Nanogubki against arthritis

The new development will help to suppress inflammatory processes

Engineers at the University of California at San Diego have developed "nanocubes" based on neutrophils that are able to absorb proteins responsible for inflammatory processes. These particles can be seen under an electronic transmission microscope, which is shown in the figure above.

Nanogub structure diagram

Experiments on mice have shown that the introduction of nanocubes suppresses the inflammatory processes inherent in the severe form of rheumatoid arthritis, and also has a chondroprotective effect, which in combination facilitates the course of the disease. Scientists emphasize that they have not cured the disease completely, it does not disappear with the introduction of nanoparticles, but the patient's condition improves markedly.

Innovative nanoparticles are spheres made of an adsorbing polymer, "dressed" in the shell of neutrophils – cells responsible for recognizing foreign proteins and absorbing small cells and their fragments. Nanocubes retain the ability of neutrophils to recognize molecules, however, unlike full-fledged cells, they cannot synthesize their own proteins. This combination makes it possible to intercept inflammatory signaling proteins in the joint and prevent real neutrophils from triggering immune processes.

The use of neutrophil shells also avoids the problem of choosing specific proteins that need to be suppressed and their specificity – the neutrophil shell simply catches everything superfluous and thereby blocks the entire spectrum of pro-inflammatory signals. Currently used drugs, such as monoclonal antibodies, block only some proteins, and this, of course, is not enough to completely defeat the disease.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a severe autoimmune disease affecting the joints. When a joint is damaged, the cells begin to produce pro–inflammatory cytokines - proteins that signal to the cells of the immune system that something foreign has entered the body. These proteins are recognized by neutrophils and cause them to release even more cytokines, thus attracting even more neutrophils.

The authors of the study hope to conduct clinical trials based on their development in the near future.

Article by Zhang et al. Neutrophil membrane-coated nanoparticles inhibit synovial inflammation and alleviate joint damage in inflammatory arthritis is published in Nature Nanotechnology.

Anastasia Poznyak, portal "Eternal Youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru / based on the materials of the University of California San Diego: Neutrophil Nanosponges Soak up Proteins That Promote Rheumatoid Arthritis.