Smart Microneedle Arrays Integrating Cell-Free Therapy and Nanocatalysis to Treat Liver Fibrosis

Liver fibrosis is a chronic pathological condition lacking specific clinical treatments. Stem cells, with notable potential in regenerative medicine, offer promise in treating liver fibrosis. However, stem cell therapy is hindered by potential immunological rejection, carcinogenesis risk, efficacy variation, and high cost. Stem cell secretome-based cell-free therapy offers potential solutions to address these challenges, but it is limited by low delivery efficiency and rapid clearance. Herein, an innovative approach for in situ implantation of smart microneedle (MN) arrays enabling precisely controlled delivery of multiple therapeutic agents directly into fibrotic liver tissues is developed. By integrating cell-free and platinum-based nanocatalytic combination therapy, the MN arrays can deactivate hepatic stellate cells. Moreover, they promote excessive extracellular matrix degradation by more than 75%, approaching normal levels. Additionally, the smart MN arrays can provide hepatocyte protection while reducing inflammation levels by ≈70-90%. They can also exhibit remarkable capability in scavenging almost 100% of reactive oxygen species and alleviating hypoxia. Ultimately, this treatment strategy can effectively restrain fibrosis progression. The comprehensive in vitro and in vivo experiments, supplemented by proteome and transcriptome analyses, substantiate the effectiveness of the approach in treating liver fibrosis, holding immense promise for clinical applications.