More than half a billion people are affected by type 2 diabetes – and the number is growing. In a recent publication in the journal Small, researchers explain how nanoelectroporation can be used to deliver molecules that can affect insulin expression through epigenetic means, potentially leading to new treatments.

  “This study explores the possibility of achieving a change in insulin gene expression by delivering a set of certain DNA molecules (CRISPRi plasmids) to beta cells (insulin-producing cells in the pancreas) using nanoelectroporation. By utilising gentle electric pulses and nanoporous membranes, we were able to deliver custom-designed DNA molecules to beta cells, where they yielded a desired reduction of insulin gene expression. This is a first step towards successful epigenetic editing in beta cells using nanoelectroporation,” says Frida Ekstrand, one of the NanoLundian PhD students who defended her doctoral thesis last year. 

“We establish and validate a quantitative methodology to determine the solubility of the amyloidogenic core of tau (aa 304–380), the structural core of paired helical filaments in Alzheimer’s disease. We find an exceptionally low solubility (~6 nM) and demonstrate how equilibrium can be reproducibly reached and quantified in a metastable amyloid system. This framework now enables systematic studies of how drug candidates, post-translational modifications, and co-aggregating species affect tau solubility and aggregation equilibria,” says Emil Axell, first-author.