Cell Membrane-Derived Nanoparticles as Biomimetic Nanotherapeutics to Alleviate Fatty Liver Disease

Abstract

The prevalence of metabolic dysfunction associated-steatotic liver disease (MASLD) (formerly known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; NAFLD) is estimated at around 32% of the world's population, resulting in a major healthcare concern in recent times. Current pharmaceutical methods lack efficacy for the treatment of the disease because of suboptimal pharmacokinetic parameters including poor bioavailability, short half-life, and premature clearance. Designing an efficient drug delivery system that provides a protective environment is critical for addressing these challenges. Such a system should aim to enhance the cellular uptake of drugs, improve their bioavailability, and reduce the chances of rapid clearance. Here, we developed nanoengineered natural cell membrane-derived nanoparticles (CMNs) incorporated with a model drug, rosuvastatin, in the bilayer assembly of CMNs to reduce the accumulation of lipids in hepatocytes, a hallmark of MASLD. We used a cell extrusion technique to develop self-assembled CMNs with precise size control compared to the cell shearing method. Interestingly, the prepared CMNs were found to be nonphagocytic, representing around 1.13% of phosphatidylserine receptors on healthy cells, which allows the possibility of their use as stealth nanoparticles for drug delivery. Furthermore, CMNs exhibit higher drug-loading efficiency, excellent cytocompatibility, and enhanced cellular internalization capabilities. Moreover, we show that the delivery of rosuvastatin-loaded CMNs in the in vitro MASLD model efficiently reduced hepatocyte lipid accumulation, including total cholesterol (26.8 ± 3.1%) and triglycerides (11.8 ± 0.8%), compared to the negative control. Taken together, the nanoengineered biomimetic CMNs enhance the drug's bioactivity in hepatic cells, establishing a foundation for further investigation of this drug delivery system in treating MASLD.

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