Gouty arthritis is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by flares of joint swelling and pain. Pain is induced by the accumulation of urate crystals in and around the joint and the associated establishment of an inflammatory microenvironment. Current therapies for gouty arthritis have off-target effects and do not deliver clinically satisfactory results. A new study presents a multimodal treatment approach for gouty arthritis using a targeted nanosystem. Nanocarriers are known to accumulate in inflamed joints and therefore represent an appealing targeted treatment option.

The authors fused M2 macrophage membranes and exosomes to create an immunological disguise for the nanocarriers. This coat leverages the known anti-inflammatory properties of M2 macrophages to protect the internal nanoparticles from immune-mediated degradation. Additionally, membranes and exosomes from M2 macrophages can repolarize pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages to M2 macrophages.