ROS-mediated liposomal dexamethasone: a new FA-targeted nanoformulation to combat rheumatoid arthritis <i>via</i> inhibiting iRhom2/TNF-α/BAFF pathways
Yanqin Song, Muhammad Ismail, Qi Shan, Jianing Zhao, Yanping Zhu, Leiming Zhang, Yuan Du, Longbing Ling
Abstract
suppression of proinflammatory cytokines (iRhom2, TNF-α and BAFF), as compared to the effect of commercial free Dex. Importantly, the Dex@FA-ROS-Lips nanoformulation showed better hemocompatibility with less adverse effects on the body weight and immune organ index of AIA mice. The anti-inflammatory mechanism of Dex@FA-ROS-Lips was further studied and it was found that it is possibly associated with the down-regulation of iRhom2 and the activation of the TNF-α/BAFF signaling pathway. Therefore, the integration of nanomedicines and the RA microenvironment using multifunctional Dex@FA-ROS-Lips shall be a novel RA treatment modality with full clinical potential, and based on the enhanced therapeutic effect, the signaling pathway of iRhom2/TNF-α/BAFF reasonably explained the mechanism of Dex@FA-ROS-Lips in anti-RA, which suggested a molecular target for RA therapy and other inflammatory diseases.