Self-assembly drug-albumin nanocomposites for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease treatment

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a chronic metabolic liver disease closely related to obesity, which has become a global health problem. However, current pharmacological therapies for NAFLD are limited by potential side effects, low effectiveness and poor aqueous solubility. Herein, we designed functionalized drug-albumin nanocomposites ( [email protected] NPs), which were prepared by self-assembly of the anti-obesity small-molecule drug (BAM15) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), for treatment of NAFLD. The proposed [email protected] NPs not only improve aqueous solubility and half-life of BAM15 but also exhibit hepatic-targeted capacity and an increased therapeutic efficacy. In vitro experiments revealed that [email protected] NPs possessed excellent biocompatibility, and improved resistance to adipogenesis and reduced lipid accumulation in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. In vivo , [email protected] NPs showed liver targeting ability and powerful anti-obesity effects without altering body temperature or affecting food intake, and could effectively alleviate hepatic steatosis and improve therapeutic efficacy for NAFLD treatment. The above findings demonstrated that [email protected] NPs potentially served as a safe and effective drug for NAFLD treatment.