Gene Transfer to Synoviocytes: Prospects for Gene Treatment of Arthritis

Joints are difficult organs to target therapeutically. Intravenous, intramuscular, and oral routes of drug delivery provide poor access to the joint, and expose the body systemically to the therapeutic agent. Although intraarticular injection provides direct access to the joint, most injected materials have a short intraarticular half-life. We propose to circumvent these problems by introducing into the synovium gene(s) coding for proteins with antiarthritic properties. Two methods of gene delivery to synovium are under development. In the direct approach, in situ transduction of synoviocytes follows the injection of suitable vectors into the joint. In the indirect approach, synovium is removed from the joint, its synoviocytes are isolated, and the cells transduced in vitro. Genetically modified cells are subsequently transplanted back into the synovium. Using retroviral vectors, we have been able to express the lacZ and neo genes in lapine synovial fibroblasts in vitro. Following neoselection, all cells became LacZ^*. Neo-selected cells carrying the lacZ marker gene were transplanted back into the knees of recipient rabbits to examine the persistence and expression of these genes in vivo. Islands of LacZ⁺, transplanted cells persisted in the recipient joints for at least 3 months. Furthermore, Neo⁺ cells could be grown from synovia recovered from these joints. Initial attempts to use retroviruses for the direct, in situ transduction of synovium have failed, probably because synoviocytes in the normal synovium are mitotically inactive. Present efforts are directed towards further development of our techniques for transferring genes to joints, and using these techniques to antagonize the intraarticular actions of interleukin-1. As well as constituting a novel approach to treating arthritis, transferring genes to joints may offer new ways to promote the repair of cartilages, ligaments, and other structures within the joint. Furthermore, these techniques could serve to produce new animal models with which to study joint metabolism in health and disease.