Scientists have developed nanomedicines that can deliver drug packets directly to lesions in diseased arteries, acting like nano-sized ‘drones’ to target atherosclerosis, a major risk factor for deaths caused by heart attack or stroke.

Share on Pinterest The nanoparticles were small and sticky enough to push their way under atherosclerotic plaques and effect repair.

Atherosclerosis – in which arteries become narrowed due to a buildup of fatty substance that forms a plaque or atheroma – can affect the coronary arteries supplying the heart. Such coronary disease is the number one killer in the US, resulting in a quarter of all deaths.

In their study, which is published online by Science Translational Medicine, Dr. Omid Farokhzad and colleagues successfully restructured atherosclerotic plaques in mice to make them more stable – by targeting them with biodegradable nanomedicines.

“This is the first example of a targeted nanoparticle technology that reduces atherosclerosis in an animal model,” says Dr. Farokhzad, associate professor and director of the laboratory of nanomedicine and biomaterials at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, both in Boston, MA. Dr. Farokhzad adds:

“We observed a clear benefit from the nanomedicine that led to a stabilized plaque that, similar to the condition in humans, would be less likely to rupture and cause heart attacks. Additionally, we observed drastic changes in key clinical hallmarks of advanced atherosclerosis.”

The targeted nanomedicines were nanoengineered to carry an anti-inflammatory drug payload in the form of a biomimetic peptide derived from one of the body’s own natural anti-inflammatory proteins called Annexin A1.

The design was such that this biological therapeutic could be released at the target atherosclerotic plaques in a controlled manner.

In mice with advanced atherosclerosis the nanomedicines were compared with controls, and after 5 weeks of treatment, artery damage “was significantly repaired and plaque was stabilized.”

The researchers observed that the nanomedicine-treated mice, compared with those given empty nanoparticles, showed: