title: The role of albumin receptors in regulation of albumin homeostasis: Implications for drug delivery.
abstract: Albumin is the most abundant protein in blood and acts as a molecular taxi for a plethora of small insoluble substances such as nutrients, hormones, metals and toxins. In addition, it binds a range of medical drugs. It has an unusually long serum half-life of almost 3weeks, and although the structure and function of albumin has been studied for decades, a biological explanation for the long half-life has been lacking. Now, recent research has unravelled that albumin-binding cellular receptors play key roles in the homeostatic regulation of albumin. Here, we review our current understanding of albumin homeostasis with a particular focus on the impact of the cellular receptors, namely the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) and the cubilin-megalin complex, and we discuss their importance on uses of albumin in drug delivery.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Immune Regulation (CIR) and Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway; CIR and Department of Immunology, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Norway, PO Box 4950, N-0424 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Malin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bern
authors.affiliation: Centre for Immune Regulation (CIR) and Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway; CIR and Department of Immunology, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Norway, PO Box 4950, N-0424 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Kine Marita Knudsen
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Sand
authors.affiliation: CIR and Department of Immunology, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Norway, PO Box 4950, N-0424 Oslo, Norway; Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Jeannette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nilsen
authors.affiliation: Centre for Immune Regulation (CIR) and Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, N-0316 Oslo, Norway; CIR and Department of Immunology, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Norway, PO Box 4950, N-0424 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Inger
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sandlie
authors.affiliation: CIR and Department of Immunology, Oslo University Hospital Rikshospitalet, Norway, PO Box 4950, N-0424 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Jan Terje
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Andersen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001665:Binding Sites / Q000502:physiology; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems / Q000379:methods*; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017457:Receptors, Albumin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D017457:Receptors, Albumin; D012709:Serum Albumin
keywords: Albumin; Cubilin; Engineering; FcRn; Half-life; Megalin; Therapeutics