posted on 2024-02-24, 02:29authored byYulu Tan, Zijun Wang, Rui Guo, Xueru Zhou, Wei Zhang, Mengying Wu, Chenqi Guo, Huile Gao, Xun Sun, Zhirong Zhang, Tao Gong
Hepatic cirrhosis has become a global
public health concern with
high mortality and currently lacks effective clinical treatment methods.
Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and the large number of
macrophages infiltrating into the liver play a critical role in the
development of liver cirrhosis. This study developed a novel modified
nanoparticle system (SRF-CS-PSA NPs) in which Sorafenib (SRF) was
encapsulated by palmitic acid-modified albumin (PSA) and further modified
with chondroitin sulfate (CS). These modifications enabled the SRF-CS-PSA
NPs to effectively target hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and macrophages.
SRF-CS-PSA NPs showed uniform particle size distribution of approximately
120 nm and high loading efficiency of up to 99.5% and can be taken
up by HSCs and macrophages via CD44 and SR-A receptors, respectively.
In a mouse model of liver cirrhosis, SRF-CS-PSA NPs demonstrated superior
targeting and inhibition of HSCs and macrophages, effectively reversing
the process of liver cirrhosis. Overall, our study demonstrates the
potential of SRF-CS-PSA NPs as a targeted therapy for liver cirrhosis,
with promising clinical applications.