Researchers at Mayo Clinic have demonstrated in a mouse model that their recently developed synthetic peptide carrier is a potential delivery vehicle for brain cancer chemotherapy drugs and other neurological medications. The findings appear in PLOS ONE.
"Not only have we shown that we can transport eight different molecules, we think this method will be less disruptive or invasive because it mimics a normal physiological process," says Mayo Clinic neuroscientist Gobinda Sarkar, Ph.D., the corresponding author of the study. The researchers are able to transport the drugs without modifying any of the molecules involved. They say this development will aid in evaluation of potential new drugs for brain cancer.
The blood-brain barrier is meant to protect the brain from numerous undesirable chemicals circulating in the body, but it also obstructs access for treatment of brain tumors and other conditions. Too often the only recourse is invasive, which often limits a drug's effectiveness or causes irreversible damage to an already damaged brain. Nearly all of the drugs that could potentially help are too large to normally pass through the barrier. Additionally, other methods may damage the vascular system.
In this case, the synthetic peptide K16ApoE, once injected into a vein, binds to proteins in the blood to create entities that can pass for near-normal ligands to some receptors present on the blood-brain barrier. The 'pseudo-ligand' receptor interaction creates what the researchers believe to be transient pores through which various molecules can be transported to the brain. The molecules they've transported in this manner include cisplatin, methotrexate, cetuximab, three different dyes, and synthetic peptides Y8 and I-125. The researchers believe this is the least complicated, least expensive and most versatile method for delivering therapeutics to the brain. Previously, the researchers delivered antibodies targeted against amyloid plaques into the brains of mouse models of Alzheimer's disease using this same method.
"We know that some chemotherapeutic agents can kill brain tumor cells when they are outside the brain (as in a laboratory test). But because the agents cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, they are not able to kill brain tumor cells inside the brain. With the peptide carrier, these agents can now get into the brain and potentially kill the tumor cells," says Mayo neurology researcher Robert Jenkins, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study.
The researchers say their method, which has been successfully demonstrated in mice, meets three of five requirements for a usable therapy: It's feasible as a repeated procedure; it should be relatively easy to introduce into medical practice; and it would work for any size or location of brain tumor. More research will need to be done to prove effectiveness and determine any adverse effects.
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Researchers at Mayo Clinic have demonstrated in a mouse model that their recently developed synthetic peptide carrier is a potential delivery vehicle for brain cancer chemotherapy drugs and other neurological medications. The findings appear in PLOS ONE.
"Not only have we shown that we can transport eight different molecules, we think this method will be less disruptive or invasive because it mimics a normal physiological process," says Mayo Clinic neuroscientist Gobinda Sarkar, Ph.D., the corresponding author of the study. The researchers are able to transport the drugs without modifying any of the molecules involved. They say this development will aid in evaluation of potential new drugs for brain cancer.
The blood-brain barrier is meant to protect the brain from numerous undesirable chemicals circulating in the body, but it also obstructs access for treatment of brain tumors and other conditions. Too often the only recourse is invasive, which often limits a drug's effectiveness or causes irreversible damage to an already damaged brain. Nearly all of the drugs that could potentially help are too large to normally pass through the barrier. Additionally, other methods may damage the vascular system.
In this case, the synthetic peptide K16ApoE, once injected into a vein, binds to proteins in the blood to create entities that can pass for near-normal ligands to some receptors present on the blood-brain barrier. The 'pseudo-ligand' receptor interaction creates what the researchers believe to be transient pores through which various molecules can be transported to the brain. The molecules they've transported in this manner include cisplatin, methotrexate, cetuximab, three different dyes, and synthetic peptides Y8 and I-125. The researchers believe this is the least complicated, least expensive and most versatile method for delivering therapeutics to the brain. Previously, the researchers delivered antibodies targeted against amyloid plaques into the brains of mouse models of Alzheimer's disease using this same method.
"We know that some chemotherapeutic agents can kill brain tumor cells when they are outside the brain (as in a laboratory test). But because the agents cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, they are not able to kill brain tumor cells inside the brain. With the peptide carrier, these agents can now get into the brain and potentially kill the tumor cells," says Mayo neurology researcher Robert Jenkins, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study.
The researchers say their method, which has been successfully demonstrated in mice, meets three of five requirements for a usable therapy: It's feasible as a repeated procedure; it should be relatively easy to introduce into medical practice; and it would work for any size or location of brain tumor. More research will need to be done to prove effectiveness and determine any adverse effects.
Explore further: Why inflammation leads to a leaky blood-brain barrier: MicroRNA-155
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Why inflammation leads to a leaky blood-brain barrier: MicroRNA-155
Jun 02, 2014
Until now, scientists have not known exactly how inflammation weakens the Blood-Brain Barrier, allowing toxins and other molecules access to the brain. A new research report appearing in the June 2014 issue of The FASEB Jo ...
Research team breakthrough in delivering drugs to the brain
Mar 11, 2013
Researchers at UCL have made a breakthrough in the way that drugs could be delivered to the brain.
New method for efficiently transporting antibodies across the blood-brain barrier reported
Jan 08, 2014
Today the scientific journal Neuron published results on the Roche-designed Brain Shuttle technology that efficiently transfers investigational antibodies from the blood through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) into the brain ...
Nano drug crosses blood-brain tumor barrier, targets brain tumor cells and blood vessels
Jul 17, 2013
(Phys.org) —An experimental drug in early development for aggressive brain tumors can cross the blood-brain tumor barrier and kill tumor cells and block the growth of tumor blood vessels, according to a recent study led ...
New technique allows anti-breast cancer drugs to cross blood-brain barrier
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