New Delhi, Jan 27 (IANS) Scientists from the Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST) Mohali, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, on Monday, announced a targeted nano-formulation that will enable safer treatment method for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
The new nano-formulation helps in the sustained release of a hormone called 17beta-oestradiol which is crucial for managing Parkinson’s. Many neurodegenerative and psychiatric malignancies like Parkinson’s disease originate from an imbalance of 17 beta-oestradiol (E2) in the human brain.
However, the peripheral side effects of the usage of E2 for Parkinson’s therapy and less understanding of the molecular mechanism hinder establishing its neurotherapeutic potential, said the team. In the study, published in the journal Carbohydrate Polymers, the team noted using Dopamine Receptor D3 (DRD3) conjugated to 17beta-oestradiol-loaded chitosan nanoparticles that led to sustained release of 17beta-oestradiol (E2) to the brain.
“The targeted nano-formulation inhibited the mitochondrial translocation of calpain, thereby protecting neurons from rotenone-induced mitochondrial damage,” the researchers said.
Furthermore, in a rodent model, the targeted nano-delivery system alleviated behavioural impairments. In addition, the study reveals for the first time that BMI1, a member of the PRC1 complex that regulates mitochondrial homeostasis, is a substrate of calpain.
The targeted nano-formulation restored BMI1 expression by inhibiting its degradation through calpain. Calpain is a protein that breaks down proteins in cells in response to calcium.
The study “has helped in understanding the role of hormone (E2) in regulating oxidative stress in Parkinson’s patients. With the continued exploration of long-term safety profiles and better-targeted delivery, this can establish itself as a safer drug to improve the lives of Parkinson’s patients,” the researchers said.
Earlier, INST researchers showed that nano-formulation of melatonin — the hormone produced by the brain in response to darkness — could provide a therapeutic solution for Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s disease is one of the most common neurological disorders caused by the death of dopamine-secreting neurons in the brain due to aggregation of synuclein protein inside it.
Available medications can only minimise the symptoms but cannot cure the disease and this underlines the need to develop better therapeutic solutions for the disease.
–IANS
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