title: Molecular engineering of proteins and polymers for targeting and intracellular delivery of therapeutics.
abstract: There are many protein and DNA based therapeutics under development in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Key delivery challenges remain before many of these biomolecular therapeutics reach the clinic. Two important barriers are the effective targeting of drugs to specific tissues and cells and the subsequent intracellular delivery to appropriate cellular compartments. In this review, we summarize protein engineering work aimed at improving the stability and refolding efficiency of antibody fragments used in targeting, and at constructing new streptavidin variants which may offer improved performance in pre-targeting delivery strategies. In addition, we review recent work with pH-responsive polymers that mimic the membrane disruptive properties of viruses and toxins. These polymers could serve as alternatives to fusogenic peptides in gene therapy formulations and to enhance the intracellular delivery of protein therapeutics that function in the cytoplasm.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. stayton@u.washington.edu
authors.forename: P S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Stayton
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Hoffman
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Murthy
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lackey
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Klumb
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chilkoti
authors.forename: F S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Wilbur
authors.forename: O W
authors.initials: OW
authors.lastname: Press
mesh_terms: D000906:Antibodies / Q000737:chemistry; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D015316:Genetic Therapy; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D015202:Protein Engineering; D019809:Streptavidin / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D007202:Indicators and Reagents; D011108:Polymers; D019809:Streptavidin