Use of LDL receptor—targeting peptide vectors for in vitro and in vivo cargo transport across the blood‐brain barrier

ABSTRACT The blood‐brain barrier (BBB) prevents the entry of many drugs into the brain and, thus, is a major obstacle in the treatment of CNS diseases. There is some evidence that the LDL receptor (LDLR) is expressed at the BBB and may participate in the transport of endogenous ligands from blood to brain, a process referred to as receptor‐mediated transcytosis. We previously described a family of peptide vectors that were developed to target the LDLR. In the present study, in vitro BBB models that were derived from wild‐type and LDLR‐knockout animals (ldlr ‒ / ‒ ) were used to validate the specific LDLR‐dependent transcytosis of LDL via a nondegradative route. We next showed that LDLR‐targeting peptide vectors, whether in fusion or chemically conjugated to an Ab Fc fragment, promote binding to apical LDLR and transendothelial transfer of the Fc fragment across BBB monolayers via the same route as LDL. Finally, we demonstrated in vivo that LDLR significantly contributes to the brain uptake of vectorized Fc. We thus provide further evidence that LDLR is a relevant receptor for CNS drug delivery via receptor‐mediated transcytosis and that the peptide vectors we developed have the potential to transport drugs, including proteins or Ab based, across the BBB.—Molino, Y., David, M., Varini, K., Jabès, F., Gaudin, N., Fortoul, A., Bakloul, K., Masse, M., Bernard, A., Drobecq, L., Lécorché, P., Temsamani, J., Jacquot, G., Khrestchatisky, M. Use of LDL receptor–targeting peptide vectors for in vitro and in vivo cargo transport across the blood‐brain barrier. FASEB J. 31, 1807–1827 (2017). www.fasebj.org