Researchers from the University of Oregon, USA, have developed a new experimental approach to treat glioblastoma using nanoparticles coated with mannose sugar to deliver gene therapy across the blood-brain barrier.

Tumor volume decreased from 52% to just 2.3%.

The study, published in the scientific journal Controlled Release, explained that coating the nanoparticles with mannose sugar enabled them to bind to the GLUT1 glucose transporter, allowing them to cross the blood-brain barrier with an efficiency 9.9 times higher compared to uncoated nanoparticles.

These nanoparticles also exploit the tumor cells' appetite for sugar, accumulating inside the tumor and delivering messenger RNA (mRNA) that reactivates the PTEN protein, which inhibits cancer growth. The average tumor volume decreased from 52% of the brain area to just 2.3%.

The results also showed an increase in average survival time from 33 days to 49 days, an increase of nearly 50%, without significant toxicity to major organs. This paves the way for future delivery of mRNA-based treatments to the brain for brain tumors and neurological disorders that are difficult to treat due to the blood-brain barrier.