Targeted therapy of atherosclerosis by pH-sensitive hyaluronic acid nanoparticles co-delivering all-trans retinal and rapamycin
Atherosclerosis, the leading cause of death in the elderly worldwide, is typically characterized by elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and a chronic inflammatory state at the arterial plaques. Herein, pH-sensitive nanoparticles (HR RAP NPs) co-delivering all-trans retinal (ATR), an antiox...
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Published in | Nanoscale Vol. 14; no. 24; pp. 879 - 8726 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
England
Royal Society of Chemistry
23.06.2022
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Atherosclerosis, the leading cause of death in the elderly worldwide, is typically characterized by elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and a chronic inflammatory state at the arterial plaques. Herein, pH-sensitive nanoparticles (HR
RAP
NPs) co-delivering all-trans retinal (ATR), an antioxidant linked to hyaluronic acid (HA) through a pH-sensitive hydrazone bond, and rapamycin (RAP), an anti-atherosclerotic drug loaded into the nanoparticle core, are developed for targeted combination therapy of atherosclerosis. In this way, HR
RAP
NPs might simultaneously reduce ROS levels
via
ATR antioxidant activity and reduce inflammation
via
the anti-inflammatory effect of RAP. In response to mildly acidic conditions mimicking the lesional inflammation
in vitro
, HR
RAP
NPs dissociated and both ATR and RAP were effectively released. The developed HR
RAP
NPs effectively inhibited pro-inflammatory macrophage proliferation, and displayed dose- and time-dependent specific internalization by different cellular models of atherosclerosis. Also, HR
RAP
NP combination therapy showed an efficient synergetic anti-atherosclerotic effect
in vitro
by effectively inhibiting the inflammatory response and oxidative stress in inflammatory cells. More importantly, HR NPs specifically accumulated in the atherosclerotic plaques of apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE
−/−
) mice, by active interaction with HA receptors overexpressed by different cells of the plaque. The treatment with HR
RAP
NPs remarkably inhibited the progression of atherosclerosis in ApoE
−/−
mice which resulted in stable plaques with considerably smaller necrotic cores, lower matrix metalloproteinase-9, and decreased proliferation of macrophages and smooth muscle cells (SMCs). Furthermore, HR
RAP
NPs attenuated RAP adverse effects and exhibited a good safety profile after long-term treatment in mice. Consequently, the developed pH-sensitive HR
RAP
NP represent a promising nanoplatform for atherosclerosis combination therapy.
A smart nanoplatform based on hyaluronic acid was developed for targeted atherosclerosis combination therapy, which effectively attenuated the progression of the plaque by simultaneously reducing inflammation and oxidative stress at the aortic lesion. |
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Bibliography: | https://doi.org/10.1039/d1nr06514a Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Additional tables (S1-S4) and figures from S1 to S15. Materials and additional methods for the synthesis of pH-sensitive HR conjugates, HR conjugate characterization, CMC, pH disassembly, hemolysis study and biosafety evaluation in BALB/c mice. See DOI ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2040-3364 2040-3372 |
DOI: | 10.1039/d1nr06514a |