A novel nanoparticle system targeting damaged mitochondria for the treatment of Parkinson's disease

Mitochondrial damage is one of the primary causes of neuronal cell death in Parkinson's disease (PD). In PD patients, the mitochondrial damage can be repaired or irreversible. Therefore, mitochondrial damage repair becomes a promising strategy for PD treatment. In this research, hyaluronic acid nanoparticles (HA-NPs) of different molecular weights are used to protect the mitochondria and salvage the mild and limited damage in mitochondria. The HA-NPs with 2190 k Dalton (kDa) HA can improve the mitochondrial function of SH-SY5Y cells and PTEN induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1) knockout mouse embryo fibroblast (MEF) cells. In cases of irreversible damage, NPs with ubiquitin specific peptidase 30 (USP30) siRNA are used to promote mitophagy. Meanwhile, by adding PINK1 antibodies, the NPs can selectively target the irreversibly damaged mitochondria, preventing the excessive clearance of healthy mitochondria.