Biosynthesized nanoparticles of Tibetan medicine mercuric sulfide preparation to promote endocytosis and realize drug crossing through blood brain barrier

Abstract β-HgS as the main component of Tibetan medicine Zuotai (ZT) is widely used in the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Although the synergism of HgS has been clinically verified for more than 2000 years, its synergetic mechanism is still an unsolved mystery and a huge challenge. No...

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Main Authors: Wenjing Jia, Huilan Yue, Liying Liu, Luya Wang, Lin Zhang, Jihong Tao, Guoying Zhou, Lixin Wei, Hongxin Dong, Rinchen Dhondrup, Xiaohui Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of Nanobiotechnology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-025-03525-5
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author Wenjing Jia
Huilan Yue
Liying Liu
Luya Wang
Lin Zhang
Jihong Tao
Guoying Zhou
Lixin Wei
Hongxin Dong
Rinchen Dhondrup
Xiaohui Zhao
author_facet Wenjing Jia
Huilan Yue
Liying Liu
Luya Wang
Lin Zhang
Jihong Tao
Guoying Zhou
Lixin Wei
Hongxin Dong
Rinchen Dhondrup
Xiaohui Zhao
author_sort Wenjing Jia
collection DOAJ
description Abstract β-HgS as the main component of Tibetan medicine Zuotai (ZT) is widely used in the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Although the synergism of HgS has been clinically verified for more than 2000 years, its synergetic mechanism is still an unsolved mystery and a huge challenge. Notably, we clearly and intuitively demonstrate that Zuotai or β-HgS is auto-synthesized by organisms into spherical HgS nanoparticles with protein corona, with an overall particle size of 30–195 nm and a core of HgS NPs of 5–7 nm. Further research showed that HgS NPs facilitated the transport of Oxiracetam (ORT), Memantine Hydrochloride (MH) and Entinostat (MS-275) across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), especially the brain accumulation of MS-275 increased by more than three times. Meanwhile, HgS NPs enhanced the effect of MS-275 on spatial learning and memory ability of APP/PS1 mice. Further studies confirmed that HgS NPs increased the permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) by regulating endocytosis (Upregulation of caveolin, clathrin, and dynamin, downregulation P-gp) thereby facilitate the transport of drugs across BBB with more than threefold higher brain accumulation and long-lasting efficiency enhancement (4 days). Our findings reveal that these in vivo-generated HgS NPs provide an efficient, convenient, and biocompatible drug delivery platform for crossing the BBB. Importantly, our findings offer new hopes and ideas for in-depth research on highly valuable and mysterious metal preparations in classic Chinese and Tibetan medicine. Graphical Abstract
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spelling doaj-art-c67625c3db0640e39c4a8deeb1bc7f2f2025-08-20T02:37:35ZengBMCJournal of Nanobiotechnology1477-31552025-06-0123112610.1186/s12951-025-03525-5Biosynthesized nanoparticles of Tibetan medicine mercuric sulfide preparation to promote endocytosis and realize drug crossing through blood brain barrierWenjing Jia0Huilan Yue1Liying Liu2Luya Wang3Lin Zhang4Jihong Tao5Guoying Zhou6Lixin Wei7Hongxin Dong8Rinchen Dhondrup9Xiaohui Zhao10Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Research, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, CAS and Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine ResearchKey Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Research, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, CAS and Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine ResearchKey Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Research, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, CAS and Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine ResearchKey Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Research, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, CAS and Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine ResearchDepartment of Ophthalmology, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, School of Medicine, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaKey Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Research, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, CAS and Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine ResearchKey Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Research, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, CAS and Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine ResearchKey Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Research, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, CAS and Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine ResearchDepartment of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of MedicineTibetan Medical College of Qinghai UniversityKey Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Research, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, CAS and Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine ResearchAbstract β-HgS as the main component of Tibetan medicine Zuotai (ZT) is widely used in the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Although the synergism of HgS has been clinically verified for more than 2000 years, its synergetic mechanism is still an unsolved mystery and a huge challenge. Notably, we clearly and intuitively demonstrate that Zuotai or β-HgS is auto-synthesized by organisms into spherical HgS nanoparticles with protein corona, with an overall particle size of 30–195 nm and a core of HgS NPs of 5–7 nm. Further research showed that HgS NPs facilitated the transport of Oxiracetam (ORT), Memantine Hydrochloride (MH) and Entinostat (MS-275) across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), especially the brain accumulation of MS-275 increased by more than three times. Meanwhile, HgS NPs enhanced the effect of MS-275 on spatial learning and memory ability of APP/PS1 mice. Further studies confirmed that HgS NPs increased the permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) by regulating endocytosis (Upregulation of caveolin, clathrin, and dynamin, downregulation P-gp) thereby facilitate the transport of drugs across BBB with more than threefold higher brain accumulation and long-lasting efficiency enhancement (4 days). Our findings reveal that these in vivo-generated HgS NPs provide an efficient, convenient, and biocompatible drug delivery platform for crossing the BBB. Importantly, our findings offer new hopes and ideas for in-depth research on highly valuable and mysterious metal preparations in classic Chinese and Tibetan medicine. Graphical Abstracthttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-025-03525-5ZuotaiTibetan medicineBiosynthesisProtein coronaEndocytosisHgS
spellingShingle Wenjing Jia
Huilan Yue
Liying Liu
Luya Wang
Lin Zhang
Jihong Tao
Guoying Zhou
Lixin Wei
Hongxin Dong
Rinchen Dhondrup
Xiaohui Zhao
Biosynthesized nanoparticles of Tibetan medicine mercuric sulfide preparation to promote endocytosis and realize drug crossing through blood brain barrier
Journal of Nanobiotechnology
Zuotai
Tibetan medicine
Biosynthesis
Protein corona
Endocytosis
HgS
title Biosynthesized nanoparticles of Tibetan medicine mercuric sulfide preparation to promote endocytosis and realize drug crossing through blood brain barrier
title_full Biosynthesized nanoparticles of Tibetan medicine mercuric sulfide preparation to promote endocytosis and realize drug crossing through blood brain barrier
title_fullStr Biosynthesized nanoparticles of Tibetan medicine mercuric sulfide preparation to promote endocytosis and realize drug crossing through blood brain barrier
title_full_unstemmed Biosynthesized nanoparticles of Tibetan medicine mercuric sulfide preparation to promote endocytosis and realize drug crossing through blood brain barrier
title_short Biosynthesized nanoparticles of Tibetan medicine mercuric sulfide preparation to promote endocytosis and realize drug crossing through blood brain barrier
title_sort biosynthesized nanoparticles of tibetan medicine mercuric sulfide preparation to promote endocytosis and realize drug crossing through blood brain barrier
topic Zuotai
Tibetan medicine
Biosynthesis
Protein corona
Endocytosis
HgS
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-025-03525-5
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