Current Strategies and Potential Prospects for Nanoparticle-Mediated Treatment of Diabetic Nephropathy

Chunkang Liu,1,* Kunzhe Wu,2,* Huan Gao,3 Jianyang Li,3 Xiaohua Xu3 1Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Scientific Research Center, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Nephrology, China-Japan Union Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xiaohua Xu, Email xu_xh@jlu.edu.cnAbstract: Diabetic nephropathy (DN), a severe microvascular complication of diabetes mellitus (DM), is the most common form of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and a leading cause of renal failure in end-stage renal disease. No currently available treatment can achieve complete cure. Traditional treatments have many limitations, such as painful subcutaneous insulin injections, nephrotoxicity and hepatotoxicity with oral medication, and poor patient compliance with continual medication intake. Given the known drawbacks, recent research has suggested that nanoparticle-based drug delivery platforms as therapeutics may provide a promising strategy for treating debilitating diseases such as DN in the future. This administration method provides multiple advantages, such as delivering the loaded drug to the precise target of action and enabling early prevention of CKD progression. This article discusses the development of the main currently used nanoplatforms, such as liposomes, polymeric NPs, and inorganic NPs, as well as the prospects and drawbacks of nanoplatform application in the treatment of CKD.Keywords: diabetic nephropathy, DN, nanoplatform, route of administration