Nucleic Acid Delivery with Red-Blood-Cell-Based Carriers

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Pharmacology
• Cell Biology

Background:

• Gene therapy requires effective drug delivery systems (DDSs) for nucleic acid (NA) delivery.
• Existing synthetic DDSs face challenges with stability, inefficient delivery, and immune system recognition.
• Cell-based DDSs present a novel strategy to overcome these limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the development of drug delivery systems (DDSs) over the past 70 years.
• To explore the potential of red blood cells (RBCs) as DDSs for in vivo gene therapy.
• To evaluate the suitability of RBCs for nucleic acid (NA) delivery.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of DDS development over 70 years.
• Analysis of RBC properties relevant to drug delivery.
• Examination of RBC loading methods for nucleic acids (NAs).
• Discussion of advantages and drawbacks of RBCs as NA delivery systems.

Main Results:

• Synthetic DDSs often trigger immune responses, necessitating alternative approaches.
• Red blood cells (RBCs) are abundant, easily isolatable, and cost-effective cell-based carriers.
• Significant research has focused on utilizing RBCs as DDSs, exploring their properties and loading techniques.

Conclusions:

• Red blood cells (RBCs) show potential as a drug delivery system (DDS) for gene therapy.
• Further evaluation is needed to determine the efficacy and safety of RBCs for in vivo nucleic acid (NA) delivery.