The brain's blood-brain barrier is a vital part of protecting the delicate neurons inside. Its strict admission policy can make it difficult to dispatch drugs to treat brain diseases.
Scientists have been trying to find ways to give medical treatments a passport to cross the blood-brain barrier, and a new study outlines one of the most promising approaches yet.
A new antibody is able to open the blood-brain barrier for a couple of hours at a time, a window of opportunity for drugs to be delivered. It could make it easier to treat neurological conditions.
This is the first time that we have figured out how to control the blood-brain barrier with a molecule.
The Wnt signaling pathway was tapped into by the researchers. In this study, the communications network was used to open the blood-brain barrier.
The molecule Unc5B is involved in regulating blood vessels and surrounding tissue. Experiments show that when this receptor was knocked out in mice, they died as embryos because their blood vessel network failed to develop properly.
It was found that removing Unc5B reduced the levels of aprotein called Claudin-5, which is vital in building up the junctions of the blood-brain barrier.
The blood-brain barrier in adult mice was open because of the absence of Unc5B. The Netrin-1 binding substance controls how effective Unc5B is. The Wnt pathway was disrupted by the development of an antibody.
Kevin Boy, the study's lead author, says it was a fascinating journey, especially the development of the blocking antibodies.
It is an exciting development that Unc5B has not previously been linked to the function of the Wnt signaling pathway in this way.
There is still work to be done. The researchers will be looking out for any toxicity and side effects that might make it difficult to deliver drugs in this way.
The team hopes that their findings can be used to improve the treatment of cancer tumors in the brain. There is a chance that the same antibody could be used in other areas of the central nervous system.
This paves the way to more interesting basic research around how the body builds a tight barrier to protect its neurons and how can it be manipulated for drug delivery purposes.
The research has been published.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
