A way to deliver a drug directly to white fat cells to turn them into brown fat cells that can be burned more easily has been discovered by a team of scientists at Purdue University in Indiana.
In this new study, the experts used the Notch signaling pathway, known to regulate cell differentiation and cell identity. In Notch signaling, a cell sends a signal to a neighboring cell to control its gene transcription and identity.
Study (still) in mice
This new route of administration has been tested in mice. Experts have for the first time used an engineered polymer nanoparticle for the controlled delivery of a Notch signaling inhibitor directly to white fat cells. These particles are less than 200 nanometers in size and are easily absorbed by fat cells through a process called endocytotic trafficking .
As Meng Deng , co-author of the work , explains:
We can control the delivery of drugs to specific sites in the body, in this case bad fats or white fat cells. Once those engineered particles are inside the fat cells, they can slowly release the drug into the cells, potentially limiting off-target interactions in other body tissues and reducing the frequency of dosing.
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