Synthetic Disaggregators Enhance Central-Peripheral Amyloid-β Clearance in Alzheimer's Disease

Pathogenic amyloid-β (Aβ) accumulation defines Alzheimer's disease (AD), directly inflicting neuronal damage and driving chronic neuroinflammation. While both central microglia and peripheral macrophages are critical for Aβ clearance, their functional impairment in AD inexorably leads to escalating Aβ burden and disease progression. We here report an in situ engineered synthetic Aβ disaggregator (SAD) delivered to macrophages via neuroprotective DHA-based lipid nanoparticles (DLNPs). This platform transcends current therapeutic limitations by not only potently dismantling neurotoxic Aβ aggregates but also by fundamentally reprogramming peripheral macrophages to enhance Aβ clearance. Specifically, our results demonstrate that DLNPs effectively reprogram peripheral macrophages to produce and secrete cerebral-penetrating SAD both in vitro and in vivo. The SAD can promote cerebral Aβ disaggregation, thereby inhibiting neuroinflammatory pathology progression. Moreover, the DLNPs efficiently reprogram the peripheral macrophages to enhance phagocytosis, further facilitating drainage of Aβ and reducing cerebral Aβ accumulation in mouse models. Collectively, these findings uncover a dual-action mechanism of SAD through the synergistic interplay of direct Aβ disaggregation and enhanced macrophage-mediated clearance. In sum, our findings establish that the central-peripheral targeting therapeutic strategy significantly reversed AD pathology, highlighting the therapeutic potential of mRNA-based in situ fusion protein in AD treatment.