Carbon nanospheres mediated delivery of nuclear matrix protein SMAR1 to direct experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice

Owing to the suppression of immune responses and associated side effects, steroid based treatments for inflammatory encephalitis disease can be detrimental. Here, we demonstrate a novel carbon nanosphere (CNP) based treatment regime for encephalomyelitis in mice by exploiting the functional property of the nuclear matrix binding protein SMAR1. A truncated part of SMAR1 ie, the DNA binding domain was conjugated with hydrothermally synthesized CNPs. When administered intravenously, the conjugate suppressed experimental animal encephalomyelitis in T cell specific conditional SMAR1 knockout mice (SMAR(−/−)). Further, CNP-SMAR1 conjugate delayed the onset of the disease and reduced the demyelination significantly. There was a significant decrease in the production of IL-17 after re-stimulation with MOG. Altogether, our findings suggest a potential carbon nanomaterial based therapeutic intervention to combat Th17 mediated autoimmune diseases including experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis.