Gold Nanoparticles Downregulate Interleukin‐1β‐Induced Pro‐Inflammatory Responses

Abstract

Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β)-dependent inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, pose a serious medical burden worldwide, where patients face a lifetime of illness and treatment. Organogold compounds have been used since the 1930s to treat rheumatic and other IL-1β-dependent diseases and, though their mechanisms of action are still unclear, there is evidence that gold interferes with the transmission of inflammatory signalling. Here we show for the first time that citrate-stabilized gold nanoparticles, in a size dependent manner, specifically downregulate cellular responses induced by IL-1β both in vitro and in vivo. Our results indicate that the anti-inflammatory activity of gold nanoparticles is associated with an extracellular interaction with IL-1β, thus opening potentially novel options for further therapeutic applications.

Uptake efficiency of surface modified gold nanoparticles does not correlate with functional changes and cytokine secretion in human dendritic cells in vitro

“…For the PVA-NH 2 AuNPs this can be associated to the increased level of cytotoxicity that they caused to the MDDCs. Yet, for the other AuNPs these findings could be attributed to recent research by Wu et al 45 who demonstrated that IL-1β is down-regulated on LPS-stimulated murine microglial cells by the addition of 10 μg/mL iron oxide NPs, via the secretory lysosomal pathway of cytokine processing, as well as Sumbayev et al 46 who reported IL-1β down-regulation to be associated with aggregation of IL-1β molecules around the surface of the NP. Interestingly, the augmentation of the IL-1β secretion was only found for (PEG + PVA)-NH 2 AuNPs at 100 μg/mL.…”

Immunomodulatory properties of silver nanoparticles contribute to anticancer strategy for murine fibrosarcoma

“…57 IL-1 signaling is the major alarm mechanism that persists in a tumor microenvironment, and IL-1 is produced by cells in a malignant or micro environment. This signaling has contrasting roles, such as the control and promotion of tumors, and these roles are mediated by two important agonists called IL-1a and IL-1b, respectively.…”

Microscopic Analysis of the Interaction of Gold Nanoparticles with Cells of the Innate Immune System

“…A novel way to study the role of gold and its interaction with the immune system could be to use AuNPs, since their path can be easily followed and they can be visualized using electron microscopy methods. Citrate-coated AuNPs are more compatible with biological systems compared to other functionalized AuNPs and metallic nanoparticles such as silver 3 . They are also easy to synthesize in a wide range of monodispersed sizes from 5 to 50 nm, some of which are currently undergoing clinical tests for the treatment of different kinds of tumours 4 .…”

“…In a recent study, we showed that AuNPs downregulate interleukin-1-Beta-dependent inflammatory responses, which are associated with many autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis 3 . The anti-inflammatory activity of AuNPs was shown to most probably be due to extracellular interactions with IL-1b.…”