Hybrid Nanoparticles as a Novel Tool for Regulating Psychosine-Induced Neuroinflammation and Demyelination In Vitro and Ex vivo

We present evidence that lecithin/chitosan nanoparticles prevent damage ass ociated with psychosine by sequestering the neurotoxic sphingolipid via physicochemical hydrophobic interactions. We showed how nanoparticles prevented the cytotoxicity caused by psychosine in cultured human astrocytes in vitro, and how the nanoparticle size and PDI augmented while the electrostatic charges of the surface decreased, suggesting a direct interaction between psychosine and the nanoparticles. Moreover, we studied the effects of nanoparticles ex vivo using mouse cerebellar organotypic cultures, observing that nanoparticles prevented the demyelination and axonal damage caused by psy chosine, as well as a moderate prevention of the astrocytic death. Taken together, these results suggest that lecithin-chitosan nanoparticles are a potential novel delivery system for drugs for certain demyelinating conditions such as Krabbe’s disease, due to their dual effect: not only are they a n efficient platform for drug delivery, but they exert a protective effect themselves in tampering the levels of psychosine accumulation.
Source: Neurotherapeutics - Category: Neurology Source Type: research