Abstract
Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease associated with the accumulation of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in arterial walls. Higher levels of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 in serum are correlated with reduced plaque burden. However, cytokine therapies have not translated well to the clinic, partially due to their rapid clearance and pleiotropic nature. Here, we engineered IL-10 to overcome these challenges by hitchhiking on LDL to atherosclerotic plaques. Specifically, we constructed fusion proteins in which one domain is IL-10 and the other is an antibody fragment (Fab) that binds to protein epitopes of LDL. In murine models of atherosclerosis, we show that systemically administered Fab-IL-10 constructs bind circulating LDL and traffic to atherosclerotic plaques. One such construct, 2D03-IL-10, significantly reduces aortic immune cell infiltration to levels comparable to healthy mice, whereas non-targeted IL-10 has no therapeutic effect. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that 2D03-IL-10 preferentially associates with foamy macrophages and reduces pro-inflammatory activation markers. This platform technology can be applied to a variety of therapeutics and shows promise as a potential targeted anti-inflammatory therapy in atherosclerosis.