BioGraphene Announces Publication in Nature Nanotechnology on Graphene Quantum Dots’ Ability to Ameliorate Pathology and Behavioral Deficits in Parkinson’s Disease

BioGraphene Inc. announced the publication of the journal article titled “Graphene quantum dots prevent α-synucleinopathy in Parkinson’s disease”.

The paper published in Nature Nanotechnology discusses graphene quantum dots’ ability to mitigate pathology and behavioral deficits manifesting in Parkinson’s disease, and is co-authored by Dr. Donghoon Kim, Post-Doc at the Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Je Min Yoo, Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University.

While the exact pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease remains elusive, emerging evidence indicates that it is strongly correlated to the accumulation and transmission of α-synuclein (α-syn) aggregates in the midbrain. In the paper, the authors successfully demonstrated that graphene quantum dots (GQDs) can inhibit fibrillation of α-syn and interact directly with mature fibrils, triggering their disaggregation. In addition, the authors found that GQDs can prevent neuronal death and synaptic loss, reduce Lewy body and Lewy neurite formation, ameliorate mitochondrial dysfunctions, and prevent neuron to-neuron transmission of α-syn pathology provoked by α-syn preformed fibrils. More importantly, GQDs penetrate the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and protect against dopaminergic neuron loss induced by α-syn preformed fibrils, Lewy body/Lewy neurite pathology and behavioral deficits in established mouse models (sporadic and transgenic) for Parkinson’s disease.

The published article follows successful coordination and collaboration between Seoul National and Johns Hopkins Universities, respectively.