Applications of Cell Surface Engineering in Platelets

Platelet-based engineering provides a new strategy for many applications such as drug delivery. Based on our advanced cell surface engineering technology, seasoned scientists in Creative Biolabs have set up a series of one-stop procedures to assist your platelet surface engineering with the highest efficiency and the best quality for various potential applications.

Whole Platelet Engineering for Drug Delivery

Platelets, an indispensable component in the blood, play a dynamic role in targeting vascular injury sites to impede thrombogenesis and maintain blood circulation integrity. The unique features and biological functions of platelets provide new opportunities in the drug delivery area and have inspired researchers to develop whole platelet drug delivery systems.

• Case 1

One research group has chemically conjugated anti-programmed-death ligand 1 (aPDL1) to the surface of resting platelets and found that the binding of aPDL1 to non-activated platelets is highly stable. At the same time, the release of aPDL1 could be significantly promoted upon platelet activation. Besides, they construct HSC-platelet assembly to actively deliver aPD-L1 to the bone marrow by coupling platelets to the surface of HSC through a click reaction. Taking advantage of the homing capability of HSCs and in situ activation of platelets for the enhanced delivery of checkpoint inhibitors such as aPD-L1, this cellular combination mediated drug delivery strategy can significantly augment the therapeutic efficacy of checkpoint blockade.

Fig.1 Delivery of aPDL1 by platelets. (Wang, 2017)

Platelet Membrane Surface Engineering for Drug Delivery

Delivery vehicles coated with platelet membranes to develop artificial cells are currently being intensely pursued to achieve various merits, such as prolonging circulation time, alleviating immunogenicity, and achieving active targeting ability. Given the vital role of the platelets in the physiological process, the platelet-mimicking vehicles could be further dynamically adapted to treat cardiovascular disease, anti-inflammation, and immunotherapy.

• Case 2

A research group reports the development of platelet membrane (PM)-coated core-shell nanovehicle (designated PM-NV) for targeting and site-specific delivery of extracellularly active protein and intracellularly functional small molecular drug. The TRAIL-coupled platelet membrane is used to coat PLGA containing DOX to generate a dual payloads-loaded platelet membrane coated nanovesicle (TRAIL-Dox-PM-NV). This PM-NV could efficiently deliver TRAIL toward the cancer cell membrane to activate the extrinsic apoptosis signaling pathway by taking advantage of the specific affinity between platelets and cancer cells.

Fig.2 TRAIL-Dox-PM-NV. (Hu, 2015)

• Case 3

This group further extends platelet application mimicking nanovehicles to treat multiple myeloma (MM) and thrombus complications. They develop a tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and alendronate (Ald)-conjugated, bortezomib (bort)-encapsulated platelet membrane-coated nanocarrier (tPA-Ald-PM-NP-bort) for enhanced therapy toward MM and thrombus complication. By taking advantage of the bone-binding capability of Ald and the specific affinity between platelets and MM cells, the delivery platform holds promise in sequentially and precisely homing to the MM cells and increasing the drug availability at the MM site, leading to improved treatment efficacy and decreased side effects.

Fig.3 Platelet membrane-coated nanocarrier. (Hu, 2016)

Creative Biolabs is an expert in cell surface engineering for over ten years. Our scientists are dedicated to delivering high-quality services that support reliable scientific validation. If you want more detailed information, please feel free to contact us.

References

1. Wang, C.; et al. In situ activation of platelets with checkpoint inhibitors for post-surgical cancer immunotherapy. Nature Biomedical Engineering. 2017, 1(2), pp.1-10.
2. Hu, Q.; et al. Anticancer platelet-mimicking nanovehicles. Advanced Materials. 2015, 27(44), pp.7043-7050.
3. Hu, Q.; et al. Engineered nanoplatelets for enhanced treatment of multiple myeloma and thrombus. Advanced Materials. 2016, 28(43), pp.9573-9580.