Banca de DEFESA: Francisca Valéria Bezerra Sampaio Marques

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : Francisca Valéria Bezerra Sampaio Marques
DATE: 16/07/2024
TIME: 09:00
LOCAL: Híbrida: Instituto de Ciências Biológicas – IB (Auditório II) / Plataforma Virtual Zoom
TITLE:

Development of a nanoemulsion with the neuropeptide neurovespin: advances in antiepileptic and neuroprotective therapy 

KEY WORDS:

Antiepileptic;Neurovespine;Nanotechnology

PAGES: 100
BIG AREA: Ciências da Saúde
AREA: Farmácia
SUMMARY:

Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE) is the most common type of epilepsy in adults and is characterized by its severity and resistance to medication. Searching for new therapies and better understanding the neuronal alterations caused by this condition is essential. Arthropod venoms have revealed promising neuroactive compounds. The peptide Neurovespin, derived from the venom of social wasps, has shown potent anticonvulsant and neuroprotective effects in models of seizures, with no detectable adverse effects. However, its half-life is only 4 hours and its administration is restricted to parenteral forms. Therefore, this study aims to develop and characterize a nanoemulsion carrying the neuropeptide Neurovespin and evaluate its antiepileptic and neuroprotective activity, both in free form and associated with nanotechnology. The oil-in-water (O/W) nanoemulsion was standardized and analyzed for its physicochemical characteristics. A chronic model of pilocarpine-induced TLE was used in male Swiss mice (30-40g), which received subcutaneous injections of saline solution (150 mM), Neurovespine (4 mg/kg), Diazepam (4 mg/kg) or nanoparticles developed with NanoBranco (20µg/10µL) and NanoNE (20µg/10µL) for 15 days. The mice were monitored in the animal house during the chronic period and analyzed by video-EEG to observe spontaneous and recurrent seizures (RSCs) on days 15, 20, 25 and 30 of the protocol. After evaluating the antiepileptic effect, the animals were euthanized and neuronal morphological changes were evaluated using Nissl staining. The results showed that the nanoformulations maintained desirable physicochemical characteristics, with a hydrodynamic diameter < 200 nm, a polydispersity index between 0.008 and 0.700 and a positive surface charge. The shape and size of the nanoformulations were confirmed by morphological analysis. The evaluation of epileptiform patterns by video-EEG in the chronic period of the pilocarpine-induced ELT model showed that the ELT model was ideal, providing significant data when comparing the healthy group with the epileptic group and the NanoBranco group. In addition, there was a downward trend in the number and frequency of CERs with treatment with free and nanoencapsulated neurovespine. Regarding the evaluation of neuroprotective activity, a reduction in neurodegeneration was observed in all regions of the hippocampal formation with treatment with the free peptide, and a specific reduction in the layers of the dentate gyrus and CA3 with the use of the NanoNE nanoformulation. The data indicate that the free peptide, administered twice a day, had satisfactory results in all the analyses. Nanoencapsulated neurovespine, administered once a day, showed potential for reducing seizure frequency and neuronal damage. Thus, the nanoemulsion with the neuropeptide neurovespin indicates a possible increase in therapeutic efficacy, and could provide a more effective and comfortable treatment for pharmacoresistant epilepsy.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externa à Instituição - ANA MILENA CÉSAR LIMA - EMBRAPA
Externa à Instituição - LILIAN DOS ANJOS CARNEIRO - UNIEURO
Externa à Instituição - LISSIANA MAGNA VASCONCELOS AGUIAR - UFC
Presidente - 2567703 - MARCIA RENATA MORTARI
Interno - 1952915 - RAFAEL PLAKOUDI SOUTO MAIOR