A trimetallic nanocarrier approach shows promise for the treatment of visualized idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

A research group from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Engineering and Technology (NIMTE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has developed a new treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) by transplanting mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), improving therapeutic efficacy and enabling real-time visualization of treatment. The study was published in Science Advances.

IPF is an interstitial lung disease with rapid progression and high mortality rate, which poses a serious threat to human health. In addition to conventional treatments such as long-term oxygen therapy and lung transplantation, MSCs are a promising lung regenerative therapy for IPF due to their excellent safety profile and paracrine effects.

However, due to the low survival rate and poor therapeutic efficacy of transplanted MSCs, the clinical application and progress of MSC-based therapies for IPF have been limited.

Researchers led by Professor Wu Aiguo and Professor Li Juan from the Institute of Advanced Theranostic Materials Technology at NIMTE have developed AuPtCoPS trimetallic-based nanocarriers (TBNCs) based on protamine sulfate (PS), which exhibit excellent enzyme-like activity, therapeutic gene loading capacity, and computed tomography (CT) imaging performance.

Based on these properties, TBNCs can facilitate the delivery of therapeutic genes, effectively scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS) from fibrotic lungs, and secrete hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) at the lesion site.

This enhances the anti-oxidative stress and anti-fibrotic abilities of MSCs and extends the in vivo survival time of transplanted MSCs from 7 to 14 days, significantly improving the therapeutic effect of modified MSCs on IPF.

The researchers also found that TBNCs could function as a CT contrast agent to track MSCs during treatment, allowing real-time monitoring of in vivo biological behavior and visualization of therapeutic efficacy in IPF treatment.

This study shows promising prospects for artificial MSC-based therapy for IPF and sheds light on the future large-scale production and application of high-performance MSCs in regenerative medicine.