Bioinspired grape-derived exosome-liposome hybrid nanoparticles for attenuating acetaminophen-induced liver injury
Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose remains a leading cause of drug-induced acute liver injury and acute liver failure. Plant-derived exosome-like nanovesicles have attracted increasing interest as bioactive and biocompatible nanomaterials, while liposomes offer tunable physicochemical properties and formulation control. Here, we report a bioinspired hybrid nanoplatform, the Fusion Nanoparticles (Fusion NPs), generated by fusing grape-derived exosome-like particles (GELPs) with liposomes. This design was intended to improve the protective performance of liposomes alone by incorporating grape-derived exosome-like particles with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential. Fusion NPs exhibited nanoscale vesicular morphology, altered physicochemical properties compared with liposomes alone, and detectable cell-associated dual fluorescence in HepG2 cells. In a HepG2 high-APAP stress screening model, Fusion NP treatment improved population-level cell viability and reduced total reactive oxygen species and superoxide-associated fluorescence signals compared with APAP-treated controls. In vivo, Fusion NPs were evaluated in a mouse APAP challenge model using a delayed day-21 endpoint. The animal data provides exploratory late-endpoint observations under the experimental conditions used. Overall, this study presents a GELP–liposome hybrid nanoparticle platform with preliminary antioxidant stress-modulating and tissue-associated protective potential, while highlighting the need for future validation in metabolically competent hepatocyte models and early in vivo APAP injury time points.
Authors
- Timothy M. Fan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2510-7050)
- Joseph Irudayaraj (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0630-1520)
- Rongting Lu
- Xiaoxue Han
- Anika Bushra
Institutions
- Carle Foundation Hospital (US)
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
- Illinois College (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Next Bioengineering
- Published
- 2026-06-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nxbio.2026.100037
- Primary Topic
- Drug-Induced Hepatotoxicity and Protection
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00