Recent advances in hyaluronic acid-decorated nanocarriers for targeted cancer therapy

Jennifer M Wickens; Hashem O Alsaab; Prashant Kesharwani; Ketki Bhise; Mohd Cairul Iqbal Mohd Amin; Rakesh Kumar Tekade; Umesh Gupta; Arun K Iyer

doi:10.1016/j.drudis.2016.12.009

Recent advances in hyaluronic acid-decorated nanocarriers for targeted cancer therapy

Drug Discov Today. 2017 Apr;22(4):665-680. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2016.12.009. Epub 2016 Dec 23.

Authors

Jennifer M Wickens¹, Hashem O Alsaab², Prashant Kesharwani³, Ketki Bhise², Mohd Cairul Iqbal Mohd Amin⁴, Rakesh Kumar Tekade⁵, Umesh Gupta⁶, Arun K Iyer⁷

Affiliations

¹ Use-inspired Biomaterials & Integrated Nano Delivery (U-BiND) Systems Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 259 Mack Ave, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; Department of Chemistry, Lake Superior State University, 680 W. Easterday Avenue, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783, USA.
² Use-inspired Biomaterials & Integrated Nano Delivery (U-BiND) Systems Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 259 Mack Ave, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA.
³ Use-inspired Biomaterials & Integrated Nano Delivery (U-BiND) Systems Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 259 Mack Ave, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; The International Medical University, School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jalan Jalil Perkasa 19, 57000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁴ Centre for Drug Delivery Research, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Raja Muda Abdul Aziz, 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
⁵ National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Sarkhej - Gandhinagar Highway, Thaltej, Ahmedabad 380054, Gujarat, India.
⁶ Department of Pharmacy, School of Chemical Sciences and Pharmacy, Central University of Rajasthan, Bandarsindri, Ajmer, Rajasthan 305817, India.
⁷ Use-inspired Biomaterials & Integrated Nano Delivery (U-BiND) Systems Laboratory, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, 259 Mack Ave, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48201, USA; Molecular Therapeutics Program, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA. Electronic address: arun.iyer@wayne.edu.

Abstract

The cluster-determinant 44 (CD44) receptor has a high affinity for hyaluronic acid (HA) binding and is a desirable receptor for active targeting based on its overexpression in cancer cells compared with normal body cells. The nanocarrier affinity can be increased by conjugating drug-loaded carriers with HA, allowing enhanced cancer cell uptake via the HA-CD44 receptor-mediated endocytosis pathway. In this review, we discuss recent advances in HA-based nanocarriers and micelles for cancer therapy. In vitro and in vivo experiments have repeatedly indicated HA-based nanocarriers to be a target-specific drug and gene delivery platform with great promise for future applications in clinical cancer therapy.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

Animals
Antineoplastic Agents / chemistry*
Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacology*
Drug Carriers / chemistry*
Drug Delivery Systems / methods
Humans
Hyaluronic Acid / chemistry*
Micelles
Nanoparticles / chemistry*
Neoplasms / drug therapy*

Substances

Antineoplastic Agents
Drug Carriers
Micelles
Hyaluronic Acid

Grants and funding

R21 CA179652/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States