Engineering antioxidant ceria-zirconia nanomedicines for alleviating podocyte injury in rats with adriamycin-induced nephrotic syndrome

BACKGROUND: Primary nephrotic syndrome (PNS) is characterized by edema, heavy proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia and hyperlipidemia. Moreover, podocyte injury is the key pathological change of PNS. Even though the pathophysiological etiology of PNS has not been fully understood, the production of excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) plays an important role in the development and progression of the disease. Glucocorticoids are the first-line medications for patients with PNS, but their clinical use is hampered by dose-dependent side effects. Herein, we accelerated the rate of conversion from Ce(4+) to Ce(3+) by doping Zr(4+) in ceria-zirconia nanomedicines to treat the PNS rat model by removal of ROS. RESULTS: The engineered Ce(0.7)Zr(0.3)O(2) (7CZ) nanomedicines significantly improved the ROS scavenging ability of podocytes at a very low dose, enabling effective inhibition of podocyte apoptosis and actin cytoskeleton depolymerization induced by adriamycin (ADR). Accordingly, podocyte injury was effectively alleviated in rat models of ADR-induced nephrotic syndrome, as confirmed by serum tests and renal tissue staining. Moreover, the mRNA sequencing assay revealed the protective molecular signaling pathways of 7CZ nanomedicines in podocytes. CONCLUSION: 7CZ nanomedicines were highly effective in protecting against ADR-induced podocyte injury in vitro and in vivo at a very low concentration. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12951-023-02136-2.