Neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, are a leading cause of ill health worldwide.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow, in collaboration with Tel Aviv University and international colleagues, have shown that brain parasites can be used to deliver drugs to the brain to treat cognitive disorders.
In a study published in 2011, Nature MicrobiologyResearchers investigated whether Toxoplasma gondii, a common brain parasite, could be used to deliver treatments across the blood-brain barrier, a major complication in the treatment of many neurological diseases.
According to a study Published In The Lancet Neurology According to a report published in March and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, neurological diseases are considered the leading cause of ill health worldwide, with stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other dementias, and diabetic neuropathy being the leading causes worldwide.
Researchers genetically engineered Toxoplasma gondii to deliver the MeCP2 protein, a therapeutic protein that has been identified as a promising target for Rett syndrome, a debilitating neurological disorder caused by mutations in the MeCP2 gene.
Toxoplasma gondii, which has evolved to migrate from the digestive system to the brain where it secretes proteins into neurons, is estimated to be carried in a dormant state by one-third of the world’s population and has been linked to neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and Rett syndrome.
The team then tested and confirmed that the modified parasites could deliver the protein to target cell locations, both in the laboratory, in brain organoids, and in mouse models.
The researchers now hope to further refine the mechanism by which the parasite dies after delivering the MeCP2 protein to prevent it from harming cells, and that it could then be used to safely deliver important therapeutic proteins to help treat neurological diseases.
“This concept is not without challenges, given the risks associated with Toxoplasma infection,” said Professor Lilach Shaner of the University of Glasgow’s Department of Infection and Immunology, one of the study’s lead authors. “Many more years of careful research and development to increase efficiency and improve safety will be needed before our research can become a therapeutic reality.”
