Design and biological evaluation of Repaglinide loaded polymeric nanocarriers for diabetes linked neurodegenerative disorder: QbD-driven optimization, in situ, in vitro and in vivo investigation

Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder characterized by inadequate insulin secretion and signaling dysfunction, leading to a vast spectrum of systemic complications. These complications trigger cascades of events that result in amyloid-beta plaque formation and lead to neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s. Repaglinide (REP) an insulinotropic agent, suppresses the down regulatory element antagonist modulator (DREAM) and enhances the ATF6 expression to provide neuroprotection following the DREAM/ATF6/apoptotic pathway. However, oral administration of REP for brain delivery becomes more complicated due to its physicochemical characteristics (high protein binding (>98%), low permeability, short half-life (∼1 h), low bioavailability). Therefore, to circumvent these problems, we develop a polymeric nanocarrier system (PNPs) by in-house synthesized di-block copolymer (PEG-PCL). PNPs were optimized using quality by design approach response surface methodology and characterized by particle size (112.53 ± 5.91 nm), PDI (0.157 ± 0.08), and zeta potential (−6.20 ± 0.82 mV). In vitro release study revealed that PNPs (∼70% in 48 h) followed the Korsmeyer-Peppas model with a Fickian diffusion release pattern, and in intestinal absorption assay PNPs showed increment of ∼1.3 folds compared of REP. Moreover, cellular studies confirmed that REP-loaded PNPs significantly enhance the cellular viability, uptake and reduce the peroxide-induced stress in neuroblastoma SHSY-5Y cells. Further, pharmacokinetic parameters of PNPs showed an increment in tmax (2.46-fold), and Cmax (1.25-fold) associated with REP. In the brain biodistribution study, REP loaded PNPs was sustained for 24 h whereas free REP sustained only for12 h. In DM induced neurodegenerative murine model, a significantly (p < 0.01) enhanced pharmacodynamic was observed in PNP treated group by estimating biochemical and behavioral parameters. Hence, oral administration of REP-loaded PNPs promotes efficient brain uptake and improved efficacy of REP in the diseased model.