Make antibodies capable of crossing the border between blood and brain

2011/07/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Medikuntza
• Bioteknologia
• Farmakologia

Antibodies are very useful weapons for doctors because of their effectiveness and specificity. But they have limits, and one of them is the blood-brain limit between blood and brain. This limit prevents pathogens and toxins from reaching the brain, but at the same time medications and antibodies cannot overcome it.

Now, researchers from the biotechnology company Genentech, belonging to the pharmaceutical company Roche, have managed to manufacture antibodies capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier. The research has been published in the specialized journal Science Translational Medicine.

Researchers have explained that the developed antibody is associated with two proteins. One of the proteins is the transferrin receptor. This protein activates the molecular channel of iron entry to the brain. For when the antibody joins it, the blood-brain boundary barrier opens.

Therefore, the antibody can enter the brain and be associated with the second protein. This protein is beta-sekretasa-1. It is precisely the fate of many of the drugs to fight Alzheimer's, as it promotes the production of amyloid peptides in the brain, and amyloid plaques are responsible for the symptoms of Alzheimer's.

The dual antibody has been tested on Alzheimer's research mice. The result has been very good: with a single dose of antibody they have shown that the cerebral amyloid concentration drops almost in half.

However, the study has also received criticism. Some believe that the doses given to mice are excessively high, while others have been accused of preventing the creation of new amyloid plates but of not destroying the old ones. However, many have positively valued the work done by Genenteche researchers and have stated that they will continue to investigate this path.