Self-assembled chitosan nanoparticles for intranasal delivery of recombinant protein interleukin-17 receptor C (IL-17RC): preparation and evaluation in asthma mice.

Asthma is mentioned as a chronic airway inflammatory disease, whose pathogenesis is complicated. The promotion of inflammation in asthma by IL-17A and IL-17F has been confirmed. In addition to covalent homodimers, both cytokines are also able to form heterodimers, further inducing downstream pathways via binding to the IL-17RA and IL-17RC receptor complex. In recent years, IL-17RA and its signal transduction pathway have been extensively researched. IL-17RC, however, remains relatively unexplored. In the present study, we self-assembled chitosan (CS) nanoparticles for intranasal delivery of recombinant protein IL-17RC (rIL-17RC) and preliminarily investigated its effect on a murine model of allergic asthma induced by ovalbumin (OVA). rIL-17RC was produced by the prokaryotic expression system and encapsulated into the CS nanoparticles via ionic cross-linking technique. The results showed that CS-RC nanoparticles via intranasal intervention significantly caused inhibition of mucus secretion and airway inflammatory cell infiltration, and reduced IL-4, IL-17, IL-17F levels in BALF. Hence, delivering receptor proteins such as IL-17RC, through CS nanoparticles as a carrier, could be an attractive therapeutic intervention for asthma.

Interleukin-17 signaling mediates cytolytic natural killer cell activation in response to placental ischemia.

T-helper (TH)17s, IL-17, and cytolytic natural killer cells (cNKs) are increased in preeclampsia and contribute to the hypertension, inflammation, and fetal growth restriction that occurs in response to placental ischemia in the reduced uterine perfusion pressure (RUPP) rat model of preeclampsia. As IL-17 stimulates NK cytotoxicity in vitro, we tested the hypothesis that IL-17 inhibition in RUPP rats would decrease cNK activation as a mechanism to improve maternal and fetal outcomes. On gestation day (GD) 14, rats undergoing RUPP received a miniosmotic pump infusing IL-17RC (100 pg/day), a soluble IL-17 receptor (RUPP + IL-17RC). On GD19, mean arterial pressure (MAP) was measured in normal pregnant (NP), RUPP, and RUPP + IL-17RC rats (n = 10-12/group), animals were euthanized, and blood and tissues were collected for analysis. MAP was 30% higher in RUPP compared with NP (P < 0.0001) and was 12% lower in RUPP + IL-17RC (P = 0.0007 vs. RUPP). Placental cytolytic NK cells were 132% higher in RUPP than in NP (P = 0.04 vs. NP) and were normalized in RUPP + IL-17RC (P = 0.03 vs. RUPP). Placental levels of TNF-α, a cNK-secreted cytokine, and macrophage inflammatory protein-3α (MIP-3α), a cNK chemokine, were higher in RUPP vs. NP and lower after IL-17 blockade. Placental VEGF was lower in RUPP vs. NP and was normalized in RUPP + IL-17RC. In vitro cytolytic activity of RUPP placental NKs was higher compared with NP and was blunted in RUPP + IL-17RC NKs. Finally, both fetal weight and placental weight were lower in RUPP compared with NP, and were improved in RUPP + IL-17RC. These data identify IL-17 as a mediator of cNK activation in response to placental ischemia during pregnancy.

Administration of interleukin-17 soluble receptor C suppresses TH17 cells, oxidative stress, and hypertension in response to placental ischemia during pregnancy.

Preeclampsia, new onset hypertension with proteinuria during pregnancy, is associated with chronic inflammation and placental oxidative stress (ROS). Chronic interleukin-17 (IL-17) increases blood pressure, autoantibodies (angiotensin II type I receptor [AT1-AA]), and ROS during pregnancy. The objective of this study was to determine whether T-helper 17 (TH17) suppression via IL-17 recombinant receptor C (IL-17RC) decreases pathophysiology associated with placental ischemia (reduced uterine perfusion pressure [RUPP]). On gestation day 14, miniosmotic pumps infusing 100 pg of IL-17RC per day were implanted into pregnant rats undergoing RUPP. On gestation day 18, carotid catheters were inserted. On gestation day 19, mean arterial pressure was recorded and TH17 cells, oxidative stress, and AT1-AA were measured and analyzed via 1-way ANOVA. Mean arterial pressure increased from 101 ± 2 mm Hg in normal pregnant rats (n = 19) to 120 ± 1 mm Hg in RUPP rats (n = 17) but decreased to 110 ± 2 mm Hg in RUPP+IL-17RC rats (n = 22). Pup weight decreased from 2.28 ± 0.2 g in normal pregnant rats to 1.96 ± 0.3 g in RUPP rats but was significantly increased to 2.01 ± 0.1 in RUPP+IL-17RC rats. TH17 cells were 1.77% in RUPP rats but decreased to 0.65% in RUPP+IL-17RC rats. Urinary isoprostanes were normalized in RUPP+IL-17RC rats (52 pg/µg) compared with 89 pg/µg in RUPP controls. Placental ROS was 652 relative light units in RUPP rats but decreased to 337 relative light units in RUPP+IL-17RC rats. AT1-AA was 17.27 ± 0.7 bpm in RUPP rats but decreased to 5.00 ± 0.5 bpm in RUPP+IL-17RC rats. With this study, we show that infusion of IL-17RC blunts TH17s, oxidative stress, AT1-AA, and hypertension in the RUPP model of preeclampsia, indicating that TH17 cells may play an important role in disease pathophysiology.