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Updated: Sep 17, 2025

In Vivo Nanovector Delivery of a Heart-specific MicroRNA-sponge
Published on: June 15, 2018
Nanocarriers for microRNA delivery: A review of applied platforms and perspectives
Mehrana Alahverdi1, Mehdi Dadmehr2, Amirhossein Sahebkar3
1Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
Abstract:
MicroRNAs (miRNA) are non-coding, small RNA sequences which regulate the gene expression through binding to mRNA molecules without complementarity with mRNAs. Several therapeutic applications for miRNAs have been introduced for many diseases including cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. For the therapeutic purposes, miRNAs require efficient delivery systems to reach the therapeutic targets in the cell. Considering the low stability and suboptimal pharmacokinetic nature of miRNAs, it is crucial to develop versatile platforms for their protection and intracellular delivery. Among a plethora of delivery vehicles, many nanostructures have been proposed as the nanocarriers for miRNA delivery and their performance evaluated through in vitro and clinical trials studies. In the present review we categorized the nanocarriers according to their nature and discussed the applied nanocarrier based studies to reveal their potential in gene therapy. Accordingly, this review covers the literature that deals with organic and inorganic nanocarriers to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the potential effectiveness of these assemblies in treating a wide array of diseases.
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