Mannosylated bioreducible nanoparticle-mediated macrophage-specific TNF-α RNA interference for IBD therapy

The application of RNA interference (RNAi) for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) therapy has been limited by the lack of non-cytotoxic, efficient and targetable small interfering RNA (siRNA) carriers. TNF-α is the major pro-inflammatory cytokine mainly secreted by macrophages during IBD. Here, a mannosylated bioreducible cationic polymer (PPM) was synthesized and further spontaneously assembled nanoparticles (NPs) assisted by sodium triphosphate (TPP). The TPP-PPM/siRNA NPs exhibited high uniformity (polydispersity index = 0.004), a small particle size (211-275 nm), excellent bioreducibility, and enhanced cellular uptake. Additionally, the generated NPs had negative cytotoxicity compared to control NPs fabricated by branched polyethylenimine (bPEI, 25 kDa) or Oligofectamine (OF) and siRNA. In vitro gene silencing experiments revealed that TPP-PPM/TNF-α siRNA NPs with a weight ratio of 40:1 showed the most efficient inhibition of the expression and secretion of TNF-α (approximately 69.9%, which was comparable to the 71.4% obtained using OF/siRNA NPs), and its RNAi efficiency was highly inhibited in the presence of mannose (20 mm). Finally, TPP-PPM/siRNA NPs showed potential therapeutic effects on colitis tissues, remarkably reducing TNF-α level. Collectively, these results suggest that non-toxic TPP-PPM/siRNA NPs can be exploited as efficient, macrophage-targeted carriers for IBD therapy.