A liver-targeting fluorescent nano-drug for theranostics in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an obesity or drug injury-induced chronic disease characterized by abnormal lipid deposition in the liver. For drug-induced non-obese NAFLD patients, timely theranostic intervention is crucial to prevent progression towards liver cancer. An intrinsically fluorescent anti-NAFLD drug with hepatic fat-targeting capability could provide an integrated theranostic solution to enable simultaneous diagnosis, treatment, and real-time efficacy monitoring in NAFLD patients. Herein, we developed a nanodrug-LIGHT (lipid droplet-guiding and hepatotropic targeting) with high affinity for intracellular lipid droplets and rapid hepatotropic accumulation following intravenous administration. LIGHT reduced lipid deposition in free fatty acids (FFAs)-induced steatosis hepatocyte model. For NAFLD mice model, LIGHT enabled real-time monitoring of the lesion site changes accompanied by restoring fatty liver to normal morphology and function. The integrated strategy of "target-image-therapy" simplifies theranostic operation and improves the efficacy in NAFLD treatment.