Endothelial nanomedicine for the treatment of pulmonary disease.
BACKGROUND
Even though pulmonary diseases are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the world, exceedingly few life-prolonging therapies have been developed for these maladies. Relief may finally come from nanomedicine and targeted drug delivery.


METHODS
Here, we focus on four conditions for which the pulmonary endothelium plays a pivotal role: acute respiratory distress syndrome, primary graft dysfunction occurring immediately after lung transplantation, pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary embolism. For each of these diseases, we first evaluate the targeted drug delivery approaches that have been tested in animals. Then we suggest a 'need specification' for each disease: a list of criteria (e.g., macroscale delivery method, stability, etc.) that nanomedicine agents must meet in order to warrant human clinical trials and investment from industry.


CONCLUSIONS
For the diseases profiled here, numerous nanomedicine agents have shown promise in animal models. However, to maximize the chances of creating products that reach patients, nanomedicine engineers and clinicians must work together and use each disease's need specification to guide the design of practical and effective nanomedicine agents.
University of Pennsylvania, Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Pharmacology and Center for Targeted Therapeutics and Translational Nanomedicine , TRC10-125, 3600 Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104 , USA +1 215 898 9823 ; +1 215 573 9135 ; muzykant@mail.med.upenn.edu.
Jacob S
JS
Brenner
Colin
C
Greineder
Vladimir
V
Shuvaev
Vladimir
V
Muzykantov
D000818:Animals; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D004727:Endothelium / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D050997:Nanomedicine
acute respiratory distress syndrome; drug delivery; endothelium; lung transplant; nanomedicine; primary graft dysfunction; pulmonary; pulmonary arterial hypertension; pulmonary embolism; vascular targeting