A self-destructive nanosweeper that captures and clears amyloid β-peptides

May 22, 2018

Title

A self-destructive nanosweeper that captures and clears amyloid β-peptides

Author

Qiang Luo, Yao-Xin Lin, Pei-Pei Yang, Yi Wang, Guo-Bin Qi, Zeng-Ying Qiao, Bing-Nan Li, Kuo Zhang, Jing-Ping Zhang, Lei Wang, Hao Wang

Year

2018

Journal

Nature Communications

Abstract

Cerebral amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) accumulation resulting from an imbalance between Aβ production and clearance is one of the most important causes in the formation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In order to preserve the maintenance of Aβ homeostasis and have a notable AD therapy, achieving a method to clear up Aβ plaques becomes an emerging task. Herein, we describe a self-destructive nanosweeper based on multifunctional peptide-polymers that is capable of capturing and clearing Aβ for the effective treatment of AD. The nanosweeper recognize and bind Aβ via co-assembly through hydrogen bonding interactions. The Aβ-loaded nanosweeper enters cells and upregulates autophagy thus promoting the degradation of Aβ. As a result, the nanosweeper decreases the cytotoxicity of Aβ and rescues memory deficits of AD transgenic mice. We believe that this resourceful and synergistic approach has valuable potential as an AD treatment strategy.

Instrument

J-1500

Keywords

Circular dichroism, Secondary structure, Aggregation, Nanostructures, Biochemistry, Materials