Viral Vector Delivery of Neuropeptide Combinations for Brain Disorders

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for treating neurological and psychiatric diseases, such as epilepsy and depression, face challenges due to the limitations of traditional medical drugs, including insufficient efficacy and significant side effects, as well as the difficulty of delivering therapeutic agents across the blood-brain barrier, which often results in transient and ineffective neuropeptide overexpression due to compensatory downregulation of receptors.

Innovation Solution

The use of viral expression vectors, specifically AAV, lentivirus, and HSV vectors, encoding combinations of neuropeptides like NPY and galanin, or their receptors Y2 and Y5, to achieve sustained expression in target brain regions, thereby enhancing therapeutic effects and minimizing receptor downregulation.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional medical drugs are used to treat neurological and psychiatric diseases, then treatment can be administered, but efficacy is insufficient and significant side effects occur

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetreatment efficacyVSAvoidside effects
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

Viral vectors serve as intermediaries to deliver neuropeptide genes directly into target brain cells, bypassing the blood-brain barrier and enabling localized expression of therapeutic neuropeptides like NPY and galanin, thereby achieving effective treatment without systemic side effects

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The invention achieves localized expression of neuropeptides specifically in target brain regions through viral vector-mediated gene delivery, ensuring therapeutic action is concentrated where needed while minimizing exposure and side effects in other body systems

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If neuropeptides are delivered to achieve therapeutic effects, then treatment efficacy improves, but compensatory downregulation of receptors occurs resulting in transient expression

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetherapeutic effectVSAvoidduration of neuropeptide expression
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDuration of action of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The invention employs feedback mechanisms by co-expressing both neuropeptides and their receptors, where the presence of sufficient receptor levels prevents compensatory downregulation and maintains sustained therapeutic expression of neuropeptides in target tissues

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The invention creates a composite therapeutic system by delivering combinations of neuropeptide genes and receptor genes together via viral vectors, forming a self-sustaining system where neuropeptides and receptors are co-expressed to maintain long-term therapeutic efficacy

Inventive Principle:
Principle #40Composite materials

3Duration of action of stationary object

If viral vectors are used to deliver neuropeptide genes, then sustained expression can be achieved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveduration of gene expressionVSAvoidcomplexity of gene delivery system
Core Design Contradiction:
Duration of action of stationary objectVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The invention uses universal viral vector platforms that can deliver multiple therapeutic genes (neuropeptides and receptors) simultaneously, providing a multi-functional delivery system that achieves sustained expression while managing complexity through platform standardization

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP2046394B1Use of nucleic acid sequences for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric diseases, vectors and compositions
Publication Date: 2014.12.17 COMBIGENE
  • EP2046394B1 patent drawingFigure 1A~3A
  • EP2046394B1 patent drawingFigure 3B~4C
  • EP2046394B1 patent drawingFigure 9A

AI summary

The present invention relates to the use of one or more expression vectors comprising certain nucleic acid sequences encoding a combination of NPY and/or one or more of its receptors (Yl, Y2, Y4, Y5, y6), and/or galanin and/or one or more of its receptors (GALRl, GALR2, GALR3), and/or somatostatin and/or one or more of its receptors (SSTl, SST2, SST3, SST4, SST5), in the preparation of a medicament for treatment of a disorder of the nervous system, such as a neurological or a psychiatric disease chosen from epilepsy, depression, and anxiety. The invention further relates to vectors that comprise nucleic acid sequences encoding the above combination, to compositions comprising such vectors and to a method of delivery and expression of the above combination of nucleic acid sequences into cells of the nervous system to treat neurological or psychiatric diseases in humans or animals.