Promote lipolysis in white adipocytes by magnetic hyperthermia therapy with Fe₃O₄microsphere-doped hydrogel

Obesity has become an ongoing global crisis, since it increases the risks of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver, cognitive decline, and some cancers. Adipose tissue is closely associated with the disorder of lipid metabolism. Several efforts have been made toward the modulation of lipid accumulation, but have been hindered by poor efficiency of cellular uptake, low safety, and uncertain effective dosage. Herein, we design an Fe₃O₄microsphere-doped composite hydrogel (Fe₃O₄microspheres @chitosan/β-glycerophosphate/collagen), termed as Fe₃O₄@Gel, as the magnetocaloric agent for magnetic hyperthermia therapy (MHT), aiming to promote lipolysis in white adipocytes. The experimental results show that the obtained Fe₃O₄@Gel displays a series of advantages, such as fast sol-gel transition, high biocompatibility, and excellent magneto-thermal performance. MHT, which is realized by Fe₃O₄@Gel subjected to an alternating magnetic field, leads to reduced lipid accumulation, lower triglyceride content, and increased mitochondrial activity in white adipocytes. This work shows that Fe₃O₄@Gel-mediated MHT can effectively promote lipolysis in white adipocytesin vitro, which provides a potential approach to treat obesity and associated metabolic disorders.