Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are tiny fat bubbles that are used to deliver medicines, genes, and RNA into cells. However, in some cases LNPs can cause harmful inflammation as a result of the process of RNA delivery. Now, two new solutions can help alleviate inflammation while still getting RNA where it needs to be in the cell. One discovery found that inflammation could be reduced with the addition of a unique biodegradable lipid to the treatment; another solution identified a common drug, called thiodigalactoside (TG), which blocked inflammation when added to the LNP. Nature Nanotechnology features this research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
"For patients with inflammatory diseases like ARDS, heart attack, or stroke, our solutions—a new lipid and a galectin-blocking drug—make RNA therapies safer," said study co-author Jacob Brenner, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care.
