Combination of NF-kB targeted siRNA and methotrexate in a hybrid nanocarrier towards the effective treatment in rheumatoid arthritis

BACKGROUND: The transcription factor NF-kB plays an important role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Effective treatment of RA is hindered due to the lack of specificity of small molecules in the inflamed joints. In this study, we aimed to develop a unique hybrid-nanoparticles system comprised of calcium phosphate/liposome to deliver NF-kB-targeted siRNA and methotrexate (MTX) to diseased site. RESULTS: We have successfully demonstrated that the combination of siRNA and MTX in a calcium phosphate/liposome-based hybrid nanocarrier could effectively treat the RA. We have showed that folate receptor-targeted nanocarrier system significantly suppression the arthritis progression in mice model. Substantial accumulation of F-siRML was observed in LPS-activated macrophages. These kind of activated macrophages are generally present in the RA and osteoarthritis and folate-targeted nanoparticle enables the effective accumulation of therapeutics in the diseased site. The combinational nanoparticles effectively blocked the NF-kB signaling pathways and reduced the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, siRML and F-siRML did not show any decrease in the lymphocyte count indicating that it can avoid the adverse effect of MTX. CONCLUSION: Therefore, siRML and F-siRML provides unique benefits of excellent therapeutic efficacy with excellent safety profile in the arthritic mice and could be an promising approach in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12951-018-0382-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.