Neurotransmitter levels in the brain can indicate brain health and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.
American Chemical SocietyJul 31 2024 Neurotransmitter levels in the brain can indicate brain health and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. However, the protective blood-brain barrier makes delivering fluorescent sensors that can detect these small molecules to the brain difficult. Now, researchers in ACS Central Science demonstrate a way of packaging these sensors for easy passage across the BBB in mice, allowing for improved brain imaging.
It is common for neurotransmitter levels to decrease with age, but low levels of the neurotransmitter adenosine triphosphate can be an indication of Alzheimer's disease. To measure the location and amount of ATP in the brain, researchers have developed fluorescent sensors from pieces of DNA called aptamers that light up when they bind to a target molecule.
The BBB laboratory model consisted of a layer of endothelial cells on top of a solution containing brain cells. The researchers' sensor-loaded exosomes were nearly four times more efficient than conventional sensor delivery systems at passing through the endothelial barrier and releasing the fluorescent sensor into the brain cells. This was confirmed by measuring the observed level of ATP-binding-induced fluorescence.
Related StoriesIn mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, the exosome-delivered sensors identified the location and concentration of ATP in different regions of the brain. Specifically, they observed low levels of ATP in the hippocampus, cortex and subiculum regions of the brain, which are indicative of the disease.
Adenosine Adenosine Triphosphate Alzheimer's Disease Aptamers Blood Brain DNA Exosome Exosomes Fluorescence Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Small Molecules Technology
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