Therapy Nanoparticles for Modulation of Inflammation in Neuromuscular Disease

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Although great promise has been shown for therapy of muscular dystrophy by gene and stem cell therapies, and steroids appear to improve physiological function, the complexity of the total disease process and the rapid progression to death in these patients begs for practical alternative strategies. The purpose of this proposal is to develop and evaluate new approaches to multiplexed therapeutics of muscular dystrophy based on recent progress in our laboratory that may bring targeted nanosystems to bear on diagnosis, therapy, and image-based management of muscular dystrophy. In this translational proposal, all of the required synthetic and analytical tools are at our disposal to conclusively determine if a targeted nanotechnology platform adds value to the management of experimental models of muscular dystrophy, which is a proposition that heretofore has never been tested. The overarching hypothesis of this proposal is that: nanotechnology-based approaches add unique and valuable assets to the diagnostic and therapeutic armamentarium in neuromuscular disorders, and will contribute in a directly translational way to the clinical management of neuromuscular disorders. The deliverables, or outcomes, envisioned in the specific aims and outlined in the experimental plan are: 1) Formulation of nanoparticles targeted to inflammatory biomarkers of disease to noninvasively, sensitively, and accurately report the activity and the evolution of the muscular dystrophy disease process through image- based readouts of selected molecular biomarkers of pathophysiological significance to the early inflammatory changes that contribute to the deterioration of cardiac and skeletal muscle; 2) Development of novel methods for repeated delivery of potent drugs and genetic materials to targeted sites of inflammation with reduced toxicity profiles as compared with current therapeutic approaches; and 3) Integration of image-based readouts of disease activity in conjunction with therapeutic delivery to allow rational adjustment of agents and dosing, and establishment of clinical follow-up strategies to facilitate "individualized" clinical management.