Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Student research committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Expert Opin Drug Deliv. 2022 Jun;19(6):685-705. doi: 10.1080/17425247.2022.2083106. Epub 2022 Jun 13.
Compared to normal cells, malignant cancer cells require more iron for their growth and rapid proliferation, which can be supplied by a high expression level of transferrin receptor (TfR). It is well known that the expression of TfR on the tumor cells is considerably higher than that of normal cells, which makes TfR an attractive target in cancer therapy.
In this review, the primary focus is on the role of TfR as a valuable tool for cancer-targeted drug delivery, followed by the full coverage of available TfR ligands and their conjugation chemistry to the surface of liposomes. Finally, the most recent studies investigating the potential of TfR-targeted liposomes as promising drug delivery vehicles to different cancer cells are highlighted with emphasis on their improvement possibilities to become a part of future cancer medicines.
Liposomes as a valuable class of nanocarriers have gained much attention toward cancer therapy. From all the studies that have exploited the therapeutic and diagnostic potential of TfR on cancer cells, it can be realized that the systematic assessment of TfR ligands applied for liposomal targeted delivery has yet to be entirely accomplished.
与正常细胞相比，恶性癌细胞的生长和快速增殖需要更多的铁，而铁可以通过转铁蛋白受体（TfR）的高表达来提供。众所周知，肿瘤细胞上 TfR 的表达明显高于正常细胞，这使得 TfR 成为癌症治疗中一个有吸引力的靶点。
在这篇综述中，主要关注 TfR 作为癌症靶向药物递送的有价值工具的作用，其次是对可用的 TfR 配体及其与脂质体表面的缀合化学的全面覆盖。最后，强调了最近研究 TfR 靶向脂质体作为有前途的药物递送载体用于不同癌细胞的潜力，并重点介绍了它们成为未来癌症药物一部分的改进可能性。
脂质体作为一类有价值的纳米载体，在癌症治疗方面受到了广泛关注。从所有利用 TfR 在癌细胞上的治疗和诊断潜力的研究中可以看出，对用于脂质体靶向递送的 TfR 配体的系统评估尚未完全完成。
