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World J Gastroenterol. Jun 21, 2014; 20(23): 7242-7251
Published online Jun 21, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i23.7242
Nanotechnology applications for the therapy of liver fibrosis
Lydia Giannitrapani, Maurizio Soresi, Maria Luisa Bondì, Giuseppe Montalto, Melchiorre Cervello
Lydia Giannitrapani, Maurizio Soresi, Giuseppe Montalto, Unit of Internal Medicine, Biomedical Department of Internal Medicine and Specialties DiBiMIS, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
Maria Luisa Bondì, Institute for Nanostructured Materials Studies, National Research Council (CNR), 90146 Palermo, Italy
Giuseppe Montalto, Melchiorre Cervello, Institute of Biomedicine and Molecular Immunology “A. Monroy”, National Research Council (CNR), 90146 Palermo, Italy
Author contributions: Giannitrapani L and Cervello M collected and analyzed literature data; Soresi M contributed analytics tools; Bondì ML and Montalto G supervised the paper; Giannitrapani L and Cervello M wrote the paper.
Supported by Grants from the Italian Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca (Ministry for Education, Universities and Research), MIUR FIRB-MERIT n. RBNE08YYBM to Cervello M, Montalto G and Bondì ML
Correspondence to: Lydia Giannitrapani, MD, PhD, Unit of Internal Medicine, Biomedical Department of Internal Medicine and Specialties DiBiMIS, University of Palermo, Via del Vespro 141, 90127 Palermo, Italy. lydiagiannitp@gmail.com
Telephone: +39-91-6552916 Fax: +39-91-6552977
Received: November 12, 2013
Revised: January 16, 2014
Accepted: March 6, 2014
Published online: June 21, 2014
Processing time: 220 Days and 16.5 Hours
Abstract

Chronic liver diseases represent a major global health problem both for their high prevalence worldwide and, in the more advanced stages, for the limited available curative treatment options. In fact, when lesions of different etiologies chronically affect the liver, triggering the fibrogenesis mechanisms, damage has already occurred and the progression of fibrosis will have a major clinical impact entailing severe complications, expensive treatments and death in end-stage liver disease. Despite significant advances in the understanding of the mechanisms of liver fibrinogenesis, the drugs used in liver fibrosis treatment still have a limited therapeutic effect. Many drugs showing potent antifibrotic activities in vitro often exhibit only minor effects in vivo because insufficient concentrations accumulate around the target cell and adverse effects result as other non-target cells are affected. Hepatic stellate cells play a critical role in liver fibrogenesis , thus they are the target cells of antifibrotic therapy. The application of nanoparticles has emerged as a rapidly evolving area for the safe delivery of various therapeutic agents (including drugs and nucleic acid) in the treatment of various pathologies, including liver disease. In this review, we give an overview of the various nanotechnology approaches used in the treatment of liver fibrosis.

Keywords: Liver fibrosis; Nanotechnology; Nanoparticles; Hepatic stellate cells; Antifibrotic drugs, Cirrhosis

Core tip: New drugs or new drug delivery strategies to cure liver fibrosis are needed to find effective therapeutic options for this pathologic condition. Therapies based on nanotechnologies have emerged as an innovative and promising alternative to conventional therapies. This work aims to review the most recent literature about the use of nanotechnology approaches to reduce liver fibrosis.