Abstract
Liver fibrosis, a reversible pathological process of inflammation and fiber deposition caused by chronic liver injury and can cause severe health complications, including liver failure, liver cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Traditional diagnostic methods and drug-based therapy have several limitations, such as lack of precision and inadequate therapeutic efficiency. As a medical application of nanotechnology, nanomedicine exhibits great potential for liver fibrosis diagnosis and therapy. Nanomedicine enhances imaging contrast and improves tissue penetration and cellular internalization; it simultaneously achieves targeted drug delivery, combined therapy, as well as diagnosis and therapy (i.e., theranostics). In this review, recent designs and development efforts of nanomedicine systems for the diagnosis, therapy, and theranostics of liver fibrosis are introduced. Relative to traditional methods, these nanomedicine systems generally demonstrate significant improvement in liver fibrosis treatment. Perspectives and challenges related to these nanomedicine systems translated from laboratory to clinical use are also discussed.
Highlights
Liver fibrosis is an important pathological and repair process in chronic liver disease, which is caused by chronic viral hepatitis, alcohol, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and autoimmune liver disease [1,2,3]
The current review summarizes potential targets and the application of emerging nanomedicine systems for liver fibrosis diagnosis and therapy, including liposomes, polymer NPs, protein NPs, inorganic NPs, and hybrid NPs
One study found that core–shell perfluorooctyl bromide (PFOB) coated with poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) polymers and modified with a cyclic RGD exhibited powerful ultrasound molecular imaging features, including high-contrast imaging among liver fibrotic stages and adjacent tissues [59]
Summary
Liver fibrosis is an important pathological and repair process in chronic liver disease, which is caused by chronic viral hepatitis, alcohol, and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and autoimmune liver disease [1,2,3]. Chemical drugs [8], Chinese herbal medicines [9], and monoclonal antibodies [10] are being developed for the treatment of liver fibrosis These approaches aim to remove injurious stimuli, suppress hepatic inflammation, down regulate hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation, and promote matrix degradation [11]. These approaches exhibit limited therapeutic efficiency and have side effects. The current review summarizes potential targets and the application of emerging nanomedicine systems for liver fibrosis diagnosis and therapy, including liposomes, polymer NPs, protein NPs, inorganic NPs, and hybrid NPs. Major research gaps, challenges, and coping strategies for the treatment of liver fibrosis by using nanomedicine are discussed
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