Scavenger receptor block as strategy for the identification of bone marrow homing phages by panning in vivo random peptide phage displayed libraries.

Surface molecules exclusively expressed by cells of the bone marrow (BM) are candidate targets for delivering therapeutic agents to this tissue. To identify ligands specific for the BM, we performed a series of pannings in vivo with random peptide phage displayed libraries (RPPDL). We could show that phages bind to bone marrow endothelium (BME) independently of the peptide insert, suggesting that the BM, similarly to spleen and liver, is part of the reticulo-endothelial system (RES).