Researchers identify lipid vascular ‘ZIP code’

Researchers at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (NJMS), together with other collaborating groups, have discovered the first lipid vascular “ZIP code” in the lungs. Getting a drug to where it is needed in the human body is critical for successfully treating diseases including cancer and avoiding toxic side effects, but it remains a major challenge. One creative option has been to identify the unique protein receptors that are present on the surface of blood vessels at specific sites in the body that act like vascular ZIP codes. These ZIP codes can be physically paired with a ligand such as a small protein or antibody that can be harnessed to guide and deliver a package such as a drug or a diagnostic imaging agent to their specific molecular addresses. Some of these ligand-receptor pairs are already undergoing testing in clinical trials with anti-cancer and anti-obesity drugs.