To develop a potential nanocarrier for diagnosis and treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we prepared a hyaluronic acid (HA)-5β-cholanic acid (CA) conjugate with an acid-labile ketal linker. This conjugate could self-assemble in aqueous conditions to produce pH-responsive HA-CA nanoparticles as potential carriers of the anti-inflammatory drug methotrexate (MTX). Owing to the pH-sensitive nature of the conjugate, MTX was rapidly released from nanoparticles under mildly acidic conditions similar to the environment of inflamed synovial tissue in RA. In vitro cytotoxicity data showed that pH-responsive HA-CA nanoparticles were non-toxic to RAW 264.7 cells. In vivo biodistribution results confirmed that, after their systemic administration, pH-responsive HA-CA nanoparticles selectively accumulated in the inflamed joints of collagen-induced arthritis mice. These results indicate that pH-responsive HA-CA nanoparticles represent a promising candidate as a drug carrier for RA therapy.
为了开发一种用于诊断和治疗类风湿性关节炎(RA)的潜在纳米载体,我们制备了一种透明质酸(HA)-
5β-胆烷酸(CA)共轭物,其中含有一种酸性可亲和酮连接体。这种共轭物可在
水溶液条件下自组装,生成具有 pH 响应的 HA-CA 纳米粒子,作为抗炎药
甲氨蝶呤(
MTX)的潜在载体。由于该共轭物对 pH 值敏感,因此在微酸性条件下,
MTX 可迅速从纳米颗粒中释放出来,这种微酸性条件与风湿性关节炎的炎性滑膜组织环境相似。体外细胞毒性数据显示,pH响应型HA-CA纳米颗粒对RAW 264.7细胞无毒性。体内
生物分布结果证实,pH响应型HA-CA纳米粒子经全身给药后,可选择性地在
胶原蛋白诱导的关节炎小鼠发炎的关节中蓄积。这些结果表明,pH 值响应型 HA-CA 纳米粒子有望成为治疗风湿性关节炎的药物载体。