Bharath R Guru

Publications (2)14.81 Total impact

• Article: Dendrimer-based targeted intravitreal therapy for sustained attenuation of neuroinflammation in retinal degeneration.

  Raymond Iezzi, Bharath R Guru, Inna V Glybina, Manoj K Mishra, Alexander Kennedy, Rangaramanujam M Kannan
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  ABSTRACT: Retinal neuroinflammation, mediated by activated microglia, plays a key role in the pathogenesis of photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelial cell loss in age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. Targeted drug therapy for attenuation of neuroinflammation in the retina was explored using hydroxyl-terminated polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer-drug conjugate nanodevices. We show that, upon intravitreal administration, PAMAM dendrimers selectively localize within activated outer retinal microglia in two rat models of retinal degeneration, but not in the retina of healthy controls. This pathology-dependent biodistribution was exploited for drug delivery, by covalently conjugating fluocinolone acetonide to the dendrimer. The conjugate released the drug in a sustained manner over 90 days. In vivo efficacy was assessed using the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rat retinal degeneration model over a four-week period when peak retinal degeneration occurs. One intravitreal injection of 1 μg of FA conjugated to 7 μg of the dendrimer was able to arrest retinal degeneration, preserve photoreceptor outer nuclear cell counts, and attenuate activated microglia, for an entire month. These studies suggest that PAMAM dendrimers (with no targeting ligands) have an intrinsic ability to selectively localize in activated microglia, and can deliver drugs inside these cells for a sustained period for the treatment of retinal neuroinflammation.
  Biomaterials 10/2011; 33(3):979-88. · 7.40 Impact Factor
• Article: Targeted delivery of antibiotics to intracellular chlamydial infections using PLGA nanoparticles.

  Udaya S Toti, Bharath R Guru, Mirabela Hali, Christopher M McPharlin, Susan M Wykes, Jayanth Panyam, Judith A Whittum-Hudson
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  ABSTRACT: Chlamydia trachomatis and Chlamydia pneumoniae are intracellular bacterial pathogens that have been shown to cause, or are strongly associated with, diverse chronic diseases. Persistent infections by both organisms are refractory to antibiotic therapy. The lack of therapeutic efficacy results from the attenuated metabolic rate of persistently infecting chlamydiae in combination with the modest intracellular drug concentrations achievable by normal delivery of antibiotics to the inclusions within which chlamydiae reside in the host cell cytoplasm. In this research, we evaluated whether nanoparticles formulated using the biodegradable poly(d-L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) polymer can enhance the delivery of antibiotics to the chlamydial inclusion complexes. We initially studied the trafficking of PLGA nanoparticles in Chlamydia-infected cells. We then evaluated nanoparticles for the delivery of antibiotics to the inclusions. Intracellular trafficking studies show that PLGA nanoparticles efficiently concentrate in inclusions in both acutely and persistently infected cells. Further, encapsulation of rifampin and azithromycin antibiotics in PLGA nanoparticles enhanced the effectiveness of the antibiotics in reducing microbial burden. Combination of rifampin and azithromycin was more effective than the individual drugs. Overall, our studies show that PLGA nanoparticles can be effective carriers for targeted delivery of antibiotics to intracellular chlamydial infections.
  Biomaterials 06/2011; 32(27):6606-13. · 7.40 Impact Factor