A Nanodrug Coated with Membrane from Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells Protects against Experimental Cerebral Malaria
Wei Wei, Weijia Cheng, Wenhao Dai, Feng Lu, Yaru Cheng, Tingting Jiang, Zhenyu Ren, Yiting Xie, Jiahui Xu, Qun Zhao, Xianjun Yu, Yi Yin, Jian Li, Haifeng Dong
Abstract
parasites accounts for 90% of malaria deaths. Treating CM is challenging due to inadequate treatment options and the development of drug resistance. We describe a nanoparticle formulation of the antimalarial drug dihydroartemisinin that is coated in a biomimetic membrane derived from brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) and test its therapeutic efficacy in a mouse model of experimental cerebral malaria (ECM). The membrane-coated nanoparticle drug has a prolonged drug-release profile and enhanced dual targeting killing efficacy toward parasites residing in red blood cells (iRBCs) and iRBCs obstructed in the BMECs (for both rodent and human). In a mice ECM model, the nanodrug protects the brain, liver, and spleen from infection-induced damage and improves the survival rate of mice. This so-called nanodrug offers new insight into engineering nanoparticle-based therapeutics for malaria and other parasitic pathogen infections.