Pulmonary surfactant camouflage lipid nanoparticles for efficient mRNA lung delivery
Weilun Sun, Ti-Qiang Zhou, Yuanyu Huang, Xing-Jie Liang, Fangzhou Li · 2026
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Description
Sun, Zhou, Huang, and co-authors describe a camouflage trick for delivering messenger RNA to the lungs, in this 2026 letter in Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy. Inhaled mRNA vaccines could raise immunity right where respiratory viruses enter, but the lung's mucosal barrier blocks the lipid nanoparticles that carry mRNA, and none has finished clinical trials. The team borrowed a component of the lung's own surfactant, the soapy film lining the air sacs.
Swapping the particles' helper lipid for DPPC, surfactant's main lipid, let the particles bind a lung protein that normally recycles surfactant. That binding kept them in the mucosal layer longer and ferried them into and across airway cells. In their tests an inhaled vaccine built this way provoked stronger lung immunity, and the trick also boosted other approved particle designs.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Weilun Sun, Ti-Qiang Zhou, Yuanyu Huang, Xing-Jie Liang, Fangzhou Li |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 14 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |