Parasites administer drugs to the brain

Could scientists use parasites in your brain to treat diseases? The concept of utilizing parasites as a medical tool may sound unconventional, but it offers hope for conditions like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Researchers believe that if parasites can transport drugs directly to the brain, it could aid in treating these ailments.

An international team of scientists is doing just that. They are utilizing single-cell parasites called Toxoplasma gondii, which causes the infection toxoplasmosis. These parasites naturally travel from the human intestine to the central nervous system and provide proteins to host cells. In their experiment, bioengineers manipulated the internal system of T. gondii cells to produce and release proteins outside the cell, creating a secretion system.

The team explained that delivering medications to the brain is challenging due to the blood-brain barriers that safeguard the brain from harmful substances. T. gondii has evolved the ability to overcome these barriers, which could be beneficial in this process. Initially, they tested whether T. gondii can cross the blood-brain barrier in mice and then in human brain cells, specifically neurons, before moving on to testing on intact mouse brains to potentially apply the findings to humans.

Their drug delivery system mediated by T. gondii consists of proteins created from at least two regions of different genes that are combined and translated into a single unit, known as a protein fusion. They incorporated a therapeutic drug with a T. gondii protein called takihorin to transport medicine to the brain.

Initially, scientists faced challenges in determining the appropriate dilution factor for the drug compound. They had to find a balance between allowing the proteins to pass through the blood-brain barrier while ensuring they were still therapeutically effective. Through trial and error, they found the correct dilution factor and successfully administered the treatment to the targeted brain area.

The next step involved delivering therapeutic proteins to brain cells through T. gondii. Researchers used lab-grown mouse brain cells and specific proteins that regulate the movement of molecules across the cell membrane, known as vesicle transport protein. They demonstrated that the engineered T. gondii successfully transported healing proteins to the brain cells of lab-grown mice.

The researchers then tested the treatment process on human brain cells cultivated outside of the body. They confirmed that the therapeutic proteins delivered by T. gondii could bind to the DNA of human brain cells. This binding altered gene expression in the laboratory-grown brain cells.

Finally, engineers demonstrated the success of this therapy on whole mouse brains. By ensuring that the therapeutic proteins could pass the blood-brain barrier in live mice, they then evaluated the brains post-euthanasia. Utilizing 3D imaging, they illuminated specific neural pathways and markers in the mouse brain, confirming that the engineered proteins effectively delivered therapeutic proteins to the brain.

The researchers concluded that their findings show progress in drug delivery via engineered parasites but emphasized the need for further research to determine the potential advantages and drawbacks of this method. With the success of this study, they proposed that utilizing engineered parasites for drug delivery could offer new treatment options for brain-related diseases.

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