T cell-inspired therapeutic delivery platforms: From nanomedicines to cell therapy

TL;DR

This review explores T cell-inspired delivery systems that improve drug targeting and reduce toxicity for treating various diseases.

Contribution

A comprehensive review of T cell-inspired delivery platforms, highlighting their biocompatibility and therapeutic potential.

Findings

T cell-inspired delivery systems offer prolonged circulation and targeted drug transport.

These systems show reduced toxicity and improved biodistribution in various diseases.

Current limitations and future engineering opportunities are discussed.

Abstract

Targeted nanodrug delivery has garnered significant interest as a carrier for drugs, genes, and vaccines. Despite their clinical potential, these nanocarriers face substantial challenges due to their exogenous nature. These challenges can be addressed by employing T cell-inspired approaches for targeted therapies. T cell-inspired approaches—including T cell membrane-coated nanoparticles, T cell-derived exosomes, T cell hitchhiking, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells—exhibit remarkable properties such as inherent biocompatibility and biodegradability, prolonged circulation lifespan, and the ability to traverse biological barriers. Utilizing T cells as delivery vehicles enables prolonged circulation time and targeted drug transport, along with reduced toxicity to cells and tissues. This review explores innovative T cell-derived approaches, including T cell membrane-coated nanoparticles, T cell-derived exosomes, T cell hitchhiking, and CAR-T cells. We discuss how these methods improve biodistribution, tissue penetration, and immune evasion while preserving T cell functionality in cancer therapies, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and infectious diseases. By comparing conventional nanomedicine approaches with emerging T cell-based delivery systems, this review explores the transformative capability of T cell-inspired delivery in enhancing therapeutic outcomes. Finally, we address current limitations and future directions, including advanced engineering techniques, which could further refine this promising approaches.

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•Cell-based nanodelivery systems offer inherent biocompatibility, prolonged circulation, and targeted delivery.•T cell-inspired approaches, including membrane coating, exosomes, hitchhiking, and CAR-T cells are reviewed.•Applications of T cell-inspired approaches for various diseases are discussed, along with current limitations and future opportunities.

Cell-based nanodelivery systems offer inherent biocompatibility, prolonged circulation, and targeted delivery.

T cell-inspired approaches, including membrane coating, exosomes, hitchhiking, and CAR-T cells are reviewed.

Applications of T cell-inspired approaches for various diseases are discussed, along with current limitations and future opportunities.

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