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Zhang W, Smith N, Zhou Y, McGee CM, Bartoli M, Fu S, Chen J, Domena JB, Joji A, Burr H, Lv G, Cilingir EK, Bedendo S, Claure ML, Tagliaferro A, Eliezer D, Veliz EA, Zhang F, Wang C, Leblanc RM. Carbon dots as dual inhibitors of tau and amyloid-beta aggregation for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Acta Biomater 2024:S1742-7061(24)00306-4. [PMID: 38849023 DOI: 10.1016/j.actbio.2024.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2024] [Revised: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of senile dementia, presenting a significant challenge for the development of effective treatments. AD is characterized by extracellular amyloid plaques and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles. Therefore, targeting both hallmarks through inhibition of amyloid beta (Aβ) and tau aggregation presents a promising approach for drug development. Carbon dots (CD), with their high biocompatibility, minimal cytotoxicity, and blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability, have emerged as promising drug nanocarriers. Congo red, an azo dye, has gathered significant attention for inhibiting amyloid-beta and tau aggregation. However, Congo red's inability to cross the BBB limits its potential to be used as a drug candidate for central nervous system (CNS) diseases. Furthermore, current studies only focus on using Congo red to target single disease hallmarks, without investigating dual inhibition capabilities. In this study, we synthesized Congo red-derived CD (CRCD) by using Congo red and citric acid as precursors, resulting in three variants, CRCD1, CRCD2 and CRCD3, based on different mass ratios of precursors. CRCD2 and CRCD3 exhibited sustained low cytotoxicity, and CRCD3 demonstrated the ability to traverse the BBB in a zebrafish model. Moreover, thioflavin T (ThT) aggregation assays and AFM imaging revealed CRCD as potent inhibitors against both tau and Aβ aggregation. Notably, CRCD1 emerged as the most robust inhibitor, displaying IC50 values of 0.2 ± 0.1 and 2.1 ± 0.5 µg/mL against tau and Aβ aggregation, respectively. Our findings underscore the dual inhibitory role of CRCD against tau and Aβ aggregation, showcasing effective BBB penetration and positioning CRCD as potential nanodrugs and nanocarriers for the CNS. Hence, CRCD-based compounds represent a promising candidate in the realm of multi-functional AD therapeutics, offering an innovative formulation component for future developments in this area. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: This article reports Congo red-derived carbon dots (CRCD) as dual inhibitors of tau and amyloid-beta (Aβ) aggregation for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The CRCD are biocompatible and show strong fluorescence, high stability, the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, and the function of addressing two major pathological features of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Nathan Smith
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY 12180, USA
| | - Yiqun Zhou
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA; Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
| | - Caitlin M McGee
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Mattia Bartoli
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Italy; Center for Sustainable Future Technologies (CSFT), Istituto Italiano di Technologia (IIT), Via Livorno 60, 10144 Turin, Italy
| | - Shiwei Fu
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Jiuyan Chen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Justin B Domena
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Annu Joji
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Hannah Burr
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY 12180, USA
| | - Guohua Lv
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Emel K Cilingir
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Susanna Bedendo
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
| | - Matteo L Claure
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | | | - David Eliezer
- Department of Biochemistry, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Eduardo A Veliz
- Department of Natural Sciences, Miami Dade Collage, Miami, FL 33132, USA
| | - Fuwu Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Chunyu Wang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY 12180, USA.
| | - Roger M Leblanc
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA.
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Chen J, Li F, Zhao B, Gu J, Brejcha NM, Bartoli M, Zhang W, Zhou Y, Fu S, Domena JB, Zafar A, Zhang F, Tagliaferro A, Verde F, Zhang F, Zhang Y, Leblanc RM. Gene Transfection Efficiency Improvement with Lipid Conjugated Cationic Carbon Dots. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2024; 16:27087-27101. [PMID: 38752799 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c02614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
An ideal vehicle with a high transfection efficiency is crucial for gene delivery. In this study, a type of cationic carbon dot (CCD) known as APCDs were first prepared with arginine (Arg) and pentaethylenehexamine (PEHA) as precursors and conjugated with oleic acid (OA) for gene delivery. By tuning the mass ratio of APCDs to OA, APCDs-OA conjugates, namely, APCDs-0.5OA, APCDs-1.0OA, and APCDs-1.5OA were synthesized. All three amphiphilic APCDs-OA conjugates show high affinity to DNA through electrostatic interactions. APCDs-0.5OA exhibit strong binding with small interfering RNA (siRNA). After being internalized by Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK 293) and osteosarcoma (U2OS) cells, they could distribute in both the cytoplasm and the nucleus. With APCDs-OA conjugates as gene delivery vehicles, plasmid DNA (pDNA) that encodes the gene for the green fluorescence protein (GFP) can be successfully delivered in both HEK 293 and U2OS cells. The GFP expression levels mediated by APCDs-0.5OA and APCDs-1.0OA are ten times greater than that of PEI in HEK 293 cells. Furthermore, APCDs-0.5OA show prominent siRNA transfection efficiency, which is proven by the significantly downregulated expression of FANCA and FANCD2 proteins upon delivery of FANCA siRNA and FANCD2 siRNA into U2OS cells. In conclusion, our work demonstrates that conjugation of CCDs with a lipid structure such as OA significantly improves the gene transfection efficiency, providing a new idea about the designation of nonviral carriers in gene delivery systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiuyan Chen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Fang Li
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Bowen Zhao
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Jun Gu
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Nicholas Michael Brejcha
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Mattia Bartoli
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Torino 10129, Italy
| | - Wei Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Yiqun Zhou
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Shiwei Fu
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Justin B Domena
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Alyan Zafar
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Fuwu Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Alberto Tagliaferro
- Department of Applied Science and Technology, Politecnico di Torino, Torino 10129, Italy
| | - Fulvia Verde
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Fangliang Zhang
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Yanbin Zhang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Roger M Leblanc
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
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Sabol A, Zhou Y, Zhang W, Ferreira BCLB, Chen J, Leblanc RM, Catenazzi A. Carbon nitride dots do not impair the growth, development, and telomere length of tadpoles. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 916:170176. [PMID: 38244620 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 12/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024]
Abstract
Carbon nanoparticles, or carbon dots, can have many beneficial uses. However, we must consider whether they may have any potential negative side effects on wildlife or the ecosystem when these particles end up in wastewater. Early development stages of amphibians are particularly sensitive to contaminants, and exposure to carbon dots could disrupt their development and cause morbidity or death. Past studies have investigated short-term exposure to certain types of nanoparticles, but if these particles get into wastewater exposure may not be short term. Therefore, we tested whether chronic exposure to different concentrations of carbon dots affects the growth, metamorphosis, and telomere length of Cuban tree frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) tadpoles. We exposed 12 groups of five tadpoles each to different concentrations of carbon dots and a control for three months and tracked survival, growth and metamorphosis. We used carbon nitride dots approximately 2 nm in size at concentrations of 0.01 mg/ml and 0.02 mg/ml, known to interrupt development in zebrafish embryos. After three months, we measured telomere length from tissue samples. We found no difference in tadpole survivorship, growth, development rate, or telomere length among any of the groups, suggesting that carbon dots at these concentrations do not disrupt tadpole development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Sabol
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA.
| | - Yiqun Zhou
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA; Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Wei Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | | | - Jiuyan Chen
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Roger M Leblanc
- Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA
| | - Alessandro Catenazzi
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
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