cRGD mediated liposomes enhanced antidepressant-like effects of edaravone in rats

Intranasal administration of edaravone nanoparticles improves its stability and brain bioavailability

The clinical application of EDV, a potent antioxidant drug approved for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is limited by its short biological half-life and poor water solubility necessitating hospitalization during intravenous infusion. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery constitutes a powerful tool through inferring drug stability and targeted drug delivery improving drug bioavailability at the diseased site. Nose-to-brain drug delivery offers direct access to the brain bypassing the blood brain barrier and reducing systemic biodistribution. In this study, we designed EDV-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-based polymeric nanoparticles (NP-EDV) for intranasal administration. NPs were formulated by the nanoprecipitation method. Morphology, EDV loading, physicochemical properties, shelf-life stability, in vitro release and pharmacokinetic assessment in mice were conducted. EDV was efficiently loaded into ∼90 nm NPs, stable up to 30 days of storage, at ∼3% drug loading. NP-EDV reduced H2O2-induced oxidative stress toxicity in mouse microglial cell line BV-2. Optical imaging and ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) showed that intranasal delivery of NP-EDV offered higher and more sustained brain uptake of EDV compared to intravenous administration. This study is the first of its kind to develop an ALS drug in a nanoparticulate formulation for nose-to-brain delivery raising hope to ALS patients where currently treatment options are limited to two clinically approved drugs only.

Nanosystems, Drug Molecule Functionalization and Intranasal Delivery: An Update on the Most Promising Strategies for Increasing the Therapeutic Efficacy of Antidepressant and Anxiolytic Drugs

Depression and anxiety are high incidence and debilitating psychiatric disorders, usually treated by antidepressant or anxiolytic drug administration, respectively. Nevertheless, treatment is usually given through the oral route, but the low permeability of the blood-brain barrier reduces the amount of drug that will be able to reach it, thus consequently reducing the therapeutic efficacy. Which is why it is imperative to find new solutions to make these treatments more effective, safer, and faster. To overcome this obstacle, three main strategies have been used to improve brain drug targeting: the intranasal route of administration, which allows the drug to be directly transported to the brain by neuronal pathways, bypassing the blood-brain barrier and avoiding the hepatic and gastrointestinal metabolism; the use of nanosystems for drug encapsulation, including polymeric and lipidic nanoparticles, nanometric emulsions, and nanogels; and drug molecule functionalization by ligand attachment, such as peptides and polymers. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic in vivo studies' results have shown that intranasal administration can be more efficient in brain targeting than other administration routes, and that the use of nanoformulations and drug functionalization can be quite advantageous in increasing brain-drug bioavailability. These strategies could be the key to future improved therapies for depressive and anxiety disorders.

Edaravone protects rat astrocytes from oxidative or neurotoxic inflammatory insults by restoring Akt/Bcl-2/Caspase-3 signaling axis

Astrocytes are the major glia cells in the central nervous system (CNS). Increasing evidence indicates that more than to be safe-guard and supporting cells for neurons, astrocytes play a broad spectrum of neuroprotective and pathological functions. Thus, they are compelling models to decipher mechanistic insights of glia cells to CNS insults and for the development of drugs. Edaravone is a free radical scavenger with the capacity to eliminate hydroxyl radicals and lipid peroxides. In this study, we examined the neuroprotective effects of edaravone in rat astrocytes challenged by hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) or bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS), respectively. We discovered that edaravone attenuated H₂O₂-induced oxidative stress by reactivating the Akt signaling axis and antagonistically restoring the expression of apoptosis associated regulators such as Bcl-2 and Caspase-3. Consistently, inhibition of Akt signaling by LY294002 attenuated the anti-oxidative activity of edaravone. In addition, edaravone mitigated LPS-induced morphological changes in astrocytes and alleviated the inflammatory activation and expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and NOS2. In summary, our data suggested that edavarone effectively protects astrocytes from oxidative stress or infectious insults, which may pave a new avenue for its application in preclinical research and human disease therapeutics.

Potential application of liposomal nanodevices for non-cancer diseases: an update on design, characterization and biopharmaceutical evaluation

Liposomes, lipid-based vesicular systems, have attracted major interest as a means to improve drug delivery to various organs and tissues in the human body. Recent literature highlights the benefits of liposomes for use as drug delivery systems, including encapsulating of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic cargos, passive and active targeting, enhanced drug bioavailability and therapeutic effects, reduced systemic side effects, improved cargo penetration into the target tissue and triggered contents release. Pioneering work of liposomes researchers led to introduction of long-circulating, ligand-targeted and triggered release liposomes, as well as, liposomes containing nucleic acids and vesicles containing combination of cargos. Altogether, these findings have led to widespread application of liposomes in a plethora of areas from cancer to conditions such as cardiovascular, neurologic, respiratory, skin, autoimmune and eye disorders. There are numerous review articles on the application of liposomes in treatment of cancer, which seems the primary focus, whereas other diseases also benefit from liposome-mediated treatments. Therefore, this article provides an illustrated detailed overview of liposomal formulations, in vitro characterization and their applications in different disorders other than cancer. Challenges and future directions, which must be considered to obtain the most benefit from applications of liposomes in these disorders, are discussed.

Biologically-derived nanomaterials for targeted therapeutic delivery to the brain

Delivery of imaging agents and pharmaceutical payloads to the central nervous system (CNS) is essential for efficient diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases. However, therapeutic delivery is often restricted by the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which prevents transport of clinical compounds to their region of interest. This review discusses the methods that have been used to avoid or overcome this barrier, presenting the use of biologically-derived nanomaterial systems as an efficient strategy for the diagnosis and treatment of CNS diseases. Biological nanomaterials have many advantages over synthetic systems, including being biodegradable, biocompatible, easily surface functionalised for conjugation of targeting moieties, and are often able to self-assemble. These abilities are discussed in relation to various systems, including liposomes, dendrimers, and viral nanoparticles.

Surface modification of PGP for a neutrophil-nanoparticle co-vehicle to enhance the anti-depressant effect of baicalein

Exploiting cells as vehicles combined with nanoparticles combined with therapy has attracted increasing attention in the world recently. Red blood cells, leukocytes and stem cells have been used for tumor immunotherapy, tissue regeneration and inflammatory disorders, and it is known that neutrophils can accumulate in brain lesions in many brain diseases including depression. N-Acetyl Pro-Gly-Pro (PGP) peptide shows high specific binding affinity to neutrophils through the CXCR2 receptor. In this study, PGP was used to modify baicalein-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (PGP-SLNs) to facilitate binding to neutrophils in vivo. Brain-targeted delivery to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) was demonstrated by enhanced concentration of baicalein in the BLA. An enhanced anti-depressant effect was observed in vitro and in vivo. The mechanism involved inhibition of apoptosis and a decrease in lactate dehydrogenase release. Behavioral evaluation carried out with rats demonstrated that anti-depression outcomes were achieved. The results indicate that PGP-SLNs decrease immobility time, increase swimming time and climbing time and attenuate locomotion in olfactory-bulbectomized (OB) rats. In conclusion, PGP modification is a strategy for targeting the brain with a cell-nanoparticle delivery system for depression therapy.

A novel strategy to achieve effective drug delivery: exploit cells as carrier combined with nanoparticles

Cell-mediated drug delivery systems employ specific cells as drug vehicles to deliver drugs to targeted sites. Therapeutics or imaging agents are loaded into these cells and then released in diseased sites. These specific cells mainly include red blood cells, leukocytes, stem cells and so on. The cell acts as a Trojan horse to transfer the drug from circulating blood to the diseased tissue. In such a system, these cells keep their original properties, which allow them to mimic the migration behavior of specific cells to carry drug to the targeted site after in vivo administration. This strategy elegantly combines the advantages of both carriers, i.e. the adjustability of nanoparticles (NPs) and the natural functions of active cells, which therefore provides a new perspective to challenge current obstacles in drug delivery. This review will describe a fundamental understanding of these cell-based drug delivery systems, and discuss the great potential of combinational application of cell carrier and NPs.

Direct Macromolecular Drug Delivery to Cerebral Ischemia Area using Neutrophil-Mediated Nanoparticles

Delivery of macromolecular drugs to the brain is impeded by the blood brain barrier. The recruitment of leukocytes to lesions in the brain, a typical feature of neuroinflammation response which occurs in cerebral ischemia, offers a unique opportunity to deliver drugs to inflammation sites in the brain. In the present study, cross-linked dendrigraft poly-L-lysine (DGL) nanoparticles containing cis-aconitic anhydride-modified catalase and modified with PGP, an endogenous tripeptide that acts as a ligand with high affinity to neutrophils, were developed to form the cl PGP-PEG-DGL/CAT-Aco system. Significant binding efficiency to neutrophils, efficient protection of catalase enzymatic activity from degradation and effective transport to receiver cells were revealed in the delivery system. Delivery of catalase to ischemic subregions and cerebral neurocytes in MCAO mice was significantly enhanced, which obviously reducing infarct volume in MCAO mice. Thus, the therapeutic outcome of cerebral ischemia was greatly improved. The underlying mechanism was found to be related to the inhibition of ROS-mediated apoptosis. Considering that neuroinflammation occurs in many neurological disorders, the strategy developed here is not only promising for treatment of cerebral ischemia but also an effective approach for various CNS diseases related to inflammation.

Evolving Drug Delivery Strategies to Overcome the Blood Brain Barrier

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) poses a unique challenge for drug delivery to the central nervous system (CNS). The BBB consists of a continuous layer of specialized endothelial cells linked together by tight junctions, pericytes, nonfenestrated basal lamina, and astrocytic foot processes. This complex barrier controls and limits the systemic delivery of therapeutics to the CNS. Several innovative strategies have been explored to enhance the transport of therapeutics across the BBB, each with individual advantages and disadvantages. Ongoing advances in delivery approaches that overcome the BBB are enabling more effective therapies for CNS diseases. In this review, we discuss: (1) the physiological properties of the BBB, (2) conventional strategies to enhance paracellular and transcellular transport through the BBB, (3) emerging concepts to overcome the BBB, and (4) alternative CNS drug delivery strategies that bypass the BBB entirely. Based on these exciting advances, we anticipate that in the near future, drug delivery research efforts will lead to more effective therapeutic interventions for diseases of the CNS.

Edaravone abrogates LPS-induced behavioral anomalies, neuroinflammation and PARP-1

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) is a DNA nick-sensor enzyme that functions at the center of cellular stress response and affects the immune system at several key points, and thus modulates inflammatory diseases. Our previous study demonstrated that lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced depressive-like behavior in mice can be ameliorated by 3-aminobenzamide, which is a PARP-1 inhibitor. In the present study we've examined the effect of a free radical scavenger, edaravone pretreatment against LPS-induced anxiety and depressive-like behavior as well as various hippocampal biochemical parameters including PARP-1. Male Swiss albino mice were treated with edaravone (3 & 10mg/kgi.p.) once daily for 14days. On the 14th day 30min after edaravone treatment mice were challenged with LPS (1mg/kgi.p.). After 3h and 24h of LPS administration we've tested mice for anxiety and depressive-like behaviors respectively. Western blotting analysis of PARP-1 in hippocampus was carried out after 12h of LPS administration. Moreover, after 24h of LPS administration serum corticosterone, hippocampal BDNF, oxido-nitrosative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokines were estimated by ELISA. Results showed that pretreatment of edaravone (10mg/kg) ameliorates LPS-induced anxiety and depressive-like behavior. Western blotting analysis showed that LPS-induced anomalous expression of PARP-1 significantly reverses by the pretreatment of edaravone (10mg/kg). Biochemical analyses revealed that LPS significantly diminishes BDNF, increases pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxido-nitrosative stress in the hippocampus. However, pretreatment with edaravone (10mg/kg) prominently reversed all these biochemical alterations. Our study emphasized that edaravone pretreatment prevents LPS-induced anxiety and depressive-like behavior, mainly by impeding the inflammation, oxido-nitrosative stress and PARP-1 overexpression.