Quantitation of polymeric-microneedle-delivered HA15 in tissues using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Single-Administration Self-Boosting Microneedle Patch for The Treatment of Obesity

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) are one of the most effective treatments for obesity. The current therapy associated with repeated subcutaneous injections to maintain the drug therapeutic effect causes patient compliance issues and raises environmental concerns (due to sharp biohazard waste from disposed syringes/needles). Herein, we report a programmable scheduled release microneedles (PSR-MNs) system for delivering Semaglutide (a GLP-1 RA agent with a half-life of ~ 7 days) to manage and treat obesity. A single skin administration of a PSR-MNs patch (2 cm × 2 cm) which contains 4 programmable core-shell MNs patches (1 cm2 each, so-called pixels) enables the repeated release of Semaglutide every 7 days and sustains the drug efficacy for an unprecedented one-month period, simulating the effect of using four bolus injections spaced 7 days apart. Our PSR-MNs system provides an advanced injection-free platform to significantly enhance the current treatment of obesity with GLP-1RAs, addressing concerns related to pain, needle phobia, high cost and the need of medical facilities/personnel in traditional injections to administer the drug.

HA15 alleviates bone loss in ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis by targeting HSPA5

The imbalance between osteogenesis and adipogenesis in the bone marrow is the main characteristic of osteoporosis (OP). Thus, exploring regulation of the differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) into osteoblasts and adipocytes is important to identify novel targets for the treatment of OP. In the present study, the master regulator of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, heat shock protein family A (Hsp70) member 5 (HSPA5) was shown to significantly accumulate in osteoblasts and adipocytes, but not in osteoclasts in bone sections from aged and postmenopausal OP mice. In vitro study revealed that HSPA5 negatively modulated osteogenic differentiation and positively promoted adipogenic differentiation, and that targeting HSPA5 with its inhibitor HA15 enhanced osteogenic differentiation and inhibited adipogenic differentiation. Also, HA15 treatment induces ER stress and autophagy, and decreases apoptosis in cells. We constructed a postmenopausal OP model in mice with ovariectomy surgery, and treated the mice with HA15. The results showed that HA15 treatment induced appropriate ER stress, activated autophagy and decreased apoptosis in osteoblasts, thereby alleviating bone loss in vivo. Our results indicated that HSPA5 participated in OP pathogenesis by regulating the differentiation of BMSCs. HSPA5 may serve as a new target for the treatment of OP, and targeting HSPA5 with HA15 prevents the progression of OP and provides a candidate therapeutic molecule for postmenopausal OP.