Nanomedicine Against Aβ Aggregation by β-Sheet Breaker Peptide Delivery: In Vitro Evidence

Pharmaceutics. 2019 Nov 1;11(11):572. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics11110572.

Abstract

The accumulation of amyloid β (Aβ) triggers a cascade of toxic events in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The KLVFF peptide can interfere with Aβ aggregation. However, the peptide suffers from poor bioavailability and the inability to cross the blood-brain barrier. In this work, we study the possibility of adopting nanomedicine to overcome KLVFF limits in biodistribution. We produced new engineered polymeric nanoparticles (NPs), and we evaluated the cellular toxicity of these NPs and validated that KVLFF peptides released by NPs show the same promising effects on AD pathology. Our results revealed the successful generation of KVLFF loaded NPs that, without significant effects on cell heath, are even more potent in reversing Aβ-induced pathologies compared to the free peptide. Therefore, NPs will significantly advance KVLFF treatment as a therapeutic option for AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer disease (AD); Aβ; KLVFF peptide; Polymeric nanoparticles (NPs); amyloid β; blood-brain barrier (BBB).