CeO2 Clusterzymes: Biomimetic Synthesis and Treatment for Acute Liver Injury

doi:10.15541/jim20250086

Abstract

Abstract:

Acetaminophen (APAP) overdose is a common cause of acute liver injury (ALI) in clinical settings, characterized by accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and infiltration of inflammatory cells. In this study, CeO₂clusterzymes (named as CeCs) with ultra-small size (around 1.3 nm) was synthesized by a biomimetic mineralization process. The obtained CeCs presented a high oxygen vacancy content (52.6%) and a high Ce³⁺/Ce⁴⁺ ratio (1.06), showing excellent adsorption and removal abilities to various ROS (including free radicals), which could be used for hepatocyte protection. In vivo animal experiments further confirmed that CeCs provided highly effective therapeutic intervention for APAP-induced ALI, extending the therapeutic window, and reversing sterile inflammation, underscoring their potential for clinical application.

Key words: cerium oxide, clusterzyme, acute liver injury, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory

CLC Number:

R318

YAN Mijia, ZHANG Jiale, ZHANG Qiuhong, CHEN Hangrong. CeO₂ Clusterzymes: Biomimetic Synthesis and Treatment for Acute Liver Injury[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2026, 41(2): 245-252.

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1 Physical and chemical properties of CeCs and CeNPs (a) TEM images of CeCs; (b) Hydrodynamic size of CeCs and CeNPs; (c) Zeta potential of CeCs and CeNPs; (d) XPS total spectrum of CeCs; (e, f) High resolution XPS spectra on Ce3d (e) and O1s (f) of CeCs; (g) XPS total spectrum of CeNPs; (h, i) High resolution XPS spectra on Ce3d (h) and O1s (i) of CeNPs

Fig. 2 Scavenging capability of CeCs and CeNPs to various ROS (a)·OH; (b) H2O2; (c) ABTS·. Corlorful figures are available on website

Fig. 3 Intracellular antioxidant activity and hepatocytes protection (a) Cytotoxicity profiles of different concentrations of CeCs on BNL CL.2 cells; (b) Protective effect of different concentrations of CeCs on APAP-treated cells; (c) Fluorescence images of generation of ROS by APAP-treated cells incubated with different samples APAP: Acetaminophen

Fig. 4 Evaluation of hemolysis performance of CeCs and CeNPs at different concentrations

Fig. 5 Evaluation of therapeutic effect of APAP-induced acute liver injury mice (a, b) Serum levels of ALT and AST in APAP-induced acute liver injury BALB/c mice in 2 (a) and 6 h (b) treatment groups; (c, d) Serum levels of ALT and AST in APAP-induced acute liver injury C57BL/6 mice in 2 (c) and 6 h (d) treatment groups APAP: Acetaminophen; ALT: Glutamate aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase

Fig. 6 Evaluation of anti-inflammatory effect of APAP-induced ALI mice (a, b) Flow cytometry to determine expression of Ly-6G (neutrophil markers), CD86 (M1 phenotypic macrophage markers) and CD206 (M2 phenotypic macrophage markers) on liver tissues after different treatment; (c) Quantification of neutrophils; (d) M1 macrophages; (e) M2 macrophages; (f) M1/M2 ratio APAP: Acetaminophen; ALI: Acute liver injury

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CeO₂ Clusterzymes: Biomimetic Synthesis and Treatment for Acute Liver Injury

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