Highly sensitive H2O2-scavenging nano-bionic system for precise treatment of atherosclerosis

Acta Pharm Sin B. 2023 Jan;13(1):372-389. doi: 10.1016/j.apsb.2022.04.002. Epub 2022 Apr 11.

Abstract

In atherosclerosis, chronic inflammatory processes in local diseased areas may lead to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). In this study, we devised a highly sensitive H2O2-scavenging nano-bionic system loaded with probucol (RPP-PU), to treat atherosclerosis more effectively. The RPP material had high sensitivity to H2O2, and the response sensitivity could be reduced from 40 to 10 μmol/L which was close to the lowest concentration of H2O2 levels of the pathological environment. RPP-PU delayed the release and prolonged the duration of PU in vivo. In Apolipoprotein E deficient (ApoE‒/‒) mice, RPP-PU effectively eliminated pathological ROS, reduced the level of lipids and related metabolic enzymes, and significantly decreased the area of vascular plaques and fibers. Our study demonstrated that the H2O2-scavenging nano-bionic system could scavenge the abundant ROS in the atherosclerosis lesion, thereby reducing the oxidative stress for treating atherosclerosis and thus achieve the therapeutic goals with atherosclerosis more desirably.

Keywords: Atherosclerosis; H2O2-scavenging; Highly sensitive; Nano-bionic system; Oxidative stress; Pathological environment; Precise; Target.