Mechanistic analysis for identifying the anti-diabetic effects of Cholic acid-loaded chitosan nanoparticles: An in vitro approach

The identification of novel therapeutic agents using nanomedicine is critical in the fight against diabetes mellitus (DM). Cholic acid (CA) has shown potential in diabetes management, but its effectiveness is limited by poor solubility and stability. To overcome these challenges, CA was encapsulated in chitosan nanoparticles (CACNPs). The CACNPs had a negative zeta potential (ZP) of −13.6 ± 5.81 mV, which is an indication of good stability and potential for enhanced uptake by diseased cells. The average particle size (PS) measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS) was 169.8 ± 84.3 nm. The polydispersity index (PDI) was 0.220, indicating uniform particle size distribution. The drug loading capacity (DL%) of the CACNPs was 60.96 ± 0.9 %, whereas, the entrapment efficiency (EE%) was 69.19 ± 1.02 %. The MTT assay on 3 T3-L1 cells revealed a concentration-dependent effect on cell viability, with an IC₅₀ value of 766.0 ± 0.09 µg/ml. Furthermore, CACNPs demonstrated dose-dependent enhancement of glucose uptake in differentiated adipocytes, while at 500 µg/ml, they inhibited adipocyte differentiation, suggesting a potential role in adipogenesis inhibition. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) indicated positive modulation of glucose metabolism-related genes (PI3K, GLUT4, PPARg) upon treatment with CACNPs. These findings suggest that CACNPs could serve as a novel inhibitor of adipocyte differentiation and may influence key pathways in glucose metabolism, making them promising candidates for the management of DM.