Liposomal glutathione as a promising candidate for immunological rheumatoid arthritis therapy

Nano-medicine can passively accumulate in chronic inflammatory tissues via the enhanced permeability and retention phenomenon, or by being conjugated with a ligand that can bind to receptors over expressed by cells inside chronic inflammatory tissues, contributing to reduced systemic side-effects and increased efficacy. This article highlights the utilization of nanomedicine for potential treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis was induced in rat model via 2 weeks intradermal injection of pristane at the base of the tail in a daily dose of 150 μl. Susceptible rat strains developed severe arthritis with a sudden onset 3 weeks post pristane injection. Three weeks post pristane administration; rats were treated intravenously with glutathione or liposomal-glutathione in a dose of 5 mg/kg daily for 30 days. Concomitant supplementation with the aforementioned antioxidants effect on proinflammatory marker C-reactive protein (CRP) was assessed. On the other hand, oxidative stress biomarker malondialdehyde (MDA) and rheumatoid factor (RF) compared with pristane treated group was also investigated. The results elucidated that glutathione and liposomal -glutathione significantly reduced rheumatoid factor, malondialdehyde and C-reactive protein levels with the superiority of liposomal -glutathione in this side reflecting its pronounced effect as anti-rheumatoid agent.