Therapeutic Opportunities for Macrophage Targeted Nanomedicine in Diabetes Mellitus.
Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disease affecting more than 500 million people worldwide. Macrophages, driving inflammation, immune dysregulation, and tissue injury, contribute to diabetes progression and diabetic complications. Nanomedicine offers unique advantages in drug delivery, tissue accumulation, and macrophage targeting, making it particularly suitable for modulating macrophage-mediated pathological processes in diabetes. In this review, we describe the role of macrophages in the pathological progression of diabetes mellitus and further summarize current strategies for using nanoparticles to target macrophages. We highlight the diagnostic and therapeutic potential of macrophage-targeted nanoparticles in diabetes and its related complications. Finally, we discuss key translational challenges, including biodistribution, off-target uptake, long-term immunological safety, toxicity, and clinical applicability. This review provides a distinct framework for understanding how macrophage-targeted nanomedicine can be developed to improve diabetes diagnosis, therapeutic modulation, and the management of diabetic complications.