Antimalarial Delivery with a Ferritin-Based Protein Cage: A Step toward Developing Smart Therapeutics against Malaria.
Biochemistry
; 63(14): 1738-1751, 2024 Jul 16.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38975628
ABSTRACT
Over the past two decades, the utilization of protein cages has witnessed exponential growth driven by their extensive applications in biotechnology and therapeutics. In the context of the recent Covid-19 pandemic, protein-cage-based scaffolds played a pivotal role in vaccine development. Beyond vaccines, these protein cages have proven valuable in diverse drug delivery applications thanks to their distinctive architecture and structural stability. Among the various types of protein cages, ferritin-based cages have taken the lead in drug delivery applications. This is primarily attributed to their ease of production, exceptional thermal stability, and nontoxic nature. While ferritin-based cages are commonly employed in anticancer drug delivery and contrast agent delivery, their efficacy in malarial drug delivery had not been explored until this study. In this investigation, several antimalarial drugs were encapsulated within horse spleen ferritin, and the binding and loading processes were validated through both experimental and computational techniques. The data unequivocally demonstrate the facile incorporation of antimalarial drugs into ferritin without disrupting its three-dimensional structure. Computational docking and molecular dynamics simulations were employed to pinpoint the precise location of the drug binding site within ferritin. Subsequent efficacy testing on Plasmodium revealed that the developed nanoconjugate, comprising the drug-ferritin conjugate, exhibited significant effectiveness in eradicating the parasite. In conclusion, the findings strongly indicate that ferritin-based carrier systems hold tremendous promise for the future of antimalarial drug delivery, offering high selectivity and limited side effects.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Ferritinas
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Antimaláricos
Limite:
Animals
/
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Biochemistry
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Índia
País de publicação:
EEUU
/
ESTADOS UNIDOS
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ESTADOS UNIDOS DA AMERICA
/
EUA
/
UNITED STATES
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
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US
/
USA