Sugar-Coated Nanoparticles Cross Blood-Brain Barrier, Extend Survival in Glioblastoma Mice

Researchers at Oregon State University have developed lipid nanoparticles coated with mannose, a sugar related to glucose, that exploit the brain's glucose transporter GLUT1 to cross the blood-brain barrier and deliver tumor-suppressing therapy to glioblastoma cells in mice, extending median survival by 50 percent. Glioblastoma is the deadliest form of brain cancer, with a five-year survival rate below 5 percent. The blood-brain barrier blocks most drugs from reaching tumors, and therapies that do penetrate often fail to accumulate selectively in cancer cells. The OSU team, led by Oleh Taratula, Olena Taratula, and Yoon Tae Goo of the College of Pharmacy, engineered lipid nanoparticles loaded with genetic material and densely coated with mannose. The brain's capillary endothelial cells express GLUT1 transporters that normally move glucose into the central nervous system; these transporters also recognize mannose. By packing the nanoparticle surface with mannose, the researchers enabled the particles to compete effectively with blood glucose for GLUT1-mediated transport. In a study published in the Journal of Controlled Release, the sugar-coated nanoparticles successfully delivered a tumor-suppressing therapy across the blood-brain barrier in mice with glioblastoma, increasing median survival by 50 percent compared with untreated animals. The approach simultaneously addresses both barrier penetration and tumor targeting, which the researchers say have been persistent dual obstacles in brain cancer treatment.