Design and Synthesis of New Protease‐Triggered CO‐Releasing Peptide–Metal‐Complex Conjugates

: conjugation with a CO-releasing unit greatly enhances the anti-inflammatory activity of itaconates

Endogenous itaconate as well as the gasotransmitter CO have recently been described as powerful anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating agents. However, each of the two agents comes along with a major drawback: Whereas itaconates only exert beneficial effects at high concentrations above 100 μM, the uncontrolled application of CO has strong toxic effects. To solve these problems, we designed hybrid prodrugs, i.e. itaconates that are conjugated with an esterase-triggered CO-releasing acyloxycyclohexadiene-Fe(CO)₃ unit (ItaCORMs). Here, we describe the synthesis of different ItaCORMs and demonstrate their anti-inflammatory potency in cellular assays of primary murine immune cells in the low μmolar range (<10 μM). Thus, ItaCORMs represent a promising new class of hybrid compounds with high clinical potential as anti-inflammatory agents.

Head-to-Head Comparison of Selected Extra- and Intracellular CO-Releasing Molecules on Their CO-Releasing and Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Over the past decade, a variety of carbon monoxide releasing molecules (CORMs) have been developed and tested. Some CORMs spontaneously release CO once in solution, while others require a trigger mechanism to release the bound CO from its molecular complex. The modulation of biological systems by CORMs depends largely on the spatiotemporal release of CO, which likely differs among the different types of CORMs. In spontaneously releasing CORMs, CO is released extracellularly and crosses the cell membrane to interact with intracellular targets. Other CORMs can directly release CO intracellularly, which may be a more efficient method to modulate biological systems. In the present study, we compared the efficacy of extracellular and intracellular CO-releasing CORMs that either release CO spontaneously or require an enzymatic trigger. The efficacy of such CORMs to modulate HO-1 and VCAM-1 expression in TNF-α-stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) was evaluated.

Stimulus-Responsive Nanomedicines for Disease Diagnosis and Treatment

Stimulus-responsive drug delivery systems generally aim to release the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in response to specific conditions and have recently been explored for disease treatments. These approaches can also be extended to molecular imaging to report on disease diagnosis and management. The stimuli used for activation are based on differences between the environment of the diseased or targeted sites, and normal tissues. Endogenous stimuli include pH, redox reactions, enzymatic activity, temperature and others. Exogenous site-specific stimuli include the use of magnetic fields, light, ultrasound and others. These endogenous or exogenous stimuli lead to structural changes or cleavage of the cargo carrier, leading to release of the API. A wide variety of stimulus-responsive systems have been developed-responsive to both a single stimulus or multiple stimuli-and represent a theranostic tool for disease treatment. In this review, stimuli commonly used in the development of theranostic nanoplatforms are enumerated. An emphasis on chemical structure and property relationships is provided, aiming to focus on insights for the design of stimulus-responsive delivery systems. Several examples of theranostic applications of these stimulus-responsive nanomedicines are discussed.