파킨슨병, 나노입자, 파킨슨병 회복, Parkinson's Disease, Nanoparticles, Parkinson's Disease Recovery

 

 

전 세계 1000만 명이 앓고 있는 파킨슨병은 도파민 신경세포가 지속적으로 퇴화하면서 발생하는 만성 신경퇴행성 질환이다. 주로 운동 기능의 저하와 기억력 장애와 같은 증상이 나타난다. 아직까지 뚜렷한 치료제가 없는 가운데 중국과 미국 공동 연구진이 파킨슨병의 증상을 완화할 수 있는 새로운 기술을 개발했다.

중국 난징대와 미국 노스웨스턴대 연구진은 파킨슨병 증상을 되돌릴 수 있는 주사 가능한 무선 뇌 심부 자극(DBS) 나노 시스템을 개발했다고 16일 밝혔다. 연구 결과는 국제 학술지 ‘사이언스 어드밴시스(Science Advances)’에 이날 공개됐다.


기존의 파킨슨병 치료법은 대부분 도파민의 신호를 증폭하거나 도파민 생산을 촉진하는 데 중점을 뒀다. 이는 파킨슨병 증상을 완화하는 데에는 효과적이었으나, 근본적인 신경세포 퇴화는 되돌리지는 못했다. 연구진은 도파민 신경세포의 퇴화를 유발하는 단백질 알파 시누클레인 응집체를 제거하면 이를 되돌릴 수 있을 것이라 봤다.

연구진은 빛을 쪼이면 열이 발생하는 광열 나노입자인 금 나노입자와 도파민 신경세포를 활성화하는 항체, 그리고 알파 시누클레인을 분해하는 펩타이드를 결합한 시스템을 만들었다. 나노입자에 특정 빛을 쪼이면 빛이 열로 바뀌고, 열 자극으로 항체가 도파민 신경세포를 활성화하면서 신경 활동을 유도한다. 펩타이드는 알파 시누클레인 섬유를 분해할 뿐 아니라 자가포식을 활성화해 섬유 제거를 가속한다.

연구진은 파킨슨병 세포 모델에서 이 기술을 검증한 뒤, 알파 시누클레인이 뇌에 축적돼 파킨슨병 증상을 보이는 쥐를 대상으로 실험을 진행했다. 그 결과, 쥐의 운동 기능이 회복됐고, 축적된 알파 시누클레인이 감소했다. 도파민의 주요 분비 부위인 기저핵에서 도파민 수치도 증가했다. 투여한 나노입자는 치료 부위를 벗어나지 않으면서도 8주 이내에 뇌척수액으로 안전하게 배출됐다. 그동안 독성은 나타나지 않았다.

기존 뇌 심부 자극 기술은 전기, 빛, 음파와 같은 외부 자극으로 신경세포를 활성화하는 방법이다. 정확한 공간 제어가 가능하지만 영구적인 장치를 이식해야 한다는 단점이 있었다. 이번 연구로 영구적인 장치 이식 없이 외부 자극으로 특정 신경을 활성화할 수 있다는 것이 확인되면서 더 안전하고 효과적인 뇌 심부 기술이 나왔다는 평가가 나온다.

 

 

Parkinson's disease, which affects 10 million people worldwide, is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that occurs when dopamine neurons continue to degenerate. Symptoms usually include decreased motor function and memory impairment. While there is no clear treatment yet, joint researchers from China and the United States have developed a new technology to alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Researchers at Nanjing University in China and Northwestern University in the U.S. announced on Wednesday that they have developed a wireless deep brain stimulation (DBS) nano system that can reverse Parkinson's disease symptoms. The research results were published on the same day in the international journal Science Advances.


Most of the existing treatments for Parkinson's disease focused on amplifying dopamine signals or promoting dopamine production. This was effective in alleviating the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but it did not reverse the fundamental nerve cell degeneration. The researchers believe that removing the protein alpha synuclein aggregate, which causes the degeneration of dopamine neurons, could reverse this.

The researchers have developed a system that combines gold nanoparticles, which are photothermal nanoparticles that generate heat when exposed to light, antibodies that activate dopamine neurons, and peptides that break down alpha synuclains. When a nanoparticle is exposed to a certain amount of light, the light is converted into heat, and the antibody activates dopamine neurons through heat stimulation, inducing nerve activity. Peptides not only break down alpha synuclaine fibers, but also activate autophagy, accelerating fiber removal.

After testing this technology in a Parkinson's disease cell model, the researchers conducted an experiment on mice showing symptoms of Parkinson's disease due to the accumulation of alpha synuclains in the brain. As a result, the mice's motor function was restored and the accumulated alpha synuclains decreased. The level of dopamine also increased in the basal nucleus, the main secretion site of dopamine. The administered nanoparticles were safely discharged into the cerebrospinal fluid within eight weeks without leaving the treatment site. So far, it has not been toxic.

Existing deep brain stimulation technology is a method of activating nerve cells with external stimuli such as electricity, light, and sound waves. Accurate space control is possible, but there is a disadvantage that a permanent device needs to be implanted. As the study confirmed that certain nerves can be activated by external stimuli without permanent device implantation, it is evaluated that a safer and more effective deep brain technology has been developed.