Tuberculosis (TB) is among the greatest public health and safety concerns in the 21 st century , Mycobacterium tuberculosis , which causes TB, infects alveolar macrophages and uses these cells as one of its primary sites of replication. The current TB treatment regimen, which consist of chemotherapy involving a combination of 3-4 antimicrobials for a duration of 6-12 months, is marked with significant side effects, toxicity, and poor compliance. Targeted drug delivery offers a strategy that could overcome many of the problems of current TB treatment by specifically targeting infected macrophages. Recent advances in nanotechnology and material science have opened an avenue to explore drug carriers that actively and passively target macrophages. This approach can increase the drug penetration into macrophages by using ligands on the nanocarrier that interact with specific receptors for macrophages. This review encompasses the recent development of drug carriers specifically targeting macrophages actively and passively. Future directions and challenges associated with development of effective TB treatment is also discussed.
Keyphrases
- mycobacterium tuberculosis
- drug delivery
- public health
- cancer therapy
- oxidative stress
- pulmonary tuberculosis
- squamous cell carcinoma
- radiation therapy
- cell proliferation
- signaling pathway
- induced apoptosis
- cell death
- drug induced
- adverse drug
- cell cycle arrest
- current status
- drug release
- antiretroviral therapy
- pi k akt
- rectal cancer
- endoplasmic reticulum stress