Llama antibodies: new therapeutic avenues against schizophrenia

While current treatments for schizophrenia — a mental illness affecting 1% of the world’s population — can reduce certain symptoms, they have little effect on the cognitive deficits affecting the daily life of patients.

Scientists at the Institute of Functional Genomics (CNRS/Inserm/Université de Montpellier) have just designed a nanobody made from llama antibodies that can specifically activate a glutamate receptor involved in regulating neural activity. Administered peripherally via veins or muscles, this new molecule has demonstrated its capacity to break the blood-brain barrier and effectively reach brain receptors.

The therapeutic effect of these nanobodies was evaluated in two preclinical models of schizophrenia. The administration of nanobodies corrected the cognitive deficits observed among mouse models, as the cognitive function of animals ²clearly improved beginning with the first injection, with a prolonged effect over one week.

Clinical studies are now required to demonstrate that this ability to correct cognitive deficits via peripheral injection can represent a new avenue of treatment for schizophrenia. This research confirms the potential of nanobodies as a new therapeutic strategy for acting on the brain, with their use eventually being broadened to include the treatment of other neurological illnesses.