# Immunotargeting of reparative cells and theranostic nanosomes to cartilage lesions

> **NIH VA I01** · MEMPHIS VA MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · —

## Abstract

The ability to detect early cartilage damage in traumatic injury or degenerative arthritis has been limited,
preventing treatment when therapies may be more beneficial. Depletion of proteoglycans/glycoproteins on the
surface of the cartilage in these disorders results in unmasking of the underlying type II collagen (CII). This
allows CII to serve as an immunologically recognizable target for monoclonal antibody to type II collagen
(MabCII). MabCII can be fluorescently labeled for diagnosis of cartilage injury or cartilage degeneration or may
be directly coupled to nanosomes encapsulating drugs for localized delivery to the cartilage lesion. Preliminary
evidence shows a similar strategy can be used to target and recruit reparative chondrocytes and mesenchymal
stem cells to the damaged site. In this application, MabCII will be used in a comprehensive treatment plan for
directing reparative cells to lesions of the articular cartilage and meniscal cartilages. The therapeutic efficacy
for repairing these cartilages will be monitored by an innovative fluorescent arthroscopy. In addition, we will
optimize the recruitment and integration of the reparative cells in the cartilage lesions by reducing MMP
production in the joint by intra-articular injection of an inhibitor of activation of the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-
KB) pathway encapsulated in MabCII-targeted nanosomes. These procedures are extremely novel and
paradigm shifting for the diagnosis and treatment of joint injury and disease. Our aims are: (1). To diagnose
and characterize damaged and degenerative areas of articular surface and meniscal cartilages in the
pig knee using a sensitive, MabCII antibody-guided method of fluorescent arthroscopy (FA). The knee
of the domestic pig closely resembles a human joint in terms of joint size, weight-bearing requirements, and
cartilage thickness and will be used in the characterization of surgically-induced injuries to meniscal and
articular cartilages. The damage will be visualized through its binding to fluorescent MabCII using fluorescent
arthroscopy, a new procedure that we have developed, and confirmed by histopathology. After FA
characterization of the injury, (2) MabCII antibody will be used to target delivery and recruitment of
reparative cells to the damaged areas of the knee joint cartilages. We will investigate the therapeutic
efficacy of fluorescent, MabCII-targeted chondrocytes or mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow
and adipose tissues intra-articularly injected into joints where articular or meniscal cartilages have been
surgically damaged monitoring the cellular localization and persistence by FA. Cell to cell recruitment at the
cartilage lesion in the knee will be facilitated by an innovative system of biotin/avidin ligands on the surface of
the reparative cells and multivalent antibody recruitment of cells binding type II collagen. Reparative tissues will
be analyzed over time by histopathology and gene expression by RT-PCR. We w...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10266752
- **Project number:** 5I01BX004151-04
- **Recipient organization:** MEMPHIS VA MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** KAREN A. HASTY
- **Activity code:** I01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-01-01 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10266752

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10266752, Immunotargeting of reparative cells and theranostic nanosomes to cartilage lesions (5I01BX004151-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10266752. Licensed CC0.

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