Inhibition of interleukin-1-induced effects in synoviocytes transduced with the human IL-1 receptor antagonist cDNA using an adenoviral vector.

In this report, we present data showing that a recombinant adenoviral vector (Ad.RSVIL-1ra) containing the cDNA for human interleukin-1 receptor antagonist protein (IL-1ra) can genetically modify synoviocytes both in vitro and in vivo. Human synoviocytes infected with Ad.RSVIL-1ra in vitro expressed and secreted high levels of human IL-1ra that were detected by ELISA of tissue culture supernatants. New Zealand White rabbits that received intra-articular injections of Ad.RSVIL-1ra expressed transgenic IL-1ra in synoviocytes, and secretion was detected for at least 4 weeks post-infection. Further, biological activity of the transgenic IL-1ra was demonstrated by its ability to inhibit IL-1-induced prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis in vitro and IL-1-induced glycosaminoglycan (GAG) degradation in vivo. These data demonstrate that recombinant adenoviral vectors can mediate the intra-articular expression of anti-inflammatory proteins and may be a reasonable method to deliver therapeutically relevant proteins for the regional treatment of synovial inflammation.