Living Cell-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Biomedical Applications

A special issue of Pharmaceutics (ISSN 1999-4923). This special issue belongs to the section "Drug Delivery and Controlled Release".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 October 2022) | Viewed by 7699

Special Issue Editor

The Institute for Biomedical Engineering & Nano Science, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
Interests: living drug delivery systems; antitumor/anti-inflammation therapy; tumor microenvironmental regulation; new drug formulation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the past few decades, drug delivery technologies have enabled the development of many pharmaceutical products that improve patient health by enhancing the delivery of a therapeutic to its target site, minimizing off-target accumulation and facilitating patient compliance. Living drug delivery systems, such as engineering living immune cells, stem cells, platelets, bacterial cells, etc. with various therapeutics (proteins, peptides, small molecules, cytokins, genes) or functional groups, as newly emerging paradigms for anticancer/ anti-inflammation therapy or tissue regeneration, have shown great potential in translational medicine research. In this Special Issue, we invite authors to report their recently developed living-cell-based drug delivery systems for biomedical applications. We also welcome review articles with expert opinions and perspectives in the biomedical field.

Dr. Haiqing Dong
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • drug delivery
  • living delivery
  • T cells
  • macrophages
  • NK cells
  • neutrophils
  • immune cells
  • stem cells
  • red blood cells
  • bacterial cells
  • microbes
  • anticancer therapy
  • immunotherapy
  • anti-inflammation
  • tissue regeneration

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 4957 KiB  
Article
3D Spheroids of Human Primary Urine-Derived Stem Cells in the Assessment of Drug-Induced Mitochondrial Toxicity
by Huifen Ding, Kalyani Jambunathan, Guochun Jiang, David M. Margolis, Iris Leng, Michael Ihnat, Jian-Xing Ma, Jon Mirsalis and Yuanyuan Zhang
Pharmaceutics 2022, 14(5), 1042; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14051042 - 11 May 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2159
Abstract
Mitochondrial toxicity (Mito-Tox) risk has increased due to the administration of several classes of drugs, particularly some life-long antiretroviral drugs for HIV+ individuals. However, no suitable in vitro assays are available to test long-term Mito-Tox (≥4 weeks). The goal of this study [...] Read more.
Mitochondrial toxicity (Mito-Tox) risk has increased due to the administration of several classes of drugs, particularly some life-long antiretroviral drugs for HIV+ individuals. However, no suitable in vitro assays are available to test long-term Mito-Tox (≥4 weeks). The goal of this study is to develop a 3D spheroid system of human primary urine-derived stem cells (USC) for the prediction of drug-induced delayed Mito-Tox. The cytotoxicity and Mito-Tox were assessed in 3D USC spheroids 4 weeks after treatment with antiretroviral drugs: zalcitabine (ddC; 0.1, 1 and 10 µM), tenofovir (TFV; 3, 30 and 300 µM) or Raltegravir (RAL; 2, 20 and 200 µM). Rotenone (RTNN, 10 µM) and 0.1% DMSO served as positive and negative controls. Despite only mild cytotoxicity, ddC significantly inhibited the expression of oxidative phosphorylation enzyme Complexes I, III, and IV; and RAL transiently reduced the level of Complex IV. A significant increase in caspase 3 and ROS/RNS level but a decrease in total ATP were observed in USC treated with ddC, TFV, RAL, and RTNN. Levels of mtDNA content and mitochondrial mass were decreased in ddC but minimally or not in TFV- and RAL-treated spheroids. Thus, 3D USC spheroid using antiretroviral drugs as a model offers an alternative platform to assess drug-induced late Mito-Tox. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Living Cell-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Biomedical Applications)
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Review

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23 pages, 995 KiB  
Review
Heterogeneity of In Vitro Expanded Mesenchymal Stromal Cells and Strategies to Improve Their Therapeutic Actions
by Laura Olmedo-Moreno, Yolanda Aguilera, Carmen Baliña-Sánchez, Alejandro Martín-Montalvo and Vivian Capilla-González
Pharmaceutics 2022, 14(5), 1112; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14051112 - 23 May 2022
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 2783
Abstract
Beneficial properties of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have prompted their use in preclinical and clinical research. Accumulating evidence has been provided for the therapeutic effects of MSCs in several pathologies, including neurodegenerative diseases, myocardial infarction, skin problems, liver disorders and cancer, among others. [...] Read more.
Beneficial properties of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have prompted their use in preclinical and clinical research. Accumulating evidence has been provided for the therapeutic effects of MSCs in several pathologies, including neurodegenerative diseases, myocardial infarction, skin problems, liver disorders and cancer, among others. Although MSCs are found in multiple tissues, the number of MSCs is low, making in vitro expansion a required step before MSC application. However, culture-expanded MSCs exhibit notable differences in terms of cell morphology, physiology and function, which decisively contribute to MSC heterogeneity. The changes induced in MSCs during in vitro expansion may account for the variability in the results obtained in different MSC-based therapy studies, including those using MSCs as living drug delivery systems. This review dissects the different changes that occur in culture-expanded MSCs and how these modifications alter their therapeutic properties after transplantation. Furthermore, we discuss the current strategies developed to improve the beneficial effects of MSCs for successful clinical implementation, as well as potential therapeutic alternatives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Living Cell-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Biomedical Applications)
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27 pages, 6089 KiB  
Review
Biomimetic and Materials-Potentiated Cell Engineering for Cancer Immunotherapy
by Tingting Zhang, Yushan Yang, Li Huang, Ying Liu, Gaowei Chong, Weimin Yin, Haiqing Dong, Yan Li and Yongyong Li
Pharmaceutics 2022, 14(4), 734; https://doi.org/10.3390/pharmaceutics14040734 - 29 Mar 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2093
Abstract
In cancer immunotherapy, immune cells are the main force for tumor eradication. However, they appear to be dysfunctional due to the taming of the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment. Recently, many materials-engineered strategies are proposed to enhance the anti-tumor effect of immune cells. These strategies [...] Read more.
In cancer immunotherapy, immune cells are the main force for tumor eradication. However, they appear to be dysfunctional due to the taming of the tumor immunosuppressive microenvironment. Recently, many materials-engineered strategies are proposed to enhance the anti-tumor effect of immune cells. These strategies either utilize biomimetic materials, as building blocks to construct inanimate entities whose functions are similar to natural living cells, or engineer immune cells with functional materials, to potentiate their anti-tumor effects. In this review, we will summarize these advanced strategies in different cell types, as well as discussing the prospects of this field. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Living Cell-Based Drug Delivery Systems for Biomedical Applications)
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