title: Inhibition of tumor necrosis factor alpha secretion and prevention of liver injury in ethanol-fed rats by antisense oligonucleotides.
abstract: Elevated serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) levels predict mortality in patients with alcoholic liver disease. Administration of anti-TNF-alpha antibodies, obliteration of Kupffer cells or gut sterilization protect against ethanol-induced hepatocellular injury in animal models. In this study, we evaluated the in vivo efficacy of an antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotide (S-ODN) targeted against TNF-alpha mRNA (TJU-2755). Naive rats that were administered TJU-2755 (10 mg/(kg body weight (BW)/day) for 2 days) in the free form were challenged with LPS to induce TNF-alpha secretion. Antisense TJU-2755 treatment reduced serum TNF-alpha levels by 62%. A comparison of the efficacies of mismatched and random S-ODNs with that of TJU-2755 showed that some non-specific inhibition might accompany the sequence-specific effects of TJU-2755. To optimize the targeting of the S-ODN, TJU-2755 was encapsulated in pH-sensitive liposomes for in vivo delivery to macrophages. The efficacy of liposome-encapsulated TJU-2755 was assessed in ethanol-fed animals that were administered LPS to induce liver injury. Liposomal delivery of TJU-2755 allowed a much lower dose (1.9 mg/kg BW/day, for 2 days) of the S-ODN to reduce LPS-induced serum TNF-alpha (by 54%) and liver injury (by 60%) in ethanol-fed rats. These data indicate that liposome-encapsulated S-ODNs targeted against TNF-alpha have therapeutic potential in the treatment of alcoholic liver disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Anatomy and Cell Biology, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA. biddanda.ponnappa@jefferson.edu
authors.forename: Biddanda C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Ponnappa
authors.forename: Yedy
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Israel
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aini
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Russ
authors.forename: Qing-na
authors.initials: QN
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Yiyang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rubin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008081:Liposomes; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009946:Organothiophosphorus Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D054735:Phosphorothioate Oligonucleotides; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D013154:Spleen / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D008081:Liposomes; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; D009946:Organothiophosphorus Compounds; D054735:Phosphorothioate Oligonucleotides; C428116:TJU 2755; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D000431:Ethanol