Natural ursolic acid based self-therapeutic polymer as nanocarrier to deliver natural resveratrol for natural therapy of acute kidney injury

• Published in: Journal of nanobiotechnology 2023-12, Vol.21 (1), p.484-484, Article 484
• Main Authors: Nie, Yuanpeng, Wang, Liying, Liu, Shengbo, Dai, Chunlei, Cui, Tianjiao, Lei, Yan, You, Xinru, Wang, Xiaohua, Wu, Jun, Zheng, Zhihua
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute kidney injury; Acute Kidney Injury - drug therapy; Acute renal failure; Animal models; Animals; Anti-inflammatory agents; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Inflammatory Agents - therapeutic use; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - therapeutic use; Biocompatibility; Cancer; Damage accumulation; Dosage and administration; Drug delivery; Drug delivery systems; Drug therapy; Drugs; Fourier transforms; Free radicals; Health aspects; Hydrogen Peroxide; In vivo methods and tests; Inflammation; Kidney diseases; Kidneys; Mice; Nanoparticles; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Particle size; Pharmaceutical research; Poly(ursolic acid); Polymers; Polymers - therapeutic use; Reactive Oxygen Species; Resveratrol; Resveratrol - pharmacology; Resveratrol - therapeutic use; Side effects; Terpenoids; Toxicity; Ursolic Acid; Vehicles
• ISSN: 1477-3155; 1477-3155
• DOI: 10.1186/s12951-023-02254-x

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common kidney disease associated with excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS). Unfortunately, due to the low kidney targeting and undesired side effects, the existing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory drugs are unavailable for AKI management in clinic. Therefore, it's essential to develop effective nanodrugs with high renal targeting and biocompatibility for AKI treatment. Herein, we reported a novel nanodrug for AKI treatment, utilizing poly(ursolic acid) (PUA) as a bioactive nanocarrier and resveratrol (RES) as a model drug. The PUA polymer was synthesized form ursolic acid with intrinsic antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, and successfully encapsulated RES through a nanoprecipitation method. Subsequently, we systemically investigated the therapeutic potential of RES-loaded PUA nanoparticles (PUA NPs@RES) against AKI. In vitro results demonstrated that PUA NPs@RES effectively scavenged ROS and provided substantial protection against H O -induced cellular damage. In vivo studies revealed that PUA NPs significantly improved drug accumulation in the kidneys and exhibited favorable biocompatibility. Furthermore, PUA NPs alone exhibited additional anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect, synergistically enhancing therapeutic efficacy in AKI mouse models when combined with RES. Overall, our study successfully developed an effective nanodrug using self-therapeutic nanocarriers, presenting a promising option for the treatment of AKI.