Engineering Polymeric Nanoparticle Systems to Modulate Leptin Synthesis and Adipocyte Metabolism
Biomedical Engineering
Luis Andrade
Abstract
The growing obesity epidemic in the United States has led to a cascade of health problems throughout the population. One of the most prominent side effects of obesity is loss of proper adipose tissue (AT) function, which then leads to increasing levels of leptin production, overexpression of inflammatory cytokines, insulin resistance, and ultimately debilitating conditions such as type 2 diabetes.
IL-4 protein has demonstrated the ability to restore functionality of AT and adipocytes by decreasing leptin expression, and has the potential to serve as a groundbreaking therapeutic when combined with polymeric nanoparticle encapsulation to significantly restore AT functionality with greater efficacy.