Abstract

The aim of the study was to evaluate if gold-coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (AuSPION) magnetic-targeted to the arthritic articulation of collagen induced arthritis (CIA) rats are able to ameliorate rheumatoid arthritis without producing significant biological adverse effects in comparison to colloidal Au nanoparticles (AuC) and metotrexate (MTX). Male Wistar rats were divided into control; arthritic; AuSPION (150 mu g kg(-1)); AuC (150 mu g kg(-1)) and MTX (2.5 mu g kg(-1)). Treatments were administered thrice every other day by the intraperitoneal route 15 min after all groups had a neodymium magnet coupled to the right ankle joint (kept for 1 h). Paw edema and body weight were measured weekly. Joint sections were evaluated by Haematoxylin Eosin and immunohistochemistry (TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta). Biomarkers of oxidative stress were used to evaluate toxicity. Among the evaluated treatments, AuSPION led to significant clinical improvements (decreased edema and infiltration by leukocytes as well as less positively immunostained cells for both TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta in synovium) accompanied by a lack of toxicity as indicated by redox state and genotoxicity assays. Our results clearly indicate that the magnetic targeting of AuSPION suppresses joint edema and inflammation, cytokine expression as well as the redox imbalance, thereby contributing to an amelioration of arthritis severity in CIA rats. The results demonstrate for the first time the potentiality of AuSPION administration under a magnetic field as an attractive alternative for future treatments of rheumatic diseases.