Autoimmune disease

Patient sample and mouse studies suggest a hydrogel-based formulation of the GCCR agonist triamcinolone acetonide could help treat RA and other forms of inflammatory arthritis. The hydrogel contains injectable triglycerol monostearate that self-assembles into lamellar structures and is loaded with the corticosteroid triamcinolone acetonide. In RA patient-derived synovial fluid pretreated with the drug-loaded hydrogel, addition of tissue-degrading enzymes MMP2, MMP3 or MMP9 at multiple time points increased cumulative drug release from the hydrogel compared with vehicle. In a mouse model of inflammatory arthritis, injection of the triamcinolone acetonide-loaded hydrogel into the right hind paw decreased thickness and clinical scores of arthritis severity scores in all paws compared with vehicle. In a mouse model of severe inflammatory arthritis, injection of the drug-loaded hydrogel decreased right hand paw thickness and clinical scores of arthritis severity. Next steps could include testing the triamcinolone acetonide-loaded hydrogel in other RA models. ...