Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases of the Ministry of Health, Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Union Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Department of Thoracic Surgery, Tongji Medical College, Union Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Front Immunol. 2019 Aug 21;10:1998. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.01998. eCollection 2019.
With the development of nanotechnology, significant progress has been made in the design, and manufacture of nanoparticles (NPs) for use in clinical treatments. Recent increases in our understanding of the central role of macrophages in the context of inflammation and cancer have reinvigorated interest in macrophages as drug targets. Macrophages play an integral role in maintaining the steady state of the immune system and are involved in cancer and inflammation processes. Thus, NPs tailored to accurately target macrophages have the potential to transform disease treatment. Herein, we first present a brief background information of NPs as drug carriers, including but not limited to the types of nanomaterials, their biological properties and their advantages in clinical application. Then, macrophage effector mechanisms and recent NPs-based strategies aimed at targeting macrophages by eliminating or re-educating macrophages in inflammation and cancer are summarized. Additionally, the development of nanocarriers targeting macrophages for disease diagnosis is also discussed. Finally, the significance of macrophage-targeting nanomedicine is highlighted, with the goal of facilitating future clinical translation.
随着纳米技术的发展，在设计和制造用于临床治疗的纳米粒子（NPs）方面取得了重大进展。最近，人们对巨噬细胞在炎症和癌症中的核心作用的理解不断加深，这重新激发了人们对巨噬细胞作为药物靶点的兴趣。巨噬细胞在维持免疫系统的稳态中起着不可或缺的作用，并且参与癌症和炎症过程。因此，经过精心设计、能够准确靶向巨噬细胞的 NPs 有可能改变疾病的治疗方式。本文首先简要介绍了 NPs 作为药物载体的背景信息，包括但不限于纳米材料的类型、它们的生物学特性以及它们在临床应用中的优势。然后，总结了巨噬细胞效应机制和最近基于 NPs 的策略，这些策略旨在通过消除或重新教育炎症和癌症中的巨噬细胞来靶向巨噬细胞。此外，还讨论了针对疾病诊断的靶向巨噬细胞的纳米载体的发展。最后，强调了巨噬细胞靶向纳米医学的重要性，以期促进未来的临床转化。
