Treatment of a multiple sclerosis animal model by a novel nanodrop formulation of a natural antioxidant

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system and is associated with demyelination, neurodegeneration, and sensitivity to oxidative stress. In this work, we administered a nanodroplet formulation of pomegranate seed oil (PSO), denominated Nano-PSO, to mice induced for experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an established model of MS. PSO comprises high levels of punicic acid, a unique polyunsaturated fatty acid considered as one of the strongest natural antioxidants. We show here that while EAE-induced mice treated with natural PSO presented some reduction in disease burden, this beneficial effect increased significantly when EAE mice were treated with Nano-PSO of specific size nanodroplets at much lower concentrations of the oil. Pathological examinations revealed that Nano-PSO administration dramatically reduced demyelination and oxidation of lipids in the brains of the affected animals, which are hallmarks of this severe neurological disease. We propose that novel formulations of natural antioxidants such as Nano-PSO may be considered for the treatment of patients suffering from demyelinating diseases. On the mechanistic side, our results demonstrate that lipid oxidation may be a seminal feature in both demyelination and neurodegeneration.

Keywords:

• nanodrops
• PSO
• EAE
• oxidative stress
• neurodegeneration

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Treatment of a multiple sclerosis animal model by a novel nanodrop formulation of a natural antioxidant [Corrigendum]

Acknowledgments

This work was funded by a grant from the Agnes Ginges Center for Human Neurogenetics and from a gift from the Darmoni family. We thank Dr Y Levi-Kalisman from the Nanocenter of the Hebrew University for her help in the cryo-TEM studies.

Disclosure

Based on the results described in this manuscript, we are in the process of developing a commercial venture to test Nano-PSO in patients. The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.