Probing and manipulating the immune system with nanoparticles

Lymphocytes are among the most difficult targets for drug delivery and oligonucleotides transfection. Yet, antibodies-mediated targeted lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), which target subsets of inflammatory leukocytes, have emerged as a promising immunomodulatory approach. Recently, by utilizing monoclonal antibodies to selectively transfect subsets of leukocytes with RNA molecules, we exhibit an efficient reprogramming of the notoriously hard to transfect leukocytes and an effective therapeutic effect in immune-related diseases, as autoimmune disorders and cancer. We aspire to utilize oligonucleotides loaded LNPs for in vivo reprograming of leukocytes and thus to design novel immunomodulatory therapeutic approaches for autoimmune disorders and cancer.

  1. Ramishetti S, et al (2015) Systemic Gene Silencing in Primary T lymphocytes using Targeted Lipid Nanoparticles. ACS Nano 9(7):6706-6716.