Cell-mediated drug delivery to the brain

The inability of most potent therapeutics to cross the blood–brain barrier following systemic administration necessitates the need to develop unconventional, clinically applicable drug delivery systems for the treatment of brain disorders. Smart, biologically active vehicles are crucial to accomplishing this challenging task. In this review, we discuss new drug delivery systems that utilize living cells for drug carriage to the brain. Using inflammatory response cells enables targeted drug transport and prolonged circulation times, along with reductions in cell and tissue toxicities. In addition, these cells are capable of cell-to-cell transmission of drug-laden nanoparticles that improves their therapeutic outcomes. Noteworthy, a proper differentiation of drug carriers into particular subtypes may further boost the therapeutic efficiency of cell-based drug formulations. Such systems for drug carriage and targeted release represent a novel strategy that can be applied to a spectrum of human disorders.