Jiaxuan Hou, Li Yao, Yane Li, Enrui Xie, Jiawei Zhang, Hao Wu, Yuanyuan Zhu, Zhichao Deng, Chenxi Xu, Zongru Han, Lu Bai, Mingzhen Zhang, Shaoying Lu, Runqing Li, Hui Cai
Ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is a critical contributor to adverse outcomes following stroke. During I/R injury, excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) leads to various forms of neuronal cell death. Moreover, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) significantly hinders the delivery and efficacy of many neuroprotective agents. Given selenium's crucial role in mitigating brain ischemia, we developed a selenium-based nanozyme encapsulated in glutathione (GSH)-conjugated liposomes to overcome these challenges. Specifically, we encapsulated selenium-doped carbon dot nanozymes (Se-CDs) within GSH-conjugated liposomes (Se-CD@LP-GSH) to enable targeted delivery and enhance therapeutic efficacy in ischemic stroke. This system demonstrates effective ROS scavenging capabilities both in vitro and in vivo, while also enhancing the biocompatibility of Se-CDs and their ability to cross the BBB. In the tMCAo model, Se-CD@LP-GSH reduces the neuronal death and infarct area following cerebral I/R injury, and promotes improvements in spatial learning ability and sensorimotor function. Mechanistically, Se-CD@LP-GSH promoted the upregulation of GPX4, an essential selenoprotein, thereby preserving mitochondrial function and suppressing ROS generation Consequently, the reduced ROS levels inhibit NLRP3/GSDMD-mediated neuronal pyroptosis during cerebral I/R injury. By improving the brain-targeting ability of Se-CDs via GSH-functionalized liposomal delivery, our work elucidates their neuroprotective efficacy and mechanistic basis, thus providing a translationally relevant strategy for ischemic stroke therapy.