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‐Fe3O4 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.

ASPS Exhibits Anti‐Rheumatic Effects by Reprogramming Gut Microbiota and Increasing Serum γ‐Glutamylcysteine Level

“…Despite recent advances in understanding its pathogenesis, with many genetic susceptibility risk alleles identified, the etiology of RA remains elusive. [ 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ] There is increasing evidence that the gut‐immune axis exerts a vital role in regulating RA. [ 8 , 9 ] The abundance of a variety of pathogenic bacteria, including Prevotella and segmental filamentous bacteria, is related to the severity of RA.…”

Biomarker‐Responsive Nanosystems for Chronic Disease Theranostics

“…Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is chronic autoimmune disease characterized by chronic inflammation of the synovium and damage of cartilage and bone. [272][273][274] Given the pathological features of RA, incorporating contrast agents or drugs into nanomaterials to design nanoprobes or nanodrugs can not only improve drugresponsive release capability but also provide visual information on pathological features and improve therapeutic outcome. [275][276][277][278][279][280] For example, Wang et al developed an inflammation-induced disassembly nanoplatform (DCNR-MTX-CPs/siRNA) wherein conjugated polymer NPs (CPs) were combined with down-conversion nanorods (DCNRs) via bisulfide bridges and then modified using siRNA (Figure 17A).…”

Hydrogels for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

“…Thus, this hydrogel provides a promising thought for the production of hydrogels. Gang et al (2021) developed the multifunctional drug-loaded hydrogel (DN-Fe-MTX-TGFβ1), which combined the tissue engineering and thermochemotherapy to deal with rheumatoid arthritis effectively. This drug loaded hydrogel integrates magnetic nano-Fe 3 O 4 and CS-polyolefin into a DN hydrogel with excellent mechanical properties, and it was loaded with transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and MTX.…”