pH-Sensitive nanocarrier assisted delivery of adenosine to treat osteoporotic bone loss

Bone tissue undergoes continuous remodeling via osteoclast-mediated bone resorption and osteoblast-mediated bone formation. An imbalance in this process with enhanced osteoclastic activity can lead to excessive bone resorption, resulting in bone thinning. Once activated, osteoclasts bind to the bone surface and acidify the local niche. This acidic environment could serve as a potential trigger for the delivery of therapeutic agents into the osteoporotic bone tissue. To this end, we developed a pH-responsive nanocarrier-based drug delivery system that binds to the bone tissue and delivers an osteoanabolic molecule, adenosine. Adenosine is incorporated into a hyaluronic acid (HA)-based nanocarrier through a pH-sensitive ketal group. The HA-nanocarrier is further functionalized with alendronate moieties to improve binding to the bone tissues. Systemic administration of the nanocarrier containing adenosine attenuated bone loss in ovariectomized mice and showed comparable bone qualities to that of healthy mice. Delivery of osteoanabolic small molecules that can contribute to bone formation and inhibit excessive osteoclast activity by leveraging the tissue-specific milieu could serve as viable therapeutics for osteoporosis.