title: Engineered nanoparticles mimicking cell membranes for toxin neutralization.
abstract: Protein toxins secreted from pathogenic bacteria and venomous animals rely on multiple mechanisms to overcome the cell membrane barrier to inflict their virulence effect. A promising therapeutic concept toward developing a broadly applicable anti-toxin platform is to administer cell membrane mimics as decoys to sequester these virulence factors. As such, lipid membrane-based nanoparticulates are an ideal candidate given their structural similarity to cellular membranes. This article reviews the virulence mechanisms employed by toxins at the cell membrane interface and highlights the application of cell-membrane mimicking nanoparticles as toxin decoys for systemic detoxification. In addition, the implication of particle/toxin nanocomplexes in the development of toxoid vaccines is discussed.
authors: Department of NanoEngineering and Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
authors: Ronnie H
authors: RH
authors: Fang
authors: Department of NanoEngineering and Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
authors: Brian T
authors: BT
authors: Luk
authors: Department of NanoEngineering and Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. Electronic address: c4hu@ucsd.edu.
authors: Che-Ming J
authors: CM
authors: Hu
authors: Department of NanoEngineering and Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. Electronic address: zhang@ucsd.edu.
authors: Liangfang
authors: L
authors: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000992:Antitoxins / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011041:Poisoning / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014118:Toxins, Biological / Q000633:toxicity*; D014121:Toxoids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014612:Vaccines / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D000992:Antitoxins; D014118:Toxins, Biological; D014121:Toxoids; D014612:Vaccines
keywords: Anti-toxin nanoparticles; Cell membranes; Detoxification; Liposomes; Nanosponges; Virulence factors