Utilizing extracellular vesicles as a drug delivery system in glaucoma and RGC degeneration

Durmaz, Esmahan, Dribika, Lujien, Kutnyanszky, Matyas and Mead, Ben ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5855-0097 2024. Utilizing extracellular vesicles as a drug delivery system in glaucoma and RGC degeneration. Journal of Controlled Release 372 , pp. 209-220. 10.1016/j.jconrel.2024.06.029

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Abstract

Retinal diseases are the leading cause of blindness, resulting in irreversible degeneration and death of retinal neurons. One such cell type, the retinal ganglion cell (RGC), is responsible for connecting the retina to the rest of the brain through its axons that make up the optic nerve and is the primary cell lost in glaucoma and traumatic optic neuropathy. To date, different therapeutic strategies have been investigated to protect RGCs from death and preserve vision, yet currently available strategies are restricted to treating neuron loss by reducing intraocular pressure. A major barrier identified by these studies is drug delivery to RGCs, which is in large part due to drug stability, short duration time at target, low delivery efficiency, and undesired off-target effects. Therefore, a delivery system to deal with these problems is needed to ensure maximum benefit from the candidate therapeutic material. Extracellular vesicles (EV), nanocarriers released by all cells, are lipid membranes encapsulating RNAs, proteins, and lipids. As they naturally shuttle these encapsulated compounds between cells for communicative purposes, they may be exploitable and offer opportunities to overcome hurdles in retinal drug delivery, including drug stability, drug molecular weight, barriers in the retina, and drug adverse effects. Here, we summarize the potential of an EV drug delivery system, discussing their superiorities and potential application to target RGCs.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Dentistry Optometry and Vision Sciences
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0168-3659
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	26 June 2024
Date of Acceptance:	12 June 2024
Last Modified:	26 Jun 2024 10:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/170067

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