{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,17]],"date-time":"2026-10-17T21:13:03Z","timestamp":1792271583354,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"11","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,27]],"date-time":"2025-05-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748304000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Research Council of the Saint Joseph University\u2014Faculty of Medicine","award":["FM 382"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FM 382"]}]},{"name":"Research Council of the Saint Joseph University\u2014Faculty of Medicine","award":["FM 419"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["FM 419"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: The pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) is very complex and is associated with neuroinflammation and blood\u2013brain barrier compromise. Experimental investigations of NPSLE have classically relied on spontaneous models. Recently, TLR7 agonist-induced lupus has been shown to exhibit similar neuropsychiatric manifestations to spontaneous ones. Cinnamon is a widespread spice and natural flavoring agent. It has been proven to modulate vascular endothelial tight junctions, neuroinflammation, and autoimmunity pathways, but it has never been tested in relation to lupus. Hypothesis\/Purpose: In this pilot study, we aimed to explore the disease-modifying effect of Cinnamomum cassia on NPSLE in a TLR7 agonist-induced model. Study Design: An experimental design was followed in this study. Methods: Lupus was induced in C57BL\/6J female mice via the direct application of imiquimod, a TLR7 agonist (5% imiquimod cream, 1.25 mg three times weekly), to the skin. Mice were divided into five groups (n = 8 per group): a sham group (S), a sham group supplemented with cinnamon (SC), an imiquimod-treated group (L), an imiquimod-treated group supplemented with cinnamon starting from induction (LC), and an imiquimod-treated group supplemented with cinnamon beginning two weeks prior to induction (CLC). This protocol was followed for six consecutive weeks. Cinnamomum cassia powder was administered orally at 200 mg\/kg, 5 days per week. Results: Behavioral alterations were significantly ameliorated in the CLC group compared to lupus mice. Neuronal shrinkage and nuclear chromatin condensation were visible in the hippocampal cornu ammonis and dentate gyrus zones of lupus mice, with an increased expression of TLR7 and NLRP3, versus significantly less neurodegeneration and TLR7 and NLRP3 expression in the CLC group. In addition, the expression of the blood\u2013brain barrier endothelial cell tight junction proteins claudin-1, occludin, and ZO-1 was abnormally modified in lupus mice and was restored in the CLC group. Moreover, while the cell\u2013cell border delocalization of claudin-1 was documented in cultured blood\u2013brain barrier endothelial cells treated with the plasma of lupus mice to a punctate intracytoplasmic fluorescence pattern, only cells treated with the plasma of the CLC group exhibited a complete reversal of this redistribution of claudin-1. Finally, cinnamaldehyde seemed to interact with TLR7 at multiple sites. Conclusions:Cinnamomum cassia seems to alleviate the pathogenesis of NPSLE. Supplementation with Cinnamomum cassia could be of great interest to modulate the activity and severity of the disease.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu17111820","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,27]],"date-time":"2025-05-27T11:12:57Z","timestamp":1748344377000},"page":"1820","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Cinnamomum cassia Alleviates Neuropsychiatric Lupus in a Murine Experimental Model"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3677-4609","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Georges","family":"Maalouly","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Research in Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut 1104 2020, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8093-2593","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Youakim","family":"Saliba","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Research in Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut 1104 2020, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Joelle","family":"Hajal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Research in Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut 1104 2020, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anna","family":"Zein-El-Din","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Research in Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut 1104 2020, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Luana","family":"Fakhoury","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Research in Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut 1104 2020, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rouaa","family":"Najem","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Research in Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut 1104 2020, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Viviane","family":"Smayra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut 1104 2020, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hussein","family":"Nassereddine","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut 1104 2020, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2935-2611","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nassim","family":"Fares","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Laboratory of Research in Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University of Beirut, Beirut 1104 2020, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kim, J.-W., Kim, H.-A., Suh, C.-H., and Jung, J.-Y. 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