Thermochemotherapy Meets Tissue Engineering for Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment

Abstract Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease that progresses from inflammation to cartilage destruction. Inspired by the similar characteristics of inflammatory granulation tissue to those of tumors, the newly emerged tumor therapy called thermochemotherapy is proposed to treat RA. Meanwhile, the repair of cartilage injury via tissue engineering is paid attention simultaneously. A first‐line antirheumatic drug (MTX; methotrexate) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGF‐β1) are loaded in nano‐Fe 3 O 4 composite chitosan‐polyolefin to construct a multifunctional hydrogel (DN‐Fe‐MTX‐TGFβ1). The mechanical properties of the hydrogel are equivalent to that of articular cartilage to guarantee its role as a scaffold. A long‐term release ability and the magnetocaloric properties of the hydrogel assure its effect to provide sustained local thermochemotherapy. The effective ability of the hydrogel for both anti‐inflammation and cartilage repair is demonstrated. This work indicates a promising way to combine thermochemotherapy and tissue engineering for the effective treatment of RA for the first time.