Biomimetic nanoparticles with cell-membrane camouflage for rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a progressive, autoimmune disease that causes substantial suffering and high disability. Despite advances in the application potential of nano-drug-delivery platforms, rapid blood clearance and untargeted accumulation severely hinder their therapeutic efficacy in treating RA. More recently, cytomembrane wrapping has emerged as a promising solution addressing these limitations. Due to the abundant biocompatible proteins on their surface, cell-membrane-camouflaged nanoparticles (CMCNs) can effectively escape the immune system and realize highly targeted aggregation. The recent advancements made in CMCNs for RA therapy are summarized in this review. An overview of the related methods for preparing CMCNs with both biomimetic and specific targeting activities is presented. Then, different functions and potential applications of the CMCNs synthesized from various cell sources are discussed. In addition, various functionalized modifications of cell membranes are introduced. Finally, we conclude with the advantages and challenges of CMCNs for RA clinical translation.