Scientists hijack brain parasite for new therapy delivery vehicle
3 Aug 2024
Harmful brain parasites could be effectively hijacked as vehicles for therapeutic treatment for neurological diseases, suggests new research.
The universities of Glasgow and Tel Aviv recently published their findings in Nature Microbiology examining whether the brain parasite Toxoplasma gondii could be engineered to help overcome a key obstacle to tackling conditions.
While Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s and Rett Syndrome are linked to protein dysfunction, the delivery of therapeutics such as targeted proteins across the blood-brain-barrier and into precise locations inside neurons has been a significant challenge.
Toxoplasma gondii which is estimated to be dormant within a third of the global population can traverse biological barriers – travelling, for example, from the digestive system to the brain where it secretes its proteins into neurons.
And, with key changes, it could serve as a medicine delivery vehicle to disease-affected brain cells, suggest the researchers.
The team first investigated whether the parasites could be made to produce the therapeutic proteins and whether they would then be able to ‘spit’ proteins into affected brain cells.
They tested their hypothesis by engineering the parasites to deliver the MeCP2 protein, identified as a promising therapeutic target for Rett syndrome, itself caused by mutations in MECP2 gene.
Having engineered Toxoplasma gondii to produce the MeCP2 protein, the parasites delivered the protein to target cell locations in the lab, both in brain organoids and in mice models. Work is now concentrated on engineering the parasites to die after delivering the protein, avoiding subsequent harm to cells.
Co-lead author, professor Lilach Sheiner of Glasgow’s School of Infection and Immunity, described the work as “a blue-sky project where our collaborative team was thinking out of the box to try to tackle the long-standing medical challenge of finding a way to successfully deliver treatment to the brain for cognitive disorders”.
However, she cautioned that the concept had challenges, given the dangers of parasitic infection, adding that, for treatment to become a reality, it would require many more years of research and development.
Her colleague from Tel Aviv university, professor Oded Rechavi said: “Evolution already ‘invented’ organisms that can manipulate our brains; I think that instead of re-inventing the wheel we could learn from them and use their abilities.”
The study, ‘Engineering a Brain Parasite for Intracellular Delivery of Proteins to the Central Nervous System’ is published in Nature Microbiology
