Recent advances in intestinal macromolecular drug delivery via receptor-mediated transport pathways.

Receptor-mediated transport mechanisms provide a pathway for the trafficking of extracellular macromolecules into (endocytosis) and across (transcytosis) the cell. This comprises the binding of a ligand to a specific cell-surface receptor, clustering of the ligand-receptor complexes in endocytotic vesicles and vesicular sorting. This review focuses on recent advances in cellular and molecular biology pertaining to receptor-mediated endocytosis. A concise overview is presented of current and potential future applications of targeting to RME mechanisms to improve oral macromolecular drug delivery.