Achyranthes polysaccharide based dual-responsive nano-delivery system for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Achyranthes plays the role of dredging the meridians and clearing the joints with a certain anti-inflammatory effect, peripheral analgesic activity and central analgesic activity. A novel self-assembled nanoparticles containing Celastrol (Cel) with matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-sensitive chemotherapy-sonodynamic therapy was fabricated targeting macrophages at the inflammatory site of rheumatoid arthritis. Dextran sulfate (DS) with highly expressed SR-A receptor on the surface of macrophages is used to specifically target the site of inflammation; by introducing PVGLIG enzyme-sensitive polypeptides and ROS-responsive bonds, it can achieve the desired effect on MMP-2/9 and reactive oxygen species at the joint site. The preparation forms DS-PVGLIG-Cel&Abps-thioketal-Cur@Cel nanomicelles, referred to as D&A@Cel. The resulting micelles had an average size of 204.8 nm and the zeta potential -16.46 mV. The results show that activated macrophages can effectively capture Cel in in vivo experiments, indicating that Cel delivered by nanoparticles can significantly improve bioavailability.

Novel dual ROS-sensitive and CD44 receptor targeting nanomicelles based on oligomeric hyaluronic acid for the efficient therapy of atherosclerosis

Although the clinical usage of drugs administration was raising, the application of nanoparticles encapsulating the hydrophobic drugs with plummy efficiency was very scarce for atherosclerosis (AS) treatment. In this work, a novel dual ROS-sensitive and CD44 receptors targeting amphiphilic carrier material, oligomeric hyaluronic acid-2'-[propane-2,2-diyllbls (thio)] diacetic acl-hydroxymethylferrocene (oHA-TKL-Fc), named HASF, was synthesized and characterized by ¹H-NMR spectra. Then, we combined curcumin (Cur) with HASF into nano-micelles (HASF@Cur micelles) by self-assembling method. The resulting HASF@Cur micelles had the average size of 150.8 nm and zeta potential of -35.04 mV to maintain the will-defined spheroidal structure and stability. Importantly, the HASF@Cur micelles had ultrahigh entrapment efficiency (about 51.41 %). Moreover, in vitro release study, Cur release from HASF@Cur micelles was effective in the reactive oxygen species (ROS) condition, and the release rate was interrelated with the concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Further, fluorescence imaging showed that the HASF@Cur micelles could more selective access to Raw 264.7 cells than free Cur via oHA-receptor mediated endocytosis. The MTT assay attested the safety of amphiphilic carrier material HASF. Additionally, the results of in vivo Oil red O lipid staining studies showed that the lesion area of the aorta was reduced to 47.3±3.4 % with HASF@Cur micelles, compared with the lesion area of Cur group (63.2±2.7 %), HASF@Cur micelles had the more remarkable effect in reducing lesion area (*P < 0.05). Consequently, the novel dual ROS-sensitive and CD44 receptors targeting drug delivery system would become a promising strategy for atherosclerosis.

Precise glioblastoma targeting by AS1411 aptamer-functionalized poly (l-γ-glutamylglutamine)-paclitaxel nanoconjugates

Chemotherapy is still the main adjuvant strategy after surgery in glioblastoma therapy. As the main obstacles of chemotherapeutic drugs for glioblastoma treatment, the blood brain barrier (BBB) and non-specific delivery to non-tumor tissues greatly limit the accumulation of drugs into tumor tissues and simultaneously cause serious toxicity to nearby normal tissues which altogether compromised the chemotherapeutic effect. In the present study, we established an aptamer AS1411-functionalized poly (l-γ-glutamyl-glutamine)-paclitaxel (PGG-PTX) nanoconjugates drug delivery system (AS1411-PGG-PTX), providing an advantageous solution of combining the precisely active targeting and the optimized solubilization of paclitaxel. The receptor nucleolin, highly expressed in glioblastoma U87 MG cells as well as neo-vascular endothelial cells, mediated the binding and endocytosis of AS1411-PGG-PTX nanoconjugates, leading to significantly enhanced uptake of AS1411-PGG-PTX nanoconjugates by tumor cells and three-dimension tumor spheroids, and intensive pro-apoptosis effect of AS1411-PGG-PTX nanoconjugates. In vivo fluorescence imaging and tissue distribution further demonstrated the higher tumor distribution of AS1411-PGG-PTX as compared with PGG-PTX. As a result, the AS1411-PGG-PTX nanoconjugates presented the best anti-glioblastoma effect with prolonged median survival time and most tumor cell apoptosis in vivo as compared with other groups. In conclusion, the AS1411-PGG-PTX nanoconjugates exhibited a promising targeting delivery strategy for glioblastoma therapy.