Testing a New Gold Nanoparticle-Based Lithium Delivery Method for Bipolar Disorder in Laboratory Models (GLAD)

July 27, 2026 updated by: Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS

GSK-3 as a Target for Lithium-charged Au Nanoparticles in Bipolar Disorder

This preclinical translational study aims to evaluate a new method of delivering lithium using gold nanoparticles for the treatment of bipolar disorder. Lithium is an effective treatment for bipolar disorder, but its clinical use is limited by a narrow therapeutic range and the risk of side effects. The study will investigate whether gold nanoparticles carrying lithium can improve lithium delivery to brain cells while reducing exposure to other tissues.

The research will use human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neural cells generated from blood samples collected from people with bipolar disorder and healthy volunteers, as well as a mouse model of mania. No participants will receive the investigational treatment. Human participants will provide blood samples only for the generation of laboratory cell models.

The study will compare the effects of nanoparticle-delivered lithium with conventional lithium salts on cellular lithium uptake, disease-related molecular and functional changes, and biomarkers associated with bipolar disorder. The hypothesis is that lithium delivered by gold nanoparticles will achieve greater therapeutic effects at lower systemic lithium exposure than conventional lithium formulations, providing proof of concept for a safer and more targeted lithium delivery strategy for future clinical development.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

20

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Inclusion criteria for patients

  • Age: 18-65 years.
  • Diagnosis of Bipolar I or Bipolar II Disorder, according to DSM-5 criteria.
  • Currently in a depressive, manic, hypomanic, mixed, or euthymic phase, as defined by DSM-5 and clinical evaluation.
  • No use of psychotropic medications during the 12 months preceding enrollment, except for low-dose benzodiazepines or antipsychotics used intermittently to manage sleep disturbances or anxiety symptoms.
  • No prior treatment with lithium at any point in the patient's psychiatric history.
  • Medically stable and deemed suitable for study participation.
  • Ability and willingness to provide written informed consent before any study procedure For the Human Healthy Control group
  • participants aged 18-65 years will be included, while subjects with DSM-5 disorders or a family history of psychiatric disorders will be excluded.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current or past diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or borderline personality disorder as the primary psychiatric condition.
  • Diagnosis of moderate to severe substance use disorder (excluding nicotine) within the past 12 months.
  • Active suicidal ideation with plan or intent
  • History of major neurological disorders, including epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, or neurodegenerative disease.
  • Previous exposure to lithium at any point in the individual's psychiatric history.
  • Use of psychotropic medication within the 12 months before enrollment.
  • Presence of uncontrolled or clinically significant medical conditions, including but not limited to severe hepatic, renal, or cardiovascular disease.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Biological sample collection for iPSC/hiNSC generation
Includes both patients with Bipolar I or II Disorder (per DSM-5 criteria) and Human Healthy Controls (HC), recruited at the UOC of Clinical and Emergency Psychiatry, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS. All participants undergo the same peripheral blood sampling procedure, with no drug or device administered. The distinction between BD patients and healthy controls is defined by eligibility/diagnostic criteria, not by assignment or randomization to distinct arms
Procedure: Peripheral blood sampling for PBMC isolation
Blood collection in EDTA tubes for isolation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), followed by reprogramming into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) via Sendai virus infection and differentiation into human induced neural stem cells (hiNSCs), used for the in vitro experiments of the protocol. No drug or device is administered to participants.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Intracellular lithium concentration in patient derived neural cells (hiNSCs) treated with LiG-AuNPs versus lithium salts (LiCl)
Time Frame: 1, 2, 6, 12, and 24 hours after in vitro treatment (assessed throughout the 3-year study period)
Quantification of intracellular lithium load by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and subcellular gold nanoparticle distribution by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) in neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes differentiated from participant-derived human induced Neural Stem Cells (hiNSCs), treated with Lithium-loaded, Glutathione-coated Gold Nanoparticles (LiG-AuNPs) or Lithium Chloride (LiCl) at concentrations of 0.15, 0.5, 1, 3, and 6 mEq/L, to compare uptake efficiency between the two delivery methods.
1, 2, 6, 12, and 24 hours after in vitro treatment (assessed throughout the 3-year study period)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Functional and biophysical differences
Time Frame: Assessed at 30 days of in vitro differentiation (within the 3-year study period)
Comparison of neuronal parameters (resting membrane potential, action potential threshold, α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid/N-methyl-D-aspartate (AMPA/NMDA) current ratio, frequency/amplitude of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents, synaptic vesicle release) and astrocytic parameters (intracellular Ca²⁺ signaling, glutamate buffering/Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter 2 (EAAT2) activity, gliotransmitter release) between human induced Neural Stem Cell (hiNSC)-derived neurons/astrocytes from Bipolar Disorder (BD) patients versus healthy controls, before and after lithium exposure.
Assessed at 30 days of in vitro differentiation (within the 3-year study period)
Molecular biomarker expression in patient-derived neural cells
Time Frame: Assessed at 30 days of in vitro differentiation (within the 3-year study period)
Levels of c-Fos, Synaptotagmin-7, Neuronal Pentraxin 2 (NPTX2), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), phospho-Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta (GSK-3β)(Ser9)/total GSK-3β, and phospho-cytosolic Phospholipase A2 (cPLA2)(Ser505)/total cPLA2 in human induced Neural Stem Cell (hiNSC)-derived neurons and astrocytes from Bipolar Disorder (BD) patients.
Assessed at 30 days of in vitro differentiation (within the 3-year study period)
Blood biomarker profile in BD patients versus healthy controls
Time Frame: Baseline (single blood draw) and up to 24 hours after in vitro lithium exposure (within the 3-year study period)
Plasma lithium levels, Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) levels, lithium load in blood cells, phospho-Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta (pGSK-3β)(Ser9)/total GSK-3β ratio, and phospho-cytosolic Phospholipase A2 (cPLA2)(Ser505)/total cPLA2 levels, measured in blood cells and plasma from Bipolar Disorder (BD) patients (during the manic phase and again after standard lithium therapy) and from healthy controls, for comparison and biomarker identification.
Baseline (single blood draw) and up to 24 hours after in vitro lithium exposure (within the 3-year study period)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Gabriele Sani, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

October 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 30, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

March 31, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 21, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 27, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 29, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 29, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 27, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • RF-2024-12379870

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

Individual participant data will not be shared outside the research team due to the sensitive nature of the clinical, psychiatric, and biological data collected, including genetic and cellular material derived from patients with Bipolar Disorder. Data protection and confidentiality commitments made to participants during the informed consent process do not include provisions for external data sharing. Aggregate, de-identified results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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