Recent prospective of surface engineered Nanoparticles in the management of Neurodegenerative disorders

Dual effect of TAT functionalized DHAH lipid nanoparticles with neurotrophic factors in human BBB and microglia cultures

Background

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) are an accelerating global health problem. Nevertheless, the stronghold of the brain- the blood–brain barrier (BBB) prevents drug penetrance and dwindles effective treatments. Therefore, it is crucial to identify Trojan horse-like drug carriers that can effectively cross the blood–brain barrier and reach the brain tissue. We have previously developed polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)-based nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC), namely DHAH-NLC. These carriers are modulated with BBB-permeating compounds such as chitosan (CS) and trans-activating transcriptional activator (TAT) from HIV-1 that can entrap neurotrophic factors (NTF) serving as nanocarriers for NDs treatment. Moreover, microglia are suggested as a key causative factor of the undergoing neuroinflammation of NDs. In this work, we used in vitro models to investigate whether DHAH-NLCs can enter the brain via the BBB and investigate the therapeutic effect of NTF-containing DHAH-NLC and DHAH-NLC itself on lipopolysaccharide-challenged microglia.

Methods

We employed human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) to capitalize on the in vivo-like TEER of this BBB model and quantitatively assessed the permeability of DHAH-NLCs. We also used the HMC3 microglia cell line to assess the therapeutic effect of NTF-containing DHAH-NLC upon LPS challenge.

Results

TAT-functionalized DHAH-NLCs successfully crossed the in vitro BBB model, which exhibited high transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) values (≈3000 Ω*cm²). Specifically, the TAT-functionalized DHAH-NLCs showed a permeability of up to 0.4% of the dose. Furthermore, using human microglia (HMC3), we demonstrate that DHAH-NLCs successfully counteracted the inflammatory response in our cultures after LPS challenge. Moreover, the encapsulation of glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GNDF)-containing DHAH-NLCs (DHAH-NLC-GNDF) activated the Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, suggesting the triggering of the endogenous anti-oxidative system present in microglia.

Conclusions

Overall, this work shows that the TAT-functionalized DHAH-NLCs can cross the BBB, modulate immune responses, and serve as cargo carriers for growth factors; thus, constituting an attractive and promising novel drug delivery approach for the transport of therapeutics through the BBB into the brain.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12987-022-00315-1.

Intranasal Nanoemulsions for Direct Nose-to-Brain Delivery of Actives for CNS Disorders

The treatment of various central nervous system (CNS) diseases has been challenging, despite the rapid development of several novel treatment approaches. The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is one of the major issues in the treatment of CNS diseases, having major role in the protection of the brain but simultaneously constituting the main limiting hurdle for drugs targeting the brain. Nasal drug delivery has gained significant interest for brain targeting over the past decades, wherein the drug is directly delivered to the brain by the trigeminal and olfactory pathway. Various novel and promising formulation approaches have been explored for drug targeting to the brain by nasal administration. Nanoemulsions have the potential to avoid problems, including low solubility, poor bioavailability, slow onset of action, and enzymatic degradation. The present review highlights research scenarios of nanoemulsions for nose-to-brain delivery for the management of CNS ailments classified on the basis of brain disorders and further identifies the areas that remain unexplored. The significance of the total dose delivered to the target region, biodistribution studies, and long-term toxicity studies have been identified as the key areas of future research.

Would Colloidal Gold Nanocarriers Present An Effective Diagnosis Or Treatment For Ischemic Stroke?

INTRODUCTION

This study was conducted to evaluate OX26-PEG-coated gold nanoparticles (GNPs) (OX26@GNPs) as a novel targeted nanoparticulate system on cell survival after ischemic stroke.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta sizer, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were performed to characterize the OX26@GNPs. The effect of OX26@GNPs on infarct volume, neuronal loss, and necroptosis was evaluated 24 h after reperfusion using 2, 3,5-Triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining, Nissl staining and Western blot assay, respectively.

RESULTS

Conjugation of OX26-PEG to the surface of the 25 nm colloidal gold particles increased their size to 32±2 nm, while a zeta potential change of -40.4 to 3.40 mV remarkably increased the stability of the nanoparticles. Most importantly, OX26@GNPs significantly increased the infarcted brain tissue, while bare GNPs and PEGylated GNPs had no effect on the infarct volume. However, our results indicated an extension of necroptotic cell death, followed by cell membrane damage.

CONCLUSION

Collectively, our results showed that the presently formulated OX26@GNPs are not suitable nanocarriers nor contrast agents under oxidative stress for the diagnosis and treatment of ischemic stroke. Moreover, our findings suggest that the cytotoxicity of GNPs in the brain is significantly associated with their surface charge.

Drug delivery in overcoming the blood-brain barrier: role of nasal mucosal grafting

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) plays a fundamental role in protecting and maintaining the homeostasis of the brain. For this reason, drug delivery to the brain is much more difficult than that to other compartments of the body. In order to bypass or cross the BBB, many strategies have been developed: invasive techniques, such as temporary disruption of the BBB or direct intraventricular and intracerebral administration of the drug, as well as noninvasive techniques. Preliminary results, reported in the large number of studies on the potential strategies for brain delivery, are encouraging, but it is far too early to draw any conclusion about the actual use of these therapeutic approaches. Among the most recent, but still pioneering, approaches related to the nasal mucosa properties, the permeabilization of the BBB via nasal mucosal engrafting can offer new potential opportunities. It should be emphasized that this surgical procedure is quite invasive, but the implication for patient outcome needs to be compared to the gold standard of direct intracranial injection, and evaluated whilst keeping in mind that central nervous system diseases and lysosomal storage diseases are chronic and severely debilitating and that up to now no therapy seems to be completely successful.