Schizophrenia is a complicated mental health disorder accompanied by wide range of symptoms such as hallucinations, impaired cognitive ability, and disorganized speech or behavior. It has been associated with anomalies in neurotransmission due to the imbalance of chemical neurotransmitters. Current treatment strategies against schizophrenia involve the administration of antipsychotic drugs, which can cause adverse effects and are associated with a high risk of cardiovascular disease.
Moreover, in patients, response to therapeutic drugs is often inadequate as the blood-brain barrier (BBB), a protective barrier of cells, strictly regulates the movement of ions and molecules into the brain. To overcome the hurdle of BBB and facilitate the transport of therapeutic drugs into brain tissue to treat schizophrenia, researchers have explored the applicability of receptor-mediated transcytosis (RMT) using low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1). This research was conducted by team led by Associate Professor Eijiro Miyako from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), included Prof.
Yukio Ago from Hiroshima University, Prof. Shinsaku Nakagawa from Osaka University, Prof. Takatsugu Hirokawa from Tsukuba University, and Dr.
Kotaro Sakamoto, Senior Principal Scientist at Ichimaru Pharcos Co., Ltd. Their study was published in JACS Au journal on June 20, 2024.
The researchers were inspired by previous findings which showed the interactions of vasoactive i.