In vivo therapeutic efficacy of TNFα silencing by folate-PEG-chitosan-DEAE/siRNA nanoparticles in arthritic mice.

Background: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, has been shown to play a role in the pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis. Silencing TNFα expression with small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a promising approach to treatment of the condition.

Methods: Towards this end, our team has developed a modified chitosan (CH) nanocarrier, deploying folic acid, diethylethylamine (DEAE) and polyethylene glycol (PEG) (folate-PEG-CH-DEAE).