Targeting Rapamycin to Podocytes Using a Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 (VCAM-1)-Harnessed SAINT-Based Lipid Carrier System.

ABSTRACT: Together with mesangial cells, glomerular endothelial cells and the basement membrane, podocytes constitute the glomerular filtration barrier (GFB) of the kidney. Podocytes play a pivotal role in the progression of various kidney-related diseases such as glomerular sclerosis and glomerulonephritis that finally lead to chronic end-stage renal disease. During podocytopathies, the slit-diaphragm connecting the adjacent podocytes are detached leading to severe loss of proteins in the urine. The pathophysiology of podocytopathies makes podocytes a potential and challenging target for nanomedicine development, though there is a lack of known molecular targets for cell selective drug delivery. To identify VCAM-1 as a cell-surface receptor that is suitable for binding and internalization of nanome

SUBMITTER: Visweswaran GR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4583306 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature