Nanomedicine-based delivery strategies for nucleic acid gene inhibitors in inflammatory diseases

Thanks to their abilities to modulate the expression of virtually any genes, RNA therapeutics have attracted considerable research efforts. Among the strategies focusing on nucleic acid gene inhibitors, antisense oligonucleotides and small interfering RNAs have reached advanced clinical trial phases with several of them having recently been marketed. These successes were obtained by overcoming stability and cellular delivery issues using either chemically modified nucleic acids or nanoparticles. As nucleic acid gene inhibitors are promising strategies to treat inflammatory diseases, this review focuses on the barriers, from manufacturing issues to cellular/subcellular delivery, that still need to be overcome to deli -ver the nucleic acids to sites of inflammation other than the liver. Furthermore, key examples of applica-tions in rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel, and lung diseases are presented as case studies of systemic, oral, and lung nucleic acid delivery. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

RNA therapeutics, including antisense oligonucleotides and small interfering RNAs, have shown success in clinical trials for inflammatory diseases by overcoming stability and cellular delivery challenges. However, there are still barriers to overcome in manufacturing and cellular/subcellular delivery for effective nucleic acid delivery to sites of inflammation other than the liver.