The delivery of macromolecular drugs the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is challenging as these drugs display low stability as well as poor absorption across the intestinal epithelium. While permeation-enhancing drug delivery methods can increase the bioavailability of low molecular weight drugs, the effective delivery of high molecular weight drugs across the tight epithelial cell junctions remains a formidable challenge. Here, we describe autonomous microinjectors that are deployed in the GI tract, then efficiently penetrate the GI mucosa to deliver a macromolecular drug, insulin, to the systemic circulation. We performed studies to characterize insulin release and assess the penetration capability of microinjectors and we measured the release of insulin in live rats. We found that the microinjectors administered within the luminal GI tract could deliver insulin transmucosally to the systemic circulation at levels similar to those with intravenously administered insulin. Due to their small size, tunability in sizing and dosing, wafer-scale fabrication, and parallel, autonomous operation, we anticipate that these microinjectors will significantly advance drug delivery across the GI tract mucosa to the systemic circulation in a safe manner.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.2c05098 | DOI Listing |
Front Immunol
January 2025
Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, United States.
While durable antibody responses from long-lived plasma cell (LLPC) populations are important for protection against pathogens, LLPC may be harmful if they produce antibodies against self-proteins or self-nuclear antigens as occurs in autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Thus, the elimination of autoreactive LLPC may improve the treatment of antibody-driven autoimmune diseases. However, LLPC remain a challenging therapeutic target.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHeliyon
January 2025
Department of Rheumatology, Shanghai Guanghua Hospital of Integrative Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 200052, China.
Objective: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by systemic inflammation, often resulting in fusion of the spine and peripheral joints. This study aimed to investigate the role of innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) in AS patients with high disease activity.
Methods: Blood samples were collected from healthy controls and AS patients categorized by high or low disease activity.
Contraception
January 2025
Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, The Lundquist Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California; Clinical and Translational Science Institute, The Lundquist Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, California.
While there are several easy-to-use reversible female contraceptives, little is available for men. Introduction of novel, cost-effective male contraceptives could have important downstream global health and economic benefits. Currently, nearly half of all pregnancies globally are unintended, with many resulting in unsafe abortions, a significant burden for women and families in many countries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTuberculosis (Edinb)
January 2025
Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, Ratsupites street 1, k-1, Riga, LV-1067, Latvia; Riga Stradiņš University, Pharmacogenetic and Precision Medicine Laboratory, Konsula street 21, Riga, LV-1007, Latvia. Electronic address:
Biomarker research characterising the effect of anti-tuberculosis (TB) chemotherapy on systemic body response is still limited. In this study, we aimed to investigate fluctuations in circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA (ccf-mtDNA) and circulating cell-free nuclear DNA (ccf-nDNA) copy number (CN) in blood plasma of patients with drug-susceptible TB (DS-TB) and to decipher factors related to these fluctuations. The results showed considerable changes in ccf-mtDNA CN in plasma samples before drug intake and 2 and 6 h afterwards, with high inter patient variability at each time point.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExp Physiol
January 2025
Oxford Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
In health, the liver is a metabolically flexible organ that plays a key role in regulating systemic lipid and glucose concentrations. There is a constant flux of fatty acids (FAs) to the liver from multiple sources, including adipose tissue, dietary, endogenously synthesized from non-lipid precursors, intrahepatic lipid droplets and recycling of triglyceride-rich remnants. Within the liver, FAs are used for triglyceride synthesis, which can be oxidized, stored or secreted in very low-density lipoproteins into the systemic circulation.
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