Prussian Blue Nanozyme Disrupts the Self‐Reinforcing Loop of Tauopathy via Triple‐Action Mechanism
Tauopathies, such as Alzheimer's disease, are driven by a self-reinforcing pathological triad of tau aggregation, oxidative stress, and autophagy dysfunction, which remains inadequately addressed by single-target therapies. Herein, we engineer an ultrasmall Prussian blue nanozyme (PBzyme) as a multienzyme-mimetic and multi-target agent to concurrently disrupt this vicious cycle. PBzyme functions as a potent tau fibril inhibitor, with molecular dynamics simulations revealing high-affinity binding to β-sheet domains (-400 kJ/mol), thereby reducing tau phosphorylation and hippocampal burden. In parallel, PBzyme acts as a multifunctional antioxidant enzyme mimic, efficiently neutralizing •OH, O<sub>2</sub> <sup>-</sup>, and H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> to alleviate oxidative injury. Furthermore, PBzyme restores autophagic flux by activating AMPK/ULK1 signaling while inhibiting the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR), thereby promoting the clearance of tau aggregates. In an okadaic acid-induced tauopathy rat model, PBzyme treatment effectively preserved synaptic integrity, suppressed neuroinflammation, mitigated neuronal loss, and rescued cognitive deficits. Notably, PBzyme enters cells to counteract intracellular tau and ROS, overcoming a key limitation of conventional biologics. This work establishes PBzyme as an integrated nanoagent offering a synergistic therapeutic strategy against tauopathies and other ROS-related neurodegenerative diseases.
Authors
- Peili Cen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1497-2209)
- Yi Zhong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6298-5608)
- Chentao Jin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4238-1564)
- Chao Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5114-2282)
- Li Tian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1497-7923)
- Xun Cai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3360-5087)
- Mei Tian
- Jing Wang
- Fei Wu
- Rui Zhou
- Hong Zhang
- Yuanyi Zheng
- Hang Zhang
- Jiani Huang
- Rongrong Wu
Institutions
- Ministry of Education (NZ)
- Fudan University (CN)
- Zhejiang Cancer Hospital (CN)
- Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences (CN)
- Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CN)
- Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital (CN)
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University (CN)
- Hangzhou Cancer Hospital (CN)
- Zhejiang University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Healthcare Materials
- Published
- 2026-03-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202505286
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Nanomaterials in Catalysis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00