A delivery system targeting bone formation surfaces to facilitate RNAi-based anabolic therapy

Zhang and colleagues have developed a new targeted delivery system for RNA interference–based bone anabolic therapy. Using dioleoyl trimethylammonium propane (DOTAP)-based cationic liposomes attached to six repetitive sequences of aspartate, serine, serine (AspSerSer)6, the system provided selective enrichment of the encapsulated osteogenic siRNA in osteogenic lineage cells at the bone formation surface and the subsequent depletion of the target gene, encoding the bone formation inhibitor casein kinase-2 interacting protein-1 (PLEKHO1, also known as CKIP-1), leading to the promotion of bone formation in healthy and osteoporotic rats.