Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
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Figure 12.4
DiI-labeled MSCFLTs (red) injected intravenously at day 10 and shown
to localize to lung metastases on fluorescent microscopy with DAPI
nuclear counterstain with H&E contiguous sections from day 30
harvested lungs (magnification 610 mm, bar 20 mm; magnification
64, bar 60 mm). (Reproduced from Loebinger et al.
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with permission
from the American Association for Cancer Research.)
vector (data not shown).Our study supports the effectiveness of nonviral
vectors in transferring the therapeutic gene to MSCs.
12.4 Future Perspectives
Targeted delivery of anticancer drugs/genes to tumor cells/tissues can improve
the therapeutic index of drugs by minimizing their toxic effects. Currently,
a variety of delivery systems have been employed for developing TDDS
for anticancer agents to enhance their therapeutic values.
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For instance,
nanocarrier drug delivery systems were designed to reach target cells and
tissues or respond to stimuli in a well-controlled manner to induce desired
physiological responses.
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Also, cell- or tissue-specific receptor/antigens can
provide a useful target for targeted delivery of anticancer drugs (see
Figure 12.3). Clinical developments of anticancer agents utilizing TDDS are
now only at their initial stages by pharmaceutical companies. The application
of MSCs to targeted gene delivery has been the subject of current experimental
studies and may bring new hope to cancer patients. After transfecting MSCs
with a tumor therapeutic gene, the MSCs would deliver the gene to tumor sites,
