Thymosin β4 sustained release from poly(lactide-co-glycolide) microspheres: synthesis and implications for treatment of myocardial ischemia.

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences2012PMID: 23050826

View on PubMed DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06681.x

Plain Language Summary

Reviews the design and initial synthesis of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microspheres for sustained intramyocardial thymosin β4 delivery. Microspheres were formulated with tolerances for cardiac injection, demonstrating TB4 encapsulation and controlled release kinetics matching the cardiac therapeutic window. Establishes the proof-of-concept for PLGA microsphere TB4 cardiac depot delivery—addressing systemic TB4's short half-life limitation and providing an early biodegradable polymer platform preceding the collagen-chitosan hydrogel approach (PMID 29710844).

Abstract

A sustained release formulation for the therapeutic peptide thymosin β4 (Tβ4) that can be localized to the heart and reduce the concentration and frequency of dose is being explored as a means to improve its delivery in humans. This review contains concepts involved in the delivery of peptides to the heart and the synthesis of polymer microspheres for the sustained release of peptides, including Tβ4. Initial results of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) microspheres synthesized with specific tolerances for intramyocardial injection that demonstrate the encapsulation and release of Tβ4 from double-emulsion microspheres are also presented.

Authors

Thatcher, Jeffrey E; Welch, Tré; Eberhart, Robert C; Schelly, Zoltan A; DiMaio, J Michael