Drug delivery to macrophages: A review of targeting drugs and drug carriers to macrophages for inflammatory diseases

Wei He; Neha Kapate; C Wyatt Shields 4th; Samir Mitragotri

doi:10.1016/j.addr.2019.12.001

Drug delivery to macrophages: A review of targeting drugs and drug carriers to macrophages for inflammatory diseases

Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2020:165-166:15-40. doi: 10.1016/j.addr.2019.12.001. Epub 2019 Dec 6.

Authors

Wei He¹, Neha Kapate², C Wyatt Shields 4th³, Samir Mitragotri⁴

Affiliations

¹ John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
² John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
³ John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
⁴ John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: mitragotri@seas.harvard.edu.

PMID: 31816357
DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2019.12.001

Abstract

Macrophages play a key role in defending against foreign pathogens, healing wounds, and regulating tissue homeostasis. Driving this versatility is their phenotypic plasticity, which enables macrophages to respond to subtle cues in tightly coordinated ways. However, when this coordination is disrupted, macrophages can aid the progression of numerous diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune disease. The central link between these disorders is aberrant macrophage polarization, which misguides their functional programs, secretory products, and regulation of the surrounding tissue microenvironment. As a result of their important and deterministic roles in both health and disease, macrophages have gained considerable attention as targets for drug delivery. Here, we discuss the role of macrophages in the initiation and progression of various inflammatory diseases, summarize the leading drugs used to regulate macrophages, and review drug delivery systems designed to target macrophages. We emphasize strategies that are approved for clinical use or are poised for clinical investigation. Finally, we provide a prospectus of the future of macrophage-targeted drug delivery systems.

Keywords: Autoimmune disease; Cardiovascular disease; Drug delivery; Inflammation; Macrophages; Solid tumors.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Autoimmune Diseases / drug therapy
Autoimmune Diseases / physiopathology
Cytokines / biosynthesis
Drug Carriers
Drug Delivery Systems / methods*
Humans
Inflammation / drug therapy*
Inflammation / physiopathology*
Inflammation Mediators / immunology*
Macrophages / immunology*
Monocytes / metabolism
Neoplasms / drug therapy
Neoplasms / physiopathology
Tumor Microenvironment
Tumor-Associated Macrophages / immunology

Substances

Cytokines
Drug Carriers
Inflammation Mediators

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding