Nanoparticle Mediated Modulation of Adipokines in Obesity-Driven Tumor Microenvironments

Nyambura Achieng M.

School of Natural and Applied Sciences Kampala International University Uganda

                                                                                                  ABSTRACT
Adipokines sit at the crossroads of metabolic status and cancer biology. In obesity, elevated leptin and reduced adiponectin converge with chronic low-grade inflammation to remodel the tumor microenvironment toward angiogenesis, immune evasion, fibrosis, and metabolic plasticity. Nanoparticles can intervene directly in this signaling economy by concentrating modulators of adipokine pathways in adipose depots and tumors, shielding labile nucleic acids that edit receptor or downstream effectors, and timing release to microenvironmental triggers such as pH, reactive oxygen species, or matrix proteases. This review synthesizes the rationale and design space for nanoparticle-mediated regulation of leptin, adiponectin, and allied adipokines, from ligand or receptor blockade and biased agonism to gene silencing and mRNA restoration. It details lipid, polymeric, biomimetic, and hybrid platforms that steer payloads to adipocytes, tumor cells, endothelium, and myeloid populations prominent in obese hosts, and it outlines pharmacokinetic, safety, and manufacturing considerations that are specific to dyslipidemia and fatty liver disease. By aligning nanocarrier physicochemistry and targeting ligands with the signatures of the obese microenvironment, adipokine-centric nanotherapy can suppress tumorigenesis and resensitize cancers to standard immuno- and cytotoxic therapies.

Keywords: adipokines; leptin–adiponectin axis; obesity-associated cancer; nanoparticles; tumor
microenvironment.

CITE AS: Nyambura Achieng M.. (2026). Nanoparticle Mediated Modulation of Adipokines in Obesity-Driven Tumor Microenvironments. NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN MEDICAL SCIENCES. https://doi.org/10.59298/NIJRMS/2026/7.1.1921