Stem cells deliver cocaine-busting enzyme

Abstract

No FDA-approved treatment exists for cocaine misuse, but for years, researchers have been pinning their hopes on a human enzyme, butyrylcholinesterase, that naturally degrades the drug. The challenge has been making the enzyme work efficiently in a long-lasting way, and now a University of Chicago team says it has an answer. Led by neurobiologist Ming Xu and skin specialist Xiaoyang Wu, the team engineered skin stem cells taken from newborn mice to produce a turbocharged version of the enzyme. They then grafted the skin back onto the same animals, where it provided a continuous supply of the cocaine-busting protein (Nat. Biomed. Eng. 2018, DOI: 10.1038/s41551-018-0293-z). The idea is that if cocaine can be degraded fast enough while in the bloodstream, there won’t be enough left to reach the brain. Cocaine works by blocking reuptake of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Increased dopamine levels can trigger more movement and more reward-seeking behaviors. Compared