Molecular Trojan Horses for treating lysosomal storage diseases

Abstract

Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) are caused by monogenic mutations in genes encoding for proteins related to the lysosomal function. Lysosome plays critical roles in molecule degradation and cell signaling through interplay with many other cell organelles, such as mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, and peroxisomes. Even though several strategies (i.e., protein replacement and gene therapy) have been attempted for LSDs with promising results, there are still some challenges when hard-to-treat tissues such as bone (i.e., cartilages, ligaments, meniscus, etc.), the central nervous system (mostly neurons), and the eye (i.e., cornea, retina) are affected. Consistently, searching for novel strategies to reach those tissues remains a priority. Molecular Trojan Horses have been well-recognized as a potential alternative in several pathological scenarios for drug delivery, including LSDs. Even though molecular Trojan Horses refer to genetically engineered proteins to overcome the blood-brain barrier, such strategy can be extended to strategies able to transport and deliver drugs to specific tissues or cells using cell-penetrating peptides, monoclonal antibodies, vesicles, extracellular vesicles, and patient-derived cells. Only some of those platforms have been attempted in LSDs. In this paper, we review the most recent efforts to develop molecular Trojan Horses and discuss how this strategy could be implemented to enhance the current efficacy of strategies such as protein replacement and gene therapy in the context of LSDs.

Keywords: Extracellular vesicles; Fusion proteins; Lysosomal diseases; Molecular Trojan Horses; Nanoparticles.