He, Xiangming; He, Sihan; Xiang, Gang; Deng, Linhua; Zhang, Hongqi; Wang, Yunjia; Li, Jiusheng; Lu, Hengyi

ADVANCED MATERIALS

2024, 36, 1521-4095

He, Xiangming; He, Sihan; Xiang, Gang; Deng, Linhua; Zhang, Hongqi; Wang, Yunjia; Li, Jiusheng; Lu, Hengyi

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative bone and joint disease characterized by decreased cartilage lubrication, leading to continuous wear and ultimately irreversible damage. This situation is particularly challenging for early-stage OA, as current bio-lubricants lack precise targeting for small inflammatory lesions. In this work, an antibody-mediated targeting hydrogel microspheres (HMS) is developed to precisely lubricate the local injury site of cartilage and prevent the progression of early OA. Anti-Collagen type I (Anti-Col1) is an antibody that targets cartilage injury sites in early OA stages. It is anchored on a HMS matrix made of Gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) and poly (sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA) to create targeted HMS (T-G/S HMS). The T-G/S HMS's high hydrophilicity, along with the dynamic interaction between its surficial Anti-Col1 and the Col1 on cartilage injury site, ensures its precise and effective lubrication of early OA lesions. Consequently, injecting T-G/S HMS into rats with early OA significantly slows disease progression and reduces symptoms. In conclusion, the developed injectable targeted lubricating HMS and the precisely targeted lubrication strategy represent a promising, convenient technique for treating OA, particularly for slowing the early-stage OA progression. An antibody-mediated targeting hydrogel microsphere is developed to specifically and precisely lubricate and protect the local injury site of early-stage osteoarthritis (OA). The in vivo experiments demonstrate that even with a single small dose injection, this precise lubrication strategy can effectively slow down the progression of early OA and alleviate the associated pain. image