Nanozyme for continuous production of dopamine in Parkinson’s disease

A nanozyme containing an iron nanoparticle and DNA aptamers, which mimics the activity of tyrosine hydroxylase, could help treat Parkinson’s disease by producing the dopamine precursor Dopa, whose natural production is decreased in degenerating neurons, and avoiding the dopamine fluctuations and off-target adverse effects of oral Dopa therapy.

Fe₃O₄, which can catalyze the hydroxylation of tyrosine to Dopa, was conjugated to a tyrosine-binding DNA aptamer and to a transferrin receptor-binding aptamer that facilitates blood-brain barrier crossing; the complex was then bound to an SNCA-targeting antisense RNA which blocks nanozyme activity until it is displaced by SNCA mRNA that restricts its activity to SNCA-expressing neurons, and reduces pathological SNCA overexpression. ...