In this study, blood-brain barrier (BBB)-forming brain endothelial-like cells were generated from apolipoprotein E gene allele E4 (APOE4, high AD risk) and allele E3 (APOE3, lower AD risk) carrying patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Cells were subsequently exposed to focused ultrasound and microbubbles (FUS+MB) to induce BBB opening and their transcriptome analysed. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) results demonstrated minimal changes in the gene expression following FUS+MB suggesting safety of FUS+MB application in the clinical setting.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a major impediment to therapeutic intracranial drug delivery for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Focused ultrasound applied together with microbubbles (FUS+MB) is a novel technique to transiently open the BBB and increase drug delivery. Evidence suggests that FUS+MB is safe, however the effects of FUS+MB on human BBB cells, especially in relation to AD, remain sparsely investigated. Here we developed a human sporadic AD BBB cell platform to investigate the effects of FUS+MB on BBB cells and screen for the delivery of two potentially therapeutic AD antibodies. We generated BBB cells from apolipoprotein E gene allele E4 (APOE4, high AD risk) and allele E3 (APOE3, lower AD risk) carrying patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). We utilized this robust and reproducible platform to demonstrate increased delivery of potentially therapeutic antibodies across the BBB, including an analogue of Aducanumab (AduhelmTM) following FUS+MB treatment. Our results also demonstrate the safety of FUS+MB indicated by minimal changes in the cell transcriptome as well as little or no changes in cell viability and inflammatory responses within first 24 h post FUS+MB, with potentially important implications in a clinical setting. Finally, we report a more physiologically relevant hydrogel-based 2.5D BBB model as a key development for FUS+MB-mediated drug delivery screening, with potentially higher translational utility. Our results provide an important advancement for identifying FUS+MB-deliverable drugs and screening for cell- and patient-specific effects of FUS+MB, accelerating its use as a therapy in AD.

• Type: Other
• Archiver: European Genome-phenome Archive (EGA)