Drug-Embedded Nanovesicles Assembled from Peptide-Decorated Hyaluronic Acid for Rheumatoid Arthritis Synergistic Therapy

Biomimetic NO Scavenging Hyaluronic Acid Nanoparticles Enable Targeted Delivery of MTX and Integrated Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complicated chronic disorder of the immune system, featured with severe inflammatory joints, synovium hyperplasia, articular cartilage, and bone damage. In the RA microenvironment, RA-involved cells, overproduced nitric oxide (NO), and pro-inflammatory cytokines are highly interplayed and mutually reinforced, which form a vicious circle and play crucial roles in the formation and progression of RA. To comprehensively break the vicious circle and obtain the maximum benefits, we have developed neutrophil membrane-camouflaged NO scavenging nanoparticles based on an NO-responsive hyaluronic acid derivative for delivery of MTX. These multifunctional nanoparticles (NNO-NPs/MTX), by inheriting the membrane functions of the source cells, possess prolonged circulation and specific localization at the inflamed sites when administrated in the body. Remarkably, NNO-NPs/MTX can neutralize the pro-inflammatory cytokines via the outer membrane receptors, scavenge NO, and be responsively disassociated to release MTX for RA-involved cell regulation and HA for lubrication in the RA sites. In a collagen-induced arthritis mouse model, NNO-NPs/MTX exhibits a significant anti-inflammation effect and effectively alleviates the characteristic RA symptoms such as synovial hyperplasia and cartilage destruction, realizing the synergistic and boosted therapeutic outcome against intractable RA. Thus, NNO-NPs/MTX provides a promising and potent platform to integrately treat RA.

Nitric oxide-scavenging hyaluronic acid nanoparticles for osteoarthritis treatment

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative arthritis disease marked by inflammation, pain, and cartilage deterioration. Elevated nitric oxide (NO) levels play a pivotal role in mediating OA-related inflammation and are found in abundance within OA joints. This study introduces a NO-scavenging hyaluronic acid conjugate (HA-NSc) bearing both lubrication and anti-inflammatory properties for the treatment of osteoarthritis. For this, a derivative of o-phenylenediamine (o-PD) with good NO-scavenging capability (NSc) is designed, synthesized and chemically conjugated to HA. Owing to the amphiphilicity, this as-synthesized HA-NSc conjugate formed self-assembled nanoparticles (HA-NSc NPs) under aqueous conditions. When treated with activated murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells that produce high levels of NO, these nanoparticles effectively reduced intracellular NO concentrations and inflammatory cytokines. In an OA animal model, the HA-NSc NPs significantly alleviated pain and diminished the cartilage damage due to the combined lubricating property of HA and NO-scavenging ability of NSc. Overall, the results from the study suggest HA-NSc NPs as a dual-action therapeutic agent for the treatment of OA by alleviating pain, inflammation, and joint damage, and also positioning the HA-NSc NPs as a promising candidate for innovative treatment of OA.