Gershon Golomb
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Title: Monocyte-mediated delivery systems for theranostic applications in inflammatory-associated disorders
Biography
Biography: Gershon Golomb
Abstract
The mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS) is a part of the immune system that consists of phagocytic cells, primarily monocytes, and macrophages. Both circulating monocytes and neutrophils phagocyte debris, and foreign particles in the blood including particulate drug delivery systems. Inflammation characterizes several pathological disorders including cardiovascular disorders and cancer, and the inflammatory cascade involves significant infiltration of phagocytic cells. The propensity of monocytes for rapid phagocytosis of particulate matter provides a rational approach for delivering drugs in inflammatory-associated disorders. In this presentation, we will review therapeutic as well as diagnostic approaches mediated via specially designed nanoparticles (NPs), which are avidly internalized by circulating monocytes. Monocytes can serve as a courier of specific NPs to the CNS, bypassing the blood-brain barrier (BBB), effectively transporting drugs that are brain- impermeable. Liposomal delivery of quantum dots (QDs) enables an efficient fluorescent signal with no toxicity, in animal models of cardiovascular and cancer disorders. In addition, we will present recent results, unpublished, on the accumulation and retention of QDs in a mammary carcinoma model, following systemic administration, in comparison to passive delivery by the enhanced permeability and retention effect (EPR). The developed NPs delivery systems represent a novel approach for effective theranostic of inflammatory-associated disorders including cardiovascular, brain, and cancer diseases.