Institute of Translational Medicine, Medical College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225001, P. R. China.
Department of Orthopedics, Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, 225009, P. R. China.
Small. 2024 May;20(22):e2307595. doi: 10.1002/smll.202307595. Epub 2023 Dec 21.
In the osteoporotic microenvironment, the acidic microenvironment generated by excessive osteoclasts not only causes irreversible bone mineral dissolution, but also promotes reactive oxygen species (ROS) production to induce osteoblast senescence and excessive receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) production, which help to generate more osteoclasts. Hence, targeting the acidic microenvironment and RANKL production may break this vicious cycle to rescue osteoporosis. To achieve this, an acid-responsive and neutralizing system with high in vivo gene editing capacity is developed by loading sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO) and RANKL-CRISPR/Cas9 (RC) plasmid in a metal-organic framework. This results showed ZIF8-NaHCO@Cas9 (ZNC) effective neutralized acidic microenvironment and inhibited ROS production . Surprisingly, nanoparticles loaded with NaHCO and plasmids show higher transfection efficiency in the acidic environments as compared to the ones loaded with plasmid only. Finally, micro-CT proves complete reversal of bone volume in ovariectomized mice after ZNC injection into the bone remodeling site. Overall, the newly developed nanoparticles show strong effect in neutralizing the acidic microenvironment to achieve bone protection through promoting osteogenesis and inhibiting osteolysis in a bidirectional manner. This study provides new insights into the treatment of osteoporosis for biomedical and clinical therapies.
在骨质疏松症的微环境中,破骨细胞过度产生的酸性微环境不仅导致不可逆转的骨矿物质溶解,还促进活性氧(ROS)的产生,诱导成骨细胞衰老和过量核因子κB 受体激活剂配体(RANKL)的产生,从而帮助产生更多的破骨细胞。因此,靶向酸性微环境和 RANKL 的产生可能打破这种恶性循环,从而拯救骨质疏松症。为了实现这一目标,通过在金属有机骨架中装载碳酸氢钠(NaHCO)和 RANKL-CRISPR/Cas9(RC)质粒,开发了一种具有高体内基因编辑能力的酸响应中和系统。结果表明,ZIF8-NaHCO@Cas9(ZNC)有效中和了酸性微环境并抑制了 ROS 的产生。令人惊讶的是,与仅装载质粒的纳米颗粒相比,装载有 NaHCO 和质粒的纳米颗粒在酸性环境中显示出更高的转染效率。最后,微 CT 证明,在将 ZNC 注入骨重塑部位后,去卵巢小鼠的骨体积完全逆转。总体而言,新开发的纳米颗粒通过双向促进成骨和抑制溶骨来中和酸性微环境,从而具有很强的保护骨骼的效果。该研究为生物医学和临床治疗提供了治疗骨质疏松症的新见解。