Kidney targeting peptide-modified biomimetic nanoplatforms for treatment of acute kidney injury

The management of acute kidney injury (AKI) imposes a significant medical burden. Due to the lack of effective drug transport vehicles, the administration of therapeutic agents for AKI cannot obtain the desired therapeutic effects. Kidney-targeted nanoparticles for renal delivery of drugs have shown promising potential as an emerging strategy for AKI therapy. However, these exogenous nanoparticles are rapidly cleared in the body and fail to achieve the expected renal targeting efficiency. Herein, we prepared the kidney targeting peptide-modified renal tubular epithelial cell membrane to coat zeolite imidazolate framework-8 nanoparticles for FGF21 delivery (KMZ@FGF21) for AKI treatment. KMZ@FGF21 could be efficiently internalized by renal cells and exhibited antioxidative, antiapoptotic and anti-inflammatory effects. A septic AKI murine model was established to assess the in vivo performance of KMZ@FGF21. The results showed that injected KMZ@FGF21 specifically accumulated in the injured kidney and exerted good renoprotective effects. This study provides an innovative thread for precise drug delivery in the treatment of various renal diseases.