Adaptive in vivo device for theranostics of inflammation: real-time monitoring of interferon-? and aspirin

Cytokines mediate and control immune and inflammatory responses. Complex interactions exist among cytokines, inflammation, and the innate and adaptive immune responses in maintaining homeostasis, health, and well-being. On-demand, local delivery of anti-inflammatory drugs to target tissues provides an approach for more effective drug dosing while reducing the adverse effects of systemic drug delivery. This work demonstrates a proof-of-concept theranostic approach for inflammation based on analyte-kissing induced signaling, whereby a drug (in this report, aspirin) can be released upon the detection of a target level of a proinflammatory cytokine (i.e., interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)) in real time. The structure switching aptamer-based biosensor described here is capable of quantitatively and dynamically detecting IFN-gamma both in vitro and in vivo with a sensitivity of 10 pg mL(-1). Moreover, the released aspirin triggered by the immunoregulatory cytokine IFN-gamma is able to inhibit inflammation in a rat model, and the release of aspirin can be quantitatively controlled. The data reported here provide a new and promising strategy for the in vivo detection of proinflammatory cytokines and the subsequent therapeutic delivery of anti-inflammatory molecules. This universal theranostic platform is expected to have great potential for patient-specific personalized medicine.

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