Biomimetic nanoparticles facilitating the functional engraftment of lung epithelial stem cells for silicosis therapy.
Silicosis is an irreversible, progressive occupational lung disease caused by chronic inhalation of crystalline silica (SiO₂), with no approved disease-modifying therapies currently available. Its pathological hallmark is a hostile fibrotic microenvironment driven by excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS), chronic inflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction in alveolar epithelial type 2 (AEC2) cells; this microenvironment is the primary bottleneck for stem cell-based silicosis therapy, as it severely impairs the engraftment of exogenous AEC2 cells. Metformin (Met) exerts mitochondria-protective effects to preserve AEC2 function, but its clinical translation for silicosis is limited by low oral bioavailability and non-specific systemic distribution. Here, we developed a ROS-responsive biomimetic liposome (TK-PSBs@Met, also termed TPM NPs) for targeted Met delivery to AEC2s in fibrotic lungs, via a design combining pulmonary surfactant (PS)-mediated AEC2 targeting and thioketal (TK)-based ROS-triggered on-demand drug release. In vitro, TPM NPs reversed SiO₂-induced epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), suppressed fibrotic and inflammatory responses, and restored mitochondrial function in A549 cells, a well-established AEC2 cell model. In vivo, TPM NPs significantly boosted the functional engraftment of TdTomato⁺ AEC2 stem cells, promoted alveolar regeneration, and attenuated collagen deposition and inflammation in SiO₂-induced silicosis mice. Mechanistically, TPM NPs mitigated silicotic fibrosis via a dual synergistic mechanism: remodeling the hostile fibrotic microenvironment and activating the AMPK/PGC-1α/NRF1/TFAM signaling axis to restore AEC2 mitochondrial biogenesis. Collectively, this TPM NP-AEC2 combinatorial therapy offers a translatable precision strategy for silicosis treatment and establishes a new paradigm for nanomedicine-augmented stem cell therapy in refractory fibrotic lung diseases.
Authors
Zhang Zhang, Yang Yang, Guo Guo, Bao Bao, Zou Zou, An An, Pang Pang, Xiao Xiao, Zhang Zhang, Chang Chang, Jiang Jiang, Liu Liu, Sun Sun
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