Abstract
Nanoparticles have been used as a novel drug delivery system. Drug-incorporated nanoparticles for local delivery might optimize the efficacy and minimize the side effects of drugs. The efficacy and safety of intratracheal administration of prostacyclin analog (beraprost) -incorporated nanoparticles and imatinib (a PDGF-receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor) -incorporated nanoparticles in Sugen-hypoxia-normoxia or monocrotaline rat models of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and in human PAH-pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells have been reported. The use of inhaled drug-incorporated nanoparticles might be a novel approach for the treatment of PAH.
Highlights
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a life-threatening and progressive disease characterized by progressively elevated pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and pulmonary artery pressure.Increased PVR is induced by pulmonary vasoconstriction, vascular remodeling by intimal and medial hypertrophy, and thrombosis [1,2,3]
We have reported that high-dose epoprostenol has a pro-apoptotic effect on pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) via the IP receptor [10]
We have reported that platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB stimulation caused a higher growth rate of cultured PASMCs from patients with idiopathic PAH (IPAH) than that of control cells [12,13]
Summary
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a life-threatening and progressive disease characterized by progressively elevated pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) and pulmonary artery pressure. PAH-targeted drugs, including prostacyclin (prostaglandin I2 ), endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs), phosphodiesterase type-5 inhibitors (PDE-5i) and a soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator, have become available in the past two decades, and treatment with these vasodilators has been effective [4,5,6,7,8]. Their full therapeutic abilities are reduced by medication non-compliance and side effects, and PAH is still a fatal disorder in many patients. Several novel therapeutic strategies for PAH, including nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery systems, (nano-DDS) are proposed
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