Key Points
- The Foundation’s Research Awards Program recently initiated a new preclinical therapeutic project at the University of Virginia.
- Scientists are using focused ultrasound to deliver a neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory protein to the brain in a model of Alzheimer’s disease.
One new Foundation-funded preclinical research project began in the third quarter of 2025. By using focused ultrasound to open the blood-brain barrier (BBB), the research team led by Jianjie Ma, PhD, and Natasha Sheybani, PhD, at the University of Virginia is investigating whether delivering a specific protein to the brain could be a possible treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.
“It has been shown that a protein called rhMG53 helps protect the brain from neurodegeneration and inflammation,” said Jenna Osborn, PhD, research project manager on the Foundation’s Research and Education Team. “This project will help determine whether focused ultrasound BBB opening can successfully deliver rhMG53 in a sufficient quantity to slow the development of the disease in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s.”
The details of the project are listed below:
Project Title: Focused Ultrasound–Mediated Delivery of rhMG53 to Treat Alzheimer’s Disease
Investigators: Jianjie Ma, PhD, and Natasha Sheybani, PhD
Institution: The University of Virginia
Abstract
We hypothesize that focused ultrasound can transiently open the BBB to enable systemic delivery of rhMG53 into brain tissue, thereby allowing MG53 to exert its neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. The precision and noninvasiveness of focused ultrasound offer a powerful, rapidly translatable platform for targeted therapeutic delivery in Alzheimer’s disease. This combinatorial approach has the potential to mitigate disease progression by preserving neuronal function and suppressing neuroinflammation.
This project was funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a result of the Foundation’s advocacy efforts.
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