Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Mar 6;11(3):798.
doi: 10.3390/biomedicines11030798.

Tissue Engineering and Targeted Drug Delivery in Cardiovascular Disease: The Role of Polymer Nanocarrier for Statin Therapy

Nunzio Montelione  1 , Francesco Loreni  2 , Antonio Nenna  2 , Vincenzo Catanese  1 , Lucia Scurto  1 , Chiara Ferrisi  2 , Mohamad Jawabra  2 , Teresa Gabellini  3 , Francesco Alberto Codispoti  1 , Francesco Spinelli  1 , Massimo Chello  2 , Francesco Stilo  1   4
Affiliations
Review

Tissue Engineering and Targeted Drug Delivery in Cardiovascular Disease: The Role of Polymer Nanocarrier for Statin Therapy

Nunzio Montelione et al. Biomedicines. .

Abstract

Atherosclerosis-related coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. This requires effective primary and secondary prevention in reducing the complications related to CAD; the regression or stabilization of the pathology remains the mainstay of treatment. Statins have proved to be the most effective treatment in reducing adverse effects, but there are limitations related to the administration and achievement of effective doses as well as side effects due to the lack of target-related molecular specificity. The implemented technological steps are polymers and nanoparticles for the administration of statins, as it has been seen how the conjugation of drug delivery systems (DDSs) with statins increases bioavailability by circumventing the hepatic-renal filter and increases the related target specificity, enhancing their action and decreasing side effects. Reduction of endothelial dysfunction, reduced intimal hyperplasia, reduced ischemia-reperfusion injury, cardiac regeneration, positive remodeling in the extracellular matrix, reduced neointimal growth, and increased reendothelialization are all drug-related effects of statins enhanced by binding with DDSs. Recent preclinical studies demonstrate how the effect of statins stimulates the differentiation of endogenous cardiac stem cells. Poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) seems to be the most promising DDS as it succeeds more than the others in enhancing the effect of the bound drug. This review intends to summarize the current evidence on polymers and nanoparticles for statin delivery in the field of cardiovascular disease, trying to shed light on this topic and identify new avenues for future studies.

Keywords: atherosclerosis; cardiovascular disease; polymer; statin.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic representation of cholesterol metabolism.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Strategies of targeting.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Summary of the main effects of polymer-based strategies for statin delivery.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Statin role in endothelial dysfunction.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Arbab-Zadeh A., Fuster V. From Detecting the Vulnerable Plaque to Managing the Vulnerable Patient. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 2019;74:1582–1593. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2019.07.062. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Libby P., Ridker P.M., Hansson G.K. Progress and challenges in translating the biology of atherosclerosis. Nature. 2011;473:317–325. doi: 10.1038/nature10146. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ou L.C., Zhong S., Ou J.S., Tian J.W. Application of targeted therapy strategies with nanomedicine delivery for atherosclerosis. Acta Pharmacol. Sin. 2021;42:10–17. doi: 10.1038/s41401-020-0436-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Moghimi S.M., Hunter A.C., Murray J.C. Nanomedicine: Current status and future prospects. FASEB J. 2005;19:311–330. doi: 10.1096/fj.04-2747rev. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Zhang J., Zu Y., Dhanasekara C.S., Li J., Wu D., Fan Z., Wang S. Detection and treatment of atherosclerosis using nanoparticles. WIREs Nanomed. Nanobiotechnol. 2017;9 doi: 10.1002/wnan.1412. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources