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Sniffing neuropeptides: a transnasal approach to the human brain

Nature Neuroscience volume 5, pages 514–516 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

Neuropeptides act as neuronal messengers in the brain, influencing many neurobehavioral functions1. Their experimental and therapeutic use in humans has been hampered because, when administered systemically, these compounds do not readily pass the blood–brain barrier, and they evoke potent hormone-like side effects when circulating in the blood2,3. We administered three peptides, melanocortin(4–10) (MSH/ACTH(4–10)), vasopressin and insulin, intranasally and found that they achieved direct access to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within 30 minutes, bypassing the bloodstream.

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Figure 1: Peptide accumulation in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood.

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Acknowledgements

We thank A. Otterbein for technical assistance and W.M. Pardridge, University of California at Los Angeles, Department of Medicine, and S. Gizurarson, University of Iceland, Faculty of Pharmacy, for comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Neuroendocrinology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Lübeck, 23538, Germany

    Jan Born

  2. Internal Medicine, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Lübeck, 23538, Germany

    Tanja Lange, Werner Kern & Horst L. Fehm

  3. Department of Physiology, University of Marburg, Deutschhausstrasse 2, Marburg, 35037, Germany

    Gerard P. McGregor

  4. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, School of Pharmacy, 1300 Coulter Drive, Amarillo, 79106, Texas, USA

    Ulrich Bickel

Authors
  1. Jan Born
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  2. Tanja Lange
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  3. Werner Kern
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  4. Gerard P. McGregor
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  5. Ulrich Bickel
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  6. Horst L. Fehm
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Correspondence to Jan Born.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Born, J., Lange, T., Kern, W. et al. Sniffing neuropeptides: a transnasal approach to the human brain. Nat Neurosci 5, 514–516 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn0602-849

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