolated a novel fructophilic lactic acid bacterium (FLAB), Apilactobacillus waqarii strain HBW1, from honeybee gut and found it produces a dextran-type exopolysaccharide (EPS). The objective of this study was to explore the therapeutic potential of the new dextran in relation to metabolic syndrome. Findings revealed the dextran’s ability to improve the viability of damaged HT-29 intestinal epithelial cells and exhibit antioxidant properties. In vivo analyses demonstrated reductions in body weight gain and serum cholesterol levels in mice supplemented with the dextran, compared to control (5% and 17.2%, respectively). Additionally, blood glucose levels decreased by 16.26% following dextran supplementation, while increasing by 15.2% in non-treated mice. Overall, this study displays biotherapeutic potential of a novel EPS to improve metabolic syndrome and its individual components, warranting further investigation.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by considerable cognitive decline and functional impairment, primarily due to the progressive alteration of neurons, microglia, and astrocytes. Pathological manifestations of AD include the loss of synaptic plasticity, reduction in synaptic strength by amyloid-beta, aggregation, and neurotoxicity from tau protein post-translational modifications, all contributing to the disruption of neural networks. Despite its current pharmacological treatment for AD, different approaches to treat such disease are being developed, from a microbiome perspective. The microbiome encompasses a diverse microorganism, including beneficial bacteria that create a positive impact to diminish AD pathogenesis. Growing evidence suggests that probiotic, prebiotic, synbiotic, and postbiotics can positively modulate the gut–brain axis, reducing systemic inflammation, restoring neurotransmitter balance, and improving gut health, thereby possibly mitigating AD pathogenesis. Moreover, there is paraprobiotics as the most recently developed biotherapeutic with beneficial effects. This review explores the correlation between AD and gut–brain axis as a novel biotherapeutic target. The underlying mechanism of the microbiota–gut–brain axis in AD is examined. Novel insights into the current applications as potential treatment and its limitations are highlighted.

RNA interference (RNAi), a mechanism for post-transcriptional gene silencing using small interfering RNA (siRNA) or microRNA (miRNA), has emerged as a promising approach for managing numerous genetic disorders by selectively targeting and degrading the mRNA of implicated genes. However, the clinical application of these therapeutics is hindered by significant challenges that limit their delivery to target sites. RNAi therapeutics face multiple extracellular and intracellular barriers post-administration, including rapid glomerular excretion, recognition, and opsonization by the reticuloendothelial system (RES), and catalytic degradation by nucleases, leading to poor cellular and tissue penetration. To address these challenges, various delivery strategies have been explored to efficiently transport these RNAi therapeutics to their intended tissues. These strategies encompass chemical modification, bioconjugation with specific ligands, and carrier-mediated approaches. Nanotechnology-based delivery systems have demonstrated remarkable capabilities in encapsulating and delivering these molecules to their specific cells. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop innovative delivery systems that can effectively encapsulate and target RNAi therapeutics. By targeting key genes, RNA interference holds the potential to address numerous genetic, viral, and cancer diseases at an early stage. This book chapter explores several studies detailing diverse design strategies aimed at overcoming the hurdles encountered in RNAi delivery.