Exploiting the biological effect exerted by nanocarriers in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease treatment
(2025)
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- Abstract
- Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) affects ~30% of adults and poses a major health burden, with only one approved pharmacological therapy. This project explores lipid nanocapsules (LNCs) as oral delivery systems for GLP-1 analogs. LNCs are innovative as they act both as delivery vehicles and as therapeutic agents. In early MASLD mouse models, exenatide or semaglutide-loaded LNCs improved glucose homeostasis, insulin resistance, and liver inflammation. In advanced, fibrotic MASLD, semaglutide-loaded LNCs were combined with a peptidomimetic against integrin α5. While glycemia and insulinemia improved, neither monotherapy nor combination therapy produced significant therapeutic effects on liver injury, steatosis, inflammation or fibrosis. These results suggest LNCs are a promising tool to prevent progression in early MASLD, but further strategies are needed for advanced stages.
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Citations
Ladeiro Domingues, I. (2025). Exploiting the biological effect exerted by nanocarriers in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease treatment. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/248332