Multidimensional autophagy nano-regulator boosts Alzheimer's disease treatment by improving both extra/intraneuronal homeostasis

Intraneuronal dysproteostasis and extraneuronal microenvironmental abnormalities in Alzheimer’s disease(AD)collectively culminate in neuronal deterioration.In the context of AD,autophagy dysfunction,a multi-link obstacle involving autophagy downregulation and lysosome defects in neurons/microglia is highly implicated in intra/extraneuronal pathological processes.Therefore,multidimensional autophagy regulation strategies co-manipulating“autophagy induction”and“lysosome degradation”in dual targets(neuron and microglia)are more reliable for AD treatment.Accordingly,we designed an RP-1 peptide-modified reactive oxygen species(ROS)-responsive micelles(RT-NM)loading rapamycin or gypenoside XVII.Guided by RP-1 peptide,the ligand of receptor for advanced glycation end products(RAGE),RT-NM efficiently targeted neurons and microglia in AD-affected region.This nanocombination therapy activated the whole autophagy-lysosome pathway by autophagy induction(rapamycin)and lysosome improvement(gypenoside XVII),thus enhancing autophagic degradation of neurotoxic aggregates and inflammasomes,and promoting Aβ phagocytosis.Resultantly,it decreased aberrant protein burden,alleviated neuroinflammation,and eventually ameliorated memory defects in 3×Tg-AD transgenic mice.Our research developed a multidimensional autophagy nano-regulator to boost the efficacy of autophagy-centered AD therapy.

Nanopolyphenol rejuvenates microglial surveillance of multiple misfolded proteins through metabolic reprogramming

Microglial surveillance plays an essential role in clearing misfolded proteins such as amyloid-beta,tau,andα-synuclein aggregates in neurodegenerative diseases.However,due to the complex structure and ambiguous pathogenic species of the misfolded proteins,a universal approach to remove the misfolded proteins remains unavailable.Here,we found that a polyphenol,α-mangostin,reprogrammed metabolism in the disease-associated microglia through shifting glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation,which holistically rejuvenated microglial surveillance capacity to enhance microglial phagocytosis and autophagy-mediated degradation of multiple misfolded proteins.Nanoformulation ofα-mangostin efficiently deliveredα-mangostin to microglia,relieved the reactive status and rejuvenated the misfolded-proteins clearance capacity of microglia,which thus impressively relieved the neuropathological changes in both Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease model mice.These findings provide direct evidences for the concept of rejuvenating microglial surveillance of multiple misfolded proteins through metabolic reprogramming,and demonstrate nanoformulatedα-mangostin as a potential and universal therapy against neurodegenerative diseases.

Modulating autophagic flux via ROS-responsive targeted micelles to restore neuronal proteostasis in Alzheimer’s disease

Compromised autophagy and defective lysosomal clearance significantly contribute to impaired neuronal proteostasis,which represents a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease(AD)and other age-related neurodegenerative disorders.Growing evidence has implicated that modulating autophagic flux,instead of inducing autophagosome formation alone,would be more reliable to rescue neuronal proteostasis.Concurrently,selectively enhancing drug concentrations in the leision areas,instead of the whole brain,will maximize therapeutic efficacy while reduing non-selective autophagy induction.Herein,we design a ROS-responsive targeted micelle system(TT-NM/Rapa)to enhance the delivery efficiency of rapamycin to neurons in AD lesions guided by the fusion peptide TPL,and facilitate its intracellular release via ROS-mediated disassembly of micelles,thereby maximizing autophagic flux modulating efficacy of rapamycin in neurons.Consequently,it promotes the efficient clearance of intracellular neurotoxic proteins,β-amyloid and hyperphosphorylated tau proteins,and ameliorates memory defects and neuronal damage in 3×Tg-AD transgenic mice.Our studies demonstrate a promising strategy to restore autophagic flux and improve neuronal proteostasis by rationally-engineered nano-systems for delaying the progression of AD.

A new luciferase immunoprecipitation system assay provided serological evidence for missed diagnosis of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome(SFTS),caused by SFTS virus(SFTSV)infection,was first reported in 2010 in China with an initial fatality of up to 30%.The laboratory confirmation of SFTSV infection in terms of detection of viral RNA or antibody levels is critical for SFTS diagnosis and therapy.In this study,a new luciferase immunoprecipitation system(LIPS)assay based on p REN2 plasmid expressing SFTSV NP gene and tagged with Renilla luciferase(Rluc),was established and used to investigate the levels of antibody responses to SFTSV.Totally 464 serum samples from febrile patients were collected in the hospital of Shaoxing City in Zhejiang Province in 2019.The results showed that 82 of the 464 patients(17.7%)had antibody response to SFTSV,which were further supported by immunofluorescence assays(IFAs).Further,q RT-PCR and microneutralization tests showed that among the 82 positive cases,15 patients had viremia,10 patients had neutralizing antibody,and one had both(totally 26 patient).However,none of these patients were diagnosed as SFTS in the hospital probably because of their mild symptoms or subclinical manifestations.All the results indicated that at least the 26 patients having viremia or neutralizing antibody were the missed diagnosis of SFTS cases.The findings suggested the occurrence of SFTS and the SFTS incidence were higher than the reported level in Shaoxing in 2019,and that LIPS may provide an alternative strategy to confirm SFTSV infection in the laboratory.