This is groundbreaking:
On a recent road trip my mind wandered to the possibility of a treatment for ITP based on the idea of tricking antiplatelet antibodies into attacking decoy particles instead platelets. This would require creating particles that have receptors that mimic the antibody receptor sites (antigens) on platelets. These receptors would act as a sponge to soak up most of the antiplatelet antibodies before they have a chance to attack platelets, overwhelming the autoimmune response to platelets.
So, I am excited to have stumbled on a newly-released article about research being done based on this principle! The promise is huge, in that the errant antibodies themselves are being directly targeted. In addition, one can easily imagine that the model could be expanded to devise treatments for other autoimmune disorders.
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0142961216305397
Nanoparticles camouflaged in platelet membrane coating as an antibody decoy for the treatment of immune thrombocytopenia
Xiaoli Weia, Jie Gaoa, et al
Department of NanoEngineering and Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Smart Drug Delivery (Fudan University), Ministry of Education, Shanghai 201203, PR China
dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2016.10.003
Abstract
Immune thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP) is characterized by the production of pathological autoantibodies that cause reduction in platelet counts. The disease can have serious medical consequences, leading to uncontrolled bleeding that can be fatal. Current widely used therapies for the treatment of ITP are nonspecific and can, at times, result in complications that are more burdensome than the disease itself.
In the present study, the use of platelet membrane-coated nanoparticles (PNPs) as a platform for the specific clearance of anti-platelet antibodies is explored. The nanoparticles, whose outer layer displays the full complement of native platelet surface proteins, act as decoys that strongly bind pathological anti-platelet antibodies in order to minimize disease burden.
Here, we study the antibody binding properties of PNPs and assess the ability of the nanoparticles to neutralize antibody activity both in vitro and in vivo. Ultimately, we leverage the neutralization capacity of PNPs to therapeutically treat a murine model of antibody-induced thrombocytopenia and demonstrate considerable efficacy as shown in a bleeding time assay.
PNPs represent a promising platform for the specific treatment of antibody-mediated immune thrombocytopenia by acting as an alternative target for anti-platelet antibodies, thus preserving circulating platelets with the potential of leaving broader immune function intact.
Keywords :
Autoimmune disease; Platelet membrane-coated nanoparticle; Biomimetic nanoparticle; Nanosponge; Antibody decoy
Topic Author
