Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Campus Vida, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Odontology, University of Basque Country, B° Sarriena, s/n, 48940 Leioa, Spain.
Biotechnol Adv. 2017 May-Jun;35(3):350-360. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2017.03.002. Epub 2017 Mar 8.
The number of deaths caused by cancer is expected to increase partly due to the lack of selectivity and undesirable systemic effects of current treatments. Advances in the understanding of microRNA (miRNA) functions and the ideal properties of nanosystems have brought increasing attention to the application of nanomedicine to cancer therapy. This review covers the different miRNA therapeutic strategies and delivery challenges for its application in cancer medicine. Current trends in inorganic, polymeric and lipid nanocarrier development for miRNA replacement or inhibition are summarized. To achieve clinical success, in-depth knowledge of the effects of the promotion or inhibition of specific miRNAs is required. To establish the dose and the length of treatment, it will be necessary to study the duration of gene silencing. Additionally, efforts should be made to develop specifically targeted delivery systems to cancer cells to reduce doses and unwanted effects. In the near future, the combination of miRNAs with other therapeutic approaches is likely to play an important role in addressing the heterogeneity of cancer.
由于当前治疗方法缺乏选择性和不理想的全身作用，预计癌症导致的死亡人数将会增加。对 microRNA（miRNA）功能的认识不断提高，以及纳米系统的理想特性，使得人们越来越关注将纳米医学应用于癌症治疗。本综述涵盖了不同的 miRNA 治疗策略和应用于癌症医学的递药挑战。本文总结了用于 miRNA 替代或抑制的无机、聚合和脂质纳米载体的最新研究进展。为了取得临床成功，需要深入了解促进或抑制特定 miRNA 的作用。为了确定剂量和治疗时间，有必要研究基因沉默的持续时间。此外，应努力开发专门针对癌细胞的靶向递药系统，以减少剂量和不良反应。在不久的将来，miRNA 与其他治疗方法的联合应用可能在解决癌症的异质性方面发挥重要作用。
