Impact of interferon-γ on the target cell tropism of nanoparticles

Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) is well known to reduce the infectivity of viral pathogens by altering their tissue tropism. This effect is induced by upregulation of cholesterol 25-hydroxylase (CH25H). Given the similarity of viral pathogens and ligand-functionalized nanoparticles in the underlying strategy of receptor-mediated cell recognition, it appears conceivable that IFN-γ exceeds similar effects on nanoparticles. Concretely, IFN-γ-induced activation of CH25H could decrease nanoparticle avidity for target cells via depletion of clathrin-coated pits. We hypothesized that this effect would cause deterioration of target-cell specific accumulation of nanoparticles. To prove our hypothesis, we investigated the cell tropism of angiotensin II functionalized nanoparticles (NP_{Lys-Ang II}) in a co-culture system of angiotensin II subtype 1 receptor (AT₁R) positive rat mesangial target cells (rMCs) and AT₁R-negative HeLa off-target cells. In the presence of IFN-γ we observed an up to 5-fold loss of target cell preference for NP_{Lys-Ang II}. Thus, our in vitro results suggest a strong influence of IFN-γ on nanoparticle distribution, which is relevant in the context of nanotherapeutic approaches to cancer treatment, as IFN-γ is strongly expressed in tumors. For the target cell tropism of viruses, our results provide a conclusive hypothesis for the underlying mechanism behind non-directed viral distribution in the presence of IFN-γ.