Natural plant-derived superoxide dismutase nanoenzyme for sepsis-induced liver injury therapy.

Sepsis-induced liver injury is an important cause of septicemia deaths, this injury is characterized by an overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) within the liver, which activates the inflammatory response and results in the release of numerous inflammatory factors, ultimately leading to liver damage. Thus, the development of medicines capable of eliminating ROS and reducing inflammatory factors holds significant prospects. In this study, we synthesized and characterized a natural superoxide dismutase-mimicking carbon dots (G-CDs) form a greenery Glycyrrhiza with distinctive ROS scavenging ability for SILI therapy. The abundant surface unsaturated groups especially oxhydry and carbonyl groups enable G-CDs to exhibit excellent SOD-like enzyme activity exceeding 10000 U/mg and significantly reduce the excessive production of ROS and inflammatory factors. In addition, G-CDs reduced inflammation, oxidative damage, and tissue damage in the liver of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced SILI mice model. Mechanistically, G-CDs protect liver tissue by activating Keap-1/Nrf-2 mediated antioxidant signaling and inhibiting NF-κB-dependent inflammatory responses. In conclusion, this study establishes the potential of G-CDs as a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment SILI.