Liposome-Encapsulated Clodronate Retards the Development of Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis

Abstract

A study was undertaken to determine if the intravenous injection of liposome-encapsulated dichloromethylene diphosphonate (C12MDP; Clodronat), a treatment known to deplete monocytes, as well as liver and spleen macrophages, would reduce the number of macrophages in the retina of animals with experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) and decrease the severity of the disease. EAU was induced in Lewis rats by immunization with S-antigen (S-Ag). Monocytes and macrophages were depleted via an intravenous injection of Cl2MDP encapsulated in liposomes. Control groups included rats that received no S-Ag (n= 18), S-Ag and no treatment (n=23), S-Ag and free drug (n = 20), or empty liposomes (n=14). Treated animals received injections of the Cl2MDP-liposomes, free drug, or empty liposomes. Animals were sacrificed at 14, 21 and 28 days post-S-Ag administration. Intravenous, Cl2MDP-liposomes produced a statistically significant reduction in the severity of the EAU when compared to controls at both days 14 and 21 following S-Ag injection. Immunohistochemical staining with the monoclonal antibody EDI demonstrated that the severity of the ocular inflammatory response correlated with the number of EDI-positive cells in the retina. Following the cessation of treatment, treated animals developed disease that was as severe at day 28 as that of untreated animals at day 21. These results confirm the importance of monocytes and macrophages in EAU by demonstrating the correlation between the presence of EDI-positive cells in the retina and the resultant damage to the retina. Although the dosing regimen employed here did not provide a cure, strategies designed to prevent the local recruitment and/or activation of mononuclear phagocytes may prove to be useful in the treatment of EAU.