1
|
Huang HC, Wang TY, Rousseau J, Orlando M, Mungaray M, Michaud C, Plaisier C, Chen ZB, Wang KC. Biomimetic nanodrug targets inflammation and suppresses YAP/TAZ to ameliorate atherosclerosis. Biomaterials 2024; 306:122505. [PMID: 38359507 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2024.122505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2023] [Revised: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
Atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease, is the primary cause of myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. Recent studies have demonstrated that dysregulation of yes-associated protein (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding domain (TAZ) contributes to plaque development, making YAP/TAZ potential therapeutic targets. However, systemic modulation of YAP/TAZ expression or activities risks serious off-target effects, limiting clinical applicability. To address the challenge, this study develops monocyte membrane-coated nanoparticles (MoNP) as a targeted delivery system for activated and inflamed endothelium lining the plaque surface. The MoNP system is used to deliver verteporfin (VP), aimed at inhibiting YAP/TAZ specifically within arterial regions prone to atherosclerosis. The results reveal that MoNP significantly enhance payload delivery to inflamed endothelial cells (EC) while avoiding phagocytic cells. When administered in mice, MoNP predominantly accumulate in intima of the atheroprone artery. MoNP-mediated delivery of VP substantially reduces YAP/TAZ expression, thereby suppressing inflammatory gene expression and macrophage infiltration in cultured EC and mouse arteries exposed to atherogenic stimuli. Importantly, this targeted VP nanodrug effectively decreases plaque development in mice without causing noticeable histopathological changes in major organs. Collectively, these findings demonstrate a lesion-targeted and pathway-specific biomimetic nanodrug, potentially leading to safer and more effective treatments for atherosclerosis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Chun Huang
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Ting-Yun Wang
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA; School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Joshua Rousseau
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Mark Orlando
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Michelle Mungaray
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Chamonix Michaud
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Christopher Plaisier
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
| | - Zhen Bouman Chen
- Department of Diabetes Complications and Metabolism, Arthur Riggs Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, 91010, USA
| | - Kuei-Chun Wang
- School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Huang HC, Wang TY, Rousseau J, Mungaray M, Michaud C, Plaisier C, Chen ZB, Wang KC. Lesion-specific suppression of YAP/TAZ by biomimetic nanodrug ameliorates atherosclerosis development. bioRxiv 2023:2023.04.24.537992. [PMID: 37163067 PMCID: PMC10168204 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.24.537992] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Atherosclerosis, characterized by the buildup of lipid-rich plaque on the vessel wall, is the primary cause of myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke. Recent studies have demonstrated that dysregulation of yes-associated protein 1 (YAP) and transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding domain (TAZ) contributes to plaque development, making YAP/TAZ potential therapeutic targets. However, systemic modulation of YAP/TAZ expression or activities risks serious off-target effects, limiting clinical applicability. To address the challenge, this study develops monocyte membrane-coated nanoparticles (MoNP) as a drug delivery vehicle targeting activated endothelium lining the plaque surface and utilizes MoNP to deliver verteporfin (VP), a potent YAP/TAZ inhibitor, for lesion-specific treatment of atherosclerosis. The results reveal that MoNP significantly enhance payload delivery to inflamed endothelial cells (EC) while avoiding phagocytic cells, and preferentially accumulate in atherosclerotic regions. MoNP-mediated delivery of VP substantially reduces YAP/TAZ expression, suppressing inflammatory gene expression and macrophage infiltration in cultured EC and mouse arteries exposed to atherogenic stimuli. Importantly, this lesion-targeted VP nanodrug effectively decreases plaque development in mice without causing noticeable histopathological changes in major organs. Collectively, these findings demonstrate a plaque-targeted and pathway-specific biomimetic nanodrug, potentially leading to safer and more effective treatments for atherosclerosis.
Collapse
|
3
|
Huang HC, Rousseau J, Wang TY, Mungaray M, Wang KC. Monocyte-mimicking Nanoparticles for Atherosclerosis-targeted Therapy. JVS Vasc Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jvssci.2022.05.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
|
4
|
Huang HC, Rousseau J, Wang TY, Mungaray M, Wang KC. Abstract 231: Monocyte-mimicking Nanoparticles For Atherosclerosis-targeted Therapy. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1161/atvb.42.suppl_1.231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Atherosclerosis, characterized by plaque buildup in arteries, is a major cause of cardiovascular mortality globally. Despite advances in diagnostics and interventions over the past few decades, the treatment options and outcomes remain far less than optimal. Nanotechnology has demonstrated emerging success in clinical settings; however, a potent targeted nanotherapeutic for atherosclerosis remains underdeveloped. In this study, we designed a new class of nanocarriers mimicking circulating monocyte features to enhance the site-specific delivery of theranostic agents for atherosclerosis. We first synthesized polymeric cores encapsulating a fluorescent payload with a modified nanoprecipitation method and cloaked the polymeric cores (NPs) with the plasma membrane fraction isolated from mouse monocytes. Our characterization results verified that NP cores are covered with a uniform lipid layer and that the resulting monocyte-mimicking nanoparticles (MNPs) retain the membrane proteins on their surface and have a similar value of zeta potential as monocytes. Both MNPs and NPs did not exhibit any hemotoxicity
in vitro
; however, when incubated with cultured human vascular endothelial cells (ECs), MNPs showed a significantly higher uptake efficiency by ECs than NPs. Moreover, our
in vivo
studies with ApoE-knockout mice indicates that MNPs accumulated only in the atherosclerotic arteries but no other areas of the vasculature when administered intravenously. To summarize, our findings strongly support that monocyte membrane cloaking facilitates the nanoparticle attachment to atherosclerotic regions and enhances the entry of nanoparticles into the inflammatory endothelium in the arteries, suggesting that MNPs would serve as an excellent delivery strategy for targeted atherosclerosis therapy.
Collapse
|