Nanoparticles restore Parkinson’s disease neurons with wireless brain stimulation

A practical model demonstrating wireless DBS mediated by ATB NPs to reverse PD. Credit: Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ado4927
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease and is primarily characterized by motor dysfunction. Its pathological hallmark is the abnormal aggregation of α-synuclein (α-syn) into insoluble fibrils and Lewy bodies, which causes degeneration and death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain. .
Deep brain stimulation (DBS), a common clinical approach to improve motor symptoms in patients, involves implanting electrodes in specific brain regions to modulate neural activity through direct electrical stimulation.
Although DBS increases the efficiency of neuromodulation, its invasive nature can lead to cognitive decline and emotional disorders such as depression and anxiety. Newly developed non-invasive techniques such as transcranial direct current stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation can increase cortical excitability but are limited by insufficient penetration depth and spatial resolution.
Therefore, the development of non-invasive deep brain stimulation techniques that combine high spatial resolution and strong penetrating ability is of critical importance.
In a study published in Science Advances, a research team led by Professor Chen Chunying from the Center for Nano Science and Technology (NCNST) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences designed a wireless photothermal DBS nanosystem called ATB NP.
This system achieves precise modulation of degenerating neurons by directly stimulating the endogenous expression of thermosensitive TRPV1 receptors within neurons, providing new insights into the treatment of PD and other neurodegenerative diseases .
This system consists of a photothermal transduction module (gold nanoshells, AuNS) that activates thermosensitive TRPV1 ion channels, a targeting module (TRPV1 antibody) that specifically targets dopaminergic neurons with high TRPV1 expression, and a degradation module (β – syn peptide, which contains a near-infrared responsive linker) binds to the hydrophobic domain of the non-amyloid beta component. α-synuclein, thereby breaking down α-syn fibrils.
Using an α-syn fiber-induced PD model, researchers aimed to restore degenerated dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain by a wireless DBS nanosystem.
Upon stereotaxic injection of ATB NPs into the substantia nigra of PD mice, ATB NPs were anchored to the surface of dopaminergic neurons via TRPV1 antibodies. Under 808 nm pulsed near-infrared laser irradiation, they act as nanoantennas, converting light into heat and activating thermosensitive TRPV1 receptors, causing Ca2+ influx and action potential generation.
Additionally, it releases β-syn peptides and removes α-syn aggregates and reduces pathological fibrils through activation of chaperone-mediated autophagy pathway. Ultimately, ATB NPs restored the interaction network of dopaminergic neurons and their dopamine release ability and improved motor function in PD mice.
This wireless DBS nanosystem has three main advantages. It exploits the TRPV1 receptor, which is endogenously expressed on dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, eliminating the need for implanted neural electrodes or genetic manipulation. Integrating near-infrared laser technology allows precise spatiotemporal modulation of degenerating neurons in specific brain regions. Additionally, the wireless DBS nanosystem exhibits excellent biosafety.
Further information: Junguang Wu et al, “Nanoparticle-based wireless deep brain stimulation system to reverse Parkinson’s disease,” Science Advances (2025). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ado4927
Provided by Chinese Academy of Sciences
Citation: Nanoparticles restore neurons in Parkinson’s disease through wireless brain stimulation (January 16, 2025) from https://phys.org/news/2025-01-nanoparticles-neurons-parkinson-wireless-brain.html Retrieved January 20, 2025
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