Targeted delivery of NO donor and ROS scavenger for synergistic treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterized by high level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and proinflammatory cytokines, which facilitate the activation of the inflammatory signaling such as NF-κB pathway and exacerbate the development of inflammation. Herein, we designed a nanodrug by encapsulating the NO donor S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) into an emulsion and coating the surface with a polydopamine (PDA) layer to yield GSNO@PDA, which simultaneously scavenged the extra ROS and suppressed NF-κB signaling for potent RA treatment. To enhance the cellular uptake and NO generation efficiency, dextran sulfate (DS) and Cu2+ were anchored on the surface of GSNO@PDA to obtain the final formulation GSNO@PDA@DS. Our results demonstrated that GSNO@PDA@DS were successfully prepared and the modification of DS effectively boosted the cellular uptake of GSNO@PDA@DS. Moreover, GSNO@PDA@DS lowered cellular ROS and elevated intracellular NO, resulting in a decrease of M1 phenotype, inhibition of NF-κB pathway and down-regulation of proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Further in vivo studies confirmed that GSNO@PDA@DS significantly relieved symptoms and bone erosion by regulating the microenvironment of RA, highlighting the potential of GSNO@PDA@DS for RA therapy through ROS scavenging and NO-mediated suppression of inflammatory signaling.