Adipose tissue-targeted drug delivery for treating obesity: current opportunities and challenges
Obesity has emerged as a global public health crisis in the 21st century, with its prevalence continuing to rise worldwide. Beyond its well-established links to metabolic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular disease), obesity correlates significantly with oncological an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-12-01
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| Series: | Drug Delivery |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10717544.2025.2547751 |
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| author | Taimin Luo Lei Chen Kun Tu Longyang Jiang Sicheng Liang Shurong Wang Yilan Huang Xuping Yang |
| author_facet | Taimin Luo Lei Chen Kun Tu Longyang Jiang Sicheng Liang Shurong Wang Yilan Huang Xuping Yang |
| author_sort | Taimin Luo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Obesity has emerged as a global public health crisis in the 21st century, with its prevalence continuing to rise worldwide. Beyond its well-established links to metabolic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular disease), obesity correlates significantly with oncological and musculoskeletal morbidity. Researchers have discovered that converting energy-storing white adipose tissue (WAT) into energy-expending thermogenic fat through external stimuli or browning agents—a process termed ‘white fat browning’—has become a novel therapeutic strategy for obesity and its complications. This transformation is mediated by the activation of key factors such as uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), which promotes thermogenesis and energy expenditure in adipocytes, thereby reducing fat accumulation. Studies have shown that certain pharmacological agents (e.g. β3-adrenergic receptor agonists) or natural compounds (e.g. resveratrol, capsaicin) can effectively induce white fat browning. However, systemic administration of these agents may cause off-target effects, such as cardiovascular overstimulation or metabolic disturbances, significantly limiting their clinical application. To address this challenge, adipose tissue-targeted drug delivery systems have been developed. These systems utilize either the unique microenvironment of adipose tissue (e.g. specific receptor expression) or nanocarrier technologies (e.g. polymeric nanoparticles) to precisely deliver browning agents to target fat depots. This review summarizes recent advances in targeted delivery vectors for obesity treatment via white fat browning, while also discussing challenges in nanomaterial design, targeting strategy optimization, and clinical translation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-79c76cfc9d7a4ef6a769bd4e5b1be222 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1071-7544 1521-0464 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Drug Delivery |
| spelling | doaj-art-79c76cfc9d7a4ef6a769bd4e5b1be2222025-08-22T14:03:11ZengTaylor & Francis GroupDrug Delivery1071-75441521-04642025-12-0132110.1080/10717544.2025.2547751Adipose tissue-targeted drug delivery for treating obesity: current opportunities and challengesTaimin Luo0Lei Chen1Kun Tu2Longyang Jiang3Sicheng Liang4Shurong Wang5Yilan Huang6Xuping Yang7Department of Pharmacy, Chengdu Seventh People’s Hospital (Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Chengdu Medical College), Chengdu, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, ChinaDepartment of Gastroenterology, The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, ChinaDepartment of Pharmacy, The Affiliated Hospital, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, ChinaObesity has emerged as a global public health crisis in the 21st century, with its prevalence continuing to rise worldwide. Beyond its well-established links to metabolic diseases (diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular disease), obesity correlates significantly with oncological and musculoskeletal morbidity. Researchers have discovered that converting energy-storing white adipose tissue (WAT) into energy-expending thermogenic fat through external stimuli or browning agents—a process termed ‘white fat browning’—has become a novel therapeutic strategy for obesity and its complications. This transformation is mediated by the activation of key factors such as uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1), which promotes thermogenesis and energy expenditure in adipocytes, thereby reducing fat accumulation. Studies have shown that certain pharmacological agents (e.g. β3-adrenergic receptor agonists) or natural compounds (e.g. resveratrol, capsaicin) can effectively induce white fat browning. However, systemic administration of these agents may cause off-target effects, such as cardiovascular overstimulation or metabolic disturbances, significantly limiting their clinical application. To address this challenge, adipose tissue-targeted drug delivery systems have been developed. These systems utilize either the unique microenvironment of adipose tissue (e.g. specific receptor expression) or nanocarrier technologies (e.g. polymeric nanoparticles) to precisely deliver browning agents to target fat depots. This review summarizes recent advances in targeted delivery vectors for obesity treatment via white fat browning, while also discussing challenges in nanomaterial design, targeting strategy optimization, and clinical translation.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10717544.2025.2547751Targeted drug delivery systemobesityadipose tissuewhite fat browningbrowning agents |
| spellingShingle | Taimin Luo Lei Chen Kun Tu Longyang Jiang Sicheng Liang Shurong Wang Yilan Huang Xuping Yang Adipose tissue-targeted drug delivery for treating obesity: current opportunities and challenges Drug Delivery Targeted drug delivery system obesity adipose tissue white fat browning browning agents |
| title | Adipose tissue-targeted drug delivery for treating obesity: current opportunities and challenges |
| title_full | Adipose tissue-targeted drug delivery for treating obesity: current opportunities and challenges |
| title_fullStr | Adipose tissue-targeted drug delivery for treating obesity: current opportunities and challenges |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adipose tissue-targeted drug delivery for treating obesity: current opportunities and challenges |
| title_short | Adipose tissue-targeted drug delivery for treating obesity: current opportunities and challenges |
| title_sort | adipose tissue targeted drug delivery for treating obesity current opportunities and challenges |
| topic | Targeted drug delivery system obesity adipose tissue white fat browning browning agents |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10717544.2025.2547751 |
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