Back to Journals » International Journal of Nanomedicine » Volume 8 » Issue 1
Molecular targeting of liposomal nanoparticles to tumor microenvironment
Authors Zhao G, Rodriguez BL
Received 7 September 2012
Accepted for publication 6 November 2012
Published 28 December 2012 Volume 2013:8(1) Pages 61—71
DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/IJN.S37859
Checked for plagiarism Yes
Review by Single anonymous peer review
Peer reviewer comments 3
Gang Zhao,1,2 B Leticia Rodriguez2
1Institute of Materia Medica, Shandong Academy of Medical Science, Shandong, China; 2Pharmaceutics Division, College of Pharmacy, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
Abstract: Liposomes are biodegradable and can be used to deliver drugs at a much higher concentration in tumor tissues than in normal tissues. Both passive and active drug delivery by liposomal nanoparticles can significantly reduce the toxic side effects of anticancer drugs and enhance the therapeutic efficacy of the drugs delivered. Active liposomal targeting to tumors is achieved by recognizing specific tumor receptors through tumor-specific ligands or antibodies coupled onto the surface of the liposomes, or by stimulus-sensitive drug carriers such as acid-triggered release or enzyme-triggered drug release. Tumors are often composed of tumor cells and nontumor cells, which include endothelial cells, pericytes, fibroblasts, stromal, mesenchymal cells, innate, and adaptive immune cells. These nontumor cells thus form the tumor microenvironment, which could be targeted and modified so that it is unfavorable for tumor cells to grow. In this review, we briefly summarized articles that had taken advantage of liposomal nanoparticles as a carrier to deliver anticancer drugs to the tumor microenvironment, and how they overcame obstacles such as nonspecific uptake, interaction with components in blood, and toxicity. Special attention is devoted to the liposomal targeting of anticancer drugs to the endothelium of tumor neovasculature, tumor associated macrophages, fibroblasts, and pericytes within the tumor microenvironment.
Keywords: tumor microenvironment, endothelium, neovasculature, tumor-associated macrophages, cationic liposomes, ligand- or antibody-mediated targeting
© 2012 The Author(s). This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License. By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.