Recent Advances in Oral Peptide or Protein-Based Drug Liposomes

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口服多肽或蛋白质药物脂质体的最新研究进展

作者 Jian Cui; Zhiwei Wen; Wei Zhang; Wei Wu 期刊 Pharmaceuticals 发表日期 2022 ISSN 1424-8247 DOI 10.3390/ph15091072 类型 原创研究 (Original Research)

📄 中文摘要 Chinese Abstract

中文
治疗性肽和蛋白质因其高特异性和低毒性,在治疗癌症、糖尿病和炎症等疾病方面具有广阔前景。然而,其临床应用受到口服生物利用度差和在胃肠道(GIT)中不稳定的限制,胃肠道中的恶劣pH条件和消化酶会使其降解。脂质体——由磷脂双分子层构成的球形囊泡——提供了一种生物相容性递送系统,可保护这些药物并增强其吸收。尽管脂质体具有潜力,但常规脂质体在胃肠道中面临酶降解和胆汁盐破坏等挑战,因此需要先进的制剂策略以提高稳定性和口服递送效率。

📋 英文结构化总结 English Structured Summary

全文整理

EN

Background:

Therapeutic peptides and proteins are promising for treating diseases like cancer, diabetes, and inflammation due to their high specificity and low toxicity. However, their clinical use is limited by poor oral bioavailability and instability in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), where harsh pH conditions and digestive enzymes degrade them. Liposomes—spherical vesicles with phospholipid bilayers—offer a biocompatible delivery system that can protect these drugs and enhance absorption. Despite their potential, conventional liposomes face challenges in the GIT, including enzymatic degradation and bile salt disruption, necessitating advanced formulation strategies to improve stability and oral delivery efficiency.

Methods:

This review article synthesizes findings from recent studies on liposome-based oral delivery systems for peptide and protein drugs. It examines preparation techniques such as freeze–thaw cycling (FTC), microfluidic hydrodynamic focusing (MHF), and supercritical carbon dioxide-assisted methods, evaluating their impact on encapsulation efficiency and particle stability. The paper also analyzes surface modification strategies—including polymer coatings (e.g., chitosan derivatives), bile salt incorporation, and receptor-targeting ligands—to enhance gastrointestinal stability and intestinal uptake. Data were extracted from in vitro, in vivo, and cell model studies reported in the literature.

Results:

Liposome modifications significantly improved the stability and bioavailability of encapsulated peptides. For instance, embedding glycorylcaldityl tetraether (GCTE) or phytosterols into the bilayer enhanced resistance to gastric acid and enzymes, with GCTE-liposomes showing a 3.5-fold increase in liver uptake of Myrcludex B. Insulin-loaded liposomes coated with chitosan-thioglycolic acid (CS-TGA) exhibited slower release in simulated intestinal fluid and higher Caco-2 cell permeability. Silica-coated liposomes reduced lipolysis rates and enabled sustained insulin release over 8 hours. Receptor-targeted systems, such as FcBP-modified liposomes, demonstrated pH-dependent endocytosis and a 47.87% reduction in blood glucose levels in vivo. Folate-conjugated liposomes increased insulin uptake by 1.2–1.5-fold in Caco-2 cells, achieving up to 19.08% oral bioavailability.

Data Summary:

Encapsulation efficiencies ranged from 30% to over 95%, depending on the method and drug. Supercritical fluid-assisted processes achieved 92–98% encapsulation for bovine serum albumin, while microfluidic methods reached 91 ± 4% for recombinant human insulin. Particle sizes varied widely: uncoated liposomes averaged ~175 nm, whereas complex formulations (e.g., alginate-entrapped systems) reached up to 2 mm. Zeta potentials ranged from −60.5 mV to +33.1 mV, influencing colloidal stability and mucoadhesion. Oral bioavailability of insulin in rodent models ranged from 2.5% to 19.08%, with bile salt-containing liposomes achieving up to 11% in diabetic rats.

Conclusions:

Liposomes represent a versatile and effective platform for oral delivery of therapeutic peptides when engineered with appropriate materials and surface modifications. Strategies such as polymer coating, bile salt integration, and targeting ligands enhance gastrointestinal stability, cellular uptake, and bioavailability. The intestinal lymphatic pathway offers a promising route to bypass hepatic first-pass metabolism. Future research should focus on optimizing formulation scalability, long-term stability, and targeted delivery to maximize clinical translation of oral peptide therapies.

Practical Significance:

These advances in liposome technology could enable the development of orally administered versions of currently injectable peptide drugs—such as insulin, GLP-1 analogs, and monoclonal fragments—improving patient compliance, reducing treatment costs, and expanding access to biotherapeutics for chronic diseases like diabetes and inflammatory bowel disorders.

📋 中文结构化总结 Chinese Structured Summary

中文

背景:

治疗性肽和蛋白质因其高特异性和低毒性,在治疗癌症、糖尿病和炎症等疾病方面具有广阔前景。然而,其临床应用受到口服生物利用度差和在胃肠道(GIT)中不稳定的限制,胃肠道中的恶劣pH条件和消化酶会使其降解。脂质体——由磷脂双分子层构成的球形囊泡——提供了一种生物相容性递送系统,可保护这些药物并增强其吸收。尽管脂质体具有潜力,但常规脂质体在胃肠道中面临酶降解和胆汁盐破坏等挑战,因此需要先进的制剂策略以提高稳定性和口服递送效率。

方法:

本综述文章综合了近期关于基于脂质体的肽和蛋白质药物口服递送系统的研究成果。文章考察了冻融循环(FTC)、微流控流体动力聚焦(MHF)和超临界二氧化碳辅助法等制备技术,评估其对包封率和颗粒稳定性的影响。本文还分析了表面修饰策略——包括聚合物涂层(如壳聚糖衍生物)、胆汁盐掺入和受体靶向配体——以增强胃肠道稳定性和肠道吸收。数据来源于文献中报道的体外、体内和细胞模型研究。

结果:

脂质体修饰显著提高了包封肽的稳定性和生物利用度。例如,将甘油基钙化四醚(GCTE)或植物甾醇嵌入双分子层可增强对胃酸和酶的抵抗力,GCTE脂质体对Myrcludex B的肝脏摄取提高了3.5倍。负载胰岛素的壳聚糖-硫代乙醇酸(CS-TGA)涂层脂质体在模拟肠液中释放更慢,且在Caco-2细胞中通透性更高。二氧化硅涂层脂质体降低了脂解速率,实现了8小时内胰岛素的持续释放。受体靶向系统(如FcBP修饰的脂质体)表现出pH依赖性胞吞作用,体内血糖水平降低了47.87%。叶酸偶联脂质体使Caco-2细胞对胰岛素的摄取提高了1.2–1.5倍,口服生物利用度最高可达19.08%。

数据总结:

包封效率从30%到超过95%不等,取决于方法和药物。超流体辅助工艺对牛血清白蛋白的包封率达到92–98%,而微流控方法对重组人胰岛素的包封率达到91 ± 4%。粒径变化范围广泛:未涂层脂质体平均约175 nm,而复合制剂(如海藻酸盐包埋系统)可达2 mm。zeta电位范围为−60.5 mV至+33.1 mV,影响胶体稳定性和黏膜黏附性。在大鼠模型中,胰岛素的口服生物利用度范围为2.5%至19.08%,含胆汁盐的脂质体在糖尿病大鼠中最高可达11%。

结论:

脂质体在采用适当材料和表面修饰进行工程化设计后,代表了治疗性肽口服递送的多功能且有效的平台。聚合物涂层、胆汁盐整合和靶向配体等策略可增强胃肠道稳定性、细胞摄取和生物利用度。肠道淋巴途径为绕过肝脏首过代谢提供了有前景的途径。未来研究应聚焦于优化制剂的可扩展性、长期稳定性和靶向递送,以最大化口服肽疗法的临床转化。

实际意义:

脂质体技术的这些进展有望开发出目前需注射给药的肽类药物(如胰岛素、GLP-1类似物和单克隆抗体片段)的口服版本,从而提高患者依从性、降低治疗成本,并扩大糖尿病和炎症性肠病等慢性疾病患者对生物制剂的可及性。

📖 英文全文 English Full Text

EN

pmc Pharmaceuticals (Basel) Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2102 pharmaceuticals pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals 1424-8247 Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) PMC9501131 PMC9501131.1 9501131 9501131 36145293 10.3390/ph15091072 pharmaceuticals-15-01072 1 Review Recent Advances in Oral Peptide or Protein-Based Drug Liposomes Cui Jian † Wen Zhiwei † Zhang Wei * https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9544-9788 Wu Wei * Tsiourvas Dimitris Academic Editor School of Pharmacy, Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541199, China * Correspondence: zhangwei0773935@126.com (W.Z.); wuwei@glmc.edu.cn (W.W.) † These authors contributed equally to this work. 28 8 2022 9 2022 15 9 417798 1072 18 7 2022 24 8 2022 28 08 2022 24 09 2022 26 09 2022 © 2022 by the authors. 2022 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ). The high physiology and low toxicity of therapeutic peptides and proteins have made them a hot spot for drug development in recent years. However, their poor oral bioavailability and unstable metabolism make their clinical application difficult. The bilayer membrane of liposomes provides protection for the drug within the compartment, and their high biocompatibility makes the drug more easily absorbed by the body. However, phospholipids—which form the membranes—are subjected to various digestive enzymes and mucosal adhesion in the digestive tract and disintegrate before absorption. Improvements in the composition of liposomes or modifying their surface can enhance the stability of the liposomes in the gastrointestinal tract. This article reviews the basic strategies for liposome preparation and surface modification that promote the oral administration of therapeutic polypeptides. polypeptide and protein drugs oral administration oral bioavailability drug delivery system liposomes Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi 2020GXNSFAA297133 Cultivation Plan for Thousands of Young Middle-Aged Backbone Teachers in Guangxi Higher Education School This research was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi (No. 2020GXNSFAA297133). It is also supported by the Cultivation Plan for Thousands of Young and Middle-Aged Backbone Teachers in Guangxi Higher Education School. pmc-status-qastatus 0 pmc-status-live yes pmc-status-embargo no pmc-status-released yes pmc-prop-open-access yes pmc-prop-olf no pmc-prop-manuscript no pmc-prop-legally-suppressed no pmc-prop-has-pdf yes pmc-prop-has-supplement no pmc-prop-pdf-only no pmc-prop-suppress-copyright no pmc-prop-is-real-version no pmc-prop-is-scanned-article no pmc-prop-preprint no pmc-prop-in-epmc yes pmc-license-ref CC BY 1. Introduction Peptides and proteins have been used with great success in treating cancer, genetic diseases, inflammation and diabetes. The activity and specificity of peptides cannot be imitated by small molecule drugs. Moreover, their complex spatial conformation and fragile tertiary structure have a high susceptibility to being broken by the harsh physiological environment of the gastrointestinal tract, resulting in their extremely low bioavailability. Currently, only oligopeptides or cyclic peptides are available for oral use, such as the FDA-approved macrocyclic drugs Linaclotide, for irritable bowel syndrome and Lutetium Lu 177 for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors [ 1 ]. To further expand the number of oral peptides, it is expected that improvements will be made in the oral absorption of the peptides via their formulation, and some promising therapeutic peptides have already entered the clinical phase such as oral delivery of Octreotide using Peptelligence technology, oral semaglutide based on Eligen technology, etc. [ 2 ]. However, there are still many promising therapeutic peptides in need of the design of novel delivery systems for their oral administration, such as GLP-1, Lactotransferrin, etc. Several oral drug delivery strategies have been developed to improve the bioavailability of therapeutic peptides—for example, self-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SEDDS) [ 3 ], solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) [ 4 ], liposomes, and microgels [ 5 ]. Liposomes are spherical structures with phospholipids as their main component, and their biological properties are similar to cell membranes—making them ideal carriers for orally administered drugs. However, the stability of liposomes is poor due to the presence of digestive enzymes and extreme pH changes in the gastrointestinal tract. The use of liposomes as a carrier system for oral drug delivery faces great challenges. With the continuous development of nanotechnology, the oral delivery of liposomes has once again become a research hotspot, as shown in Table 1 . 2. Properties of Protein and Peptide Drugs Understanding the physicochemical properties of peptides provides the basis for the rational design and development of optimized formulation systems. Fogg et al. [ 21 ] reported that the P app of therapeutic peptides smaller than 1400 Da has a significant negative correlation with molecular weight. The apparent permeability coefficients (P app ) are used to reflect the permeability of drugs to cell membranes. Besides this, smaller peptides are easily captured by the internal aqueous phase in liposomes. Similarly, the charge and hydrophobicity of therapeutic peptides leads to their adsorption being altered, which can affect their retention in and release from nanoparticles. The natural structure of proteins is susceptible to being changed by pH, ionic composition, temperature, or digestive enzymes. The use of unnatural amino acids (e.g., D-α, Nα-alkylated, Cα-substituted, β- and γ-amino acids) or amide bond mimetics (e.g., thioamides, azapeptides, 1,4 disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles) that anchor peptide backbone-specific sites to form rigid structures can reduce the susceptibility of peptides to enzymatic degradation [ 22 ]. Cyclization reduces the polarity of the peptide molecule itself by eliminating the end groups, and is also a strategy for peptides to combat the harsh external environment [ 23 ]. 3. Phospholipid Materials Suitable for the Oral Administration of Liposomes The physicochemical properties of phospholipids represent a precondition for the prepared formulations. So far, a variety of lipids—including dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC), distearoyl-phosphatidylcholine (DSPC)—have been utilized to encapsulate therapeutic proteins such as insulin and salmon calcitonin (sCT) [ 24 ]. However, oral administration requires phospholipids that are not susceptible to hydrolysis and oxidation to enhance the rigidity of the lipid bilayer. Some specific lipids such as diether or tetraether lipids can maintain structural integrity at extreme pHs [ 25 ]. Amphiphilic polymers with properties similar to phospholipids such as polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers can be used to form more stable vesicle niosomes for oral administration. Bilayers composed of surfactant (non-ionic) and cholesterol called niosomes have lower toxicity and a more stable structure than conventional liposomes [ 26 ]. The novel bolalipids contain lateral alkyl chains of different lengths in the 1- and 32-positions of the long membrane-spanning C32 alkyl chain, which acts as a stabilizer of the liposome. It shows greater stability in phosphate buffer solution and in simulated gastric juice; the release of calcineurin encapsulated in Borealis liposomes is reduced by 50% in simulated gastric juice compared to normal liposomes [ 27 ]. 4. Preparation Methods for Polypeptide Liposomes The manufacture and production of peptide-liposomes face many challenges; the preparation process greatly affects the encapsulation of peptides and proteins by liposomes. The retention, protection, and release of bioactive proteins from vesicles are regulated by changing the sign and charge density of the phospholipid polar groups, as well as the pH and ionic strength of the dispersion medium [ 28 , 29 ]. The difference in charge density on the surface of liposomes (∆σ) before and after protein adsorption can be calculated by the following equation: ∆σ = σ A − σ B = 2eXZ p /A L (1) where X is the extent of protein adsorption (moles per mole of lipid), A L is the average surface area of the phospholipid molecules, and Z p is the effective charge on the protein. It has been shown that adsorption is mainly dependent on the electrostatic interactions on the surface of the substance [ 30 ]. Coincidentally, Jacques-Philippe Colletier et al. revealed that at pH 8.5, the amphiphilicity phospholipid POPC showed a higher encapsulation rate of negatively charged acetylcholinesterase (AChE). Adding DOGS-NTA-Ni lipid induced a stronger interaction between the lipid bilayer and the enzyme, which leaded to a further increase in the encapsulation rate [ 31 ]. The pH and ionic strength of the dispersion medium also need to be considered; pHs further away from the PI significantly increase the trypsin encapsulation rate. Similarly, a lower ionic strength decreases protein solubility and facilitates interactions between proteins and lipid bilayers, which makes phospholipids more susceptible to capturing drug proteins [ 32 ]. Peptides can interact non-covalently with non-ionic surfactants through hydrogen bonding; hydrophobic interactions form water-insoluble complexes called peptide-surfactant complexes (PSC). Since the formation of hydrophobic ion pairs (HIP) increases the lipophilicity of peptide and protein drugs, they can be solubilized in the lipophilic phase of lipid-based nanocarriers to improve the drug encapsulation rate [ 33 , 34 ]. In addition, temperature, high pressure, non-aqueous solvents, pH, ionic strength, and shear force during preparation affect protein stability [ 35 ]. Some different preparation methods can effectively avoid these adverse effects. Figure 1 shows the general liposome formation process. Freeze–Thaw Cycling (FTC) performed to prepare liposomes and to encapsulate proteins occurs in two steps: Empty lipid vesicles are prepared by thin-film hydrophoresis. Then, liposome suspensions are mixed with protein solutions and subjected to freeze–thaw cycles in liquid nitrogen (−196 °C) and a water bath (65 °C). Protein-loaded liposomes form while the liposome membranes fragment in the liquid nitrogen and reform in the water bath. Finally, the liposomes are extruded with a liposome extruder. The encapsulation efficiency of uncoated liposomes has previously been found to be 69%; the particle size was 174.8 ± 0.9 nm with a PDI of 0.19 ± 0.01 [ 7 ]. The microfluidic hydrodynamic focusing (MHF) method was first proposed by Jahn et al. [ 11 ]. Typically, in small microfluidic channels with diameters of up to 500 μm, gradient diffusion and local dilution of the organic phase in the aqueous phase of the laminar flow allows phospholipids to self-assemble into liposomes. By adjusting the flow rate ratio between the aqueous and the organic phases, Zehua Liu et al. improved the encapsulation of rhIns (recombinant human insulin) to 91 ± 4% and stabilized the particle size at 144 ± 23 nm. However, the use of organic solvents can lead to the partial inactivation of proteins and the deep penetration of organic solvents into the lipid bilayer, which may alter the mechanical and physical properties of the membrane [ 11 ]. Supercritical carbon dioxide as a co-solvent assists in encapsulating bovine serum albumin successfully and maintains its biological activity; encapsulation rates range from 92% to 98%. The solution containing the bovine serum is sprayed into a carbon dioxide supercritical fluid with dissolved lipids. Due to the extremely low surface tension of the dispersion medium, a lipid layer forms rapidly around the atomized droplets. Subsequently, the water/CO 2 emulsions are mixed with aqueous solution to form liposomes [ 8 ]. Figure 2 shows the process of supercritical fluid-assisted liposome formation. Supercritical carbon dioxide produces an antisolvent effect when mixed with organic solvents containing dissolved phospholipids and drugs and induces the formation of precursor liposomes; Gang Yang et al. successfully prepared bile salt-liposomes encapsulated with silymarin (SM) with an average particle size of 160.50 nm and obtained an encapsulation rate of 91.38% [ 9 ]. Liposomes for oral application have been successfully prepared using supercritical fluid; they also show excellent encapsulation of proteins. Therefore, supercritical fluid can be used as a reference process for the development of oral liposomes of polypeptide and protein drugs. The encapsulation rate and particle size are important parameters in the selection of an appropriate preparation method, and it is also important to avoid the destruction of protein by organic solvents as much as possible. The above process has its own advantages for protein encapsulation; most of them have a high encapsulation rate and relatively stable particle size compared with traditional methods. 5. Stability Strategy Oral carriers are subjected to extreme pH changes (from an acidic environment in the stomach to a neutral or alkaline environment in the intestine) and the combined adverse effects of digestive enzymes (such as phospholipase, pancreatic lipase, and cholesterol esterase) and bile salts [ 37 ]. These conditions will affect the stability of liposomes. For instance, both phospholipases C and D can cleave the phosphorus oxygen bond of phosphate ester in phosphatidylcholine molecule to produce diacylglycerol or phosphatidylic acid. Diacylglycerol can cause large-scale lipid rearrangement and phase transition, resulting in changes in membrane thickness and the decomposition of liposomes [ 38 ]. Liposomes can resist the malignant physiological environment of the gastrointestinal tract through a variety of surface modifications, as shown in the Figure 3 . More details are presented in Table 2 . 5.1. Alteration of Liposome Membrane Composition Glycorylcaldityl tetraether (GCTE) has a rigid structure that is resistant to hydrolysis and oxidation. Embedding into the phospholipid bilayer can stabilize the lipid membrane and make it resistant to gastric acid and trypsin A2 [ 39 ]. In a study by Schulze et al., Myrcludex B—which specifically aggregates in the liver [ 40 ]—can be encapsulated in liposomes containing 5% GCTE. The results showed that after oral administration to Wistar rats, the GCTE-liposome significantly enhanced the uptake of iodine-131-labeled Myrcludex B by the liver, which is approximately three times that of normal liposomes [ 25 ]. Some phytosterols have a similar structure to cholesterol and have stronger van der Waals interactions with the acyl chains of DPPC, making the liposomes resistant to the physiological environment of gastrointestinal tract (GIT); lipid bilayers with anionic phospholipids introduced and ergometrine embedded show excellent stability. A previous experiment has shown that free insulin is almost degraded within 15 min, while insulin encapsulated in sterol liposomes can still be retained at more than 70% after 4 h in simulated intestinal fluid. The highest transport efficiency of Er-Lip has also been observed in experiments on monolayer Caco-2 cell transport [ 41 ]. 5.2. Embedded Bile Salts Bile salts embedded in the lipid bilayer slow down the emulsifying effect of endogenous bile on the carrier. In a study by Niu et al., liposomes containing sodium glycopyrrolate (SGC) were prepared by reverse-phase evaporation, using insulin as a model drug. The results showed that the bioavailability of the insulin encapsulated by SGC-Liposome was about 8.5% and 11.0% in nondiabetic and diabetic rats, respectively. After oral administration in a gavage experiment in Wistar rats, a maximum 63% decrease in blood glucose was produced at 10 h after oral administration and returned to normal about at 20 h [ 42 ]. 5.3. Surface-Coating Strategy Surface modifications can significantly improve the stability of liposomes in the intestine by forming a contact barrier between the liposomal phospholipids and enzymes [ 43 ]. Liposomes coated with chitosan-thioglycolic acid polymers can enhance surface adhesion and permeability and inhibit lipids from degrading. The stability of liposomes modified with different molecular weights (77 KD and 150 KD) of chitosan-thioglycolic acid and the chitosan-thioglycolic acid 6-mercaptonicotinamide-conjugate (CS-TGA150-MNA) in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF) has been tested. Liposomes have good stability in SGF and CS-TGA-modified liposomes have a slower release rate in SIF, demonstrating the resistance of CS-TGA coating to trypsin [ 44 ]. Hydrophilic silica nanoparticles on the surface of liposomes can form an interfacial layer to delay the release of drugs and to retard lipolysis by digestive enzymes. Liposomes containing insulin were prepared by TFH, concentrated by centrifugation and mixed with a gradient concentration of silica nanoparticles in ultrapure aqueous solution to produce silica-coated liposomes. In SIF, the lipolysis rate of the silica-coated liposomes was significantly reduced. In SGF, the hydrophilic silica nanoparticles delayed the release of insulin and enhanced the stability of the liposomes [ 45 ]. 5.4. Diversified Dosage Forms Alginate has a unique gel formation property in the presence of multivalent cations; mixing with liposome suspension containing bee venom, drop in calcium chloride solution to subsequently form calcium alginate gel beads loaded with bee venom liposomes, and coat the surface with Eudragit S100 to resist erosion of the nanoparticles by the gastric acid and digestive enzymes. In vitro release results have shown a negligible release of bee venom at pH 1.2, while bee venom release was triggered at pH 6.8 and pH 7.4. Gamma scintillation studies showed that 99m Tc-MIBI-labeled bee venom had a mean small intestinal transit time of 3.5 ± 0.5 h. The drug was released at the colon 4 h after administration, showing the stability of the drug in gastric and intestinal fluids [ 46 ]. As previously described, chitosan-coated liposomes (InsLip-CHT) encapsulated with insulin have been prepared by microfluidic techniques. Furthermore, Ins@MPs have been obtained by the double-emulsion microfluidic method; the nanoparticles were encapsulated in a double emulsion containing hydroxypropyl (HPMCAS-MF) as a way to improve the stability of the nanoparticles in the gastrointestinal tract. Ins@MPs showed responsive release in the simulated intestinal fluid (SIF, pH 6.8) and almost no release in SGF (pH 1.2). Caco-2 and HT29-MTX cell lines were used to assess the intestinal permeability of Ins@MPs. A much higher P app of Ins@MPs than free insulin (P app of 2.27 × 10 −5 cm∙s −1 ) and a concomitant decrease in transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) were observed. Functioning as a fluorescent probe, 4-(4-dihexadecylaminostyryl)-N-methylpyridinium iodide (DiA) has been encapsulated in chitosan liposomes (DiALip-CHT), accelerating their internalization by cells [ 11 ]. pharmaceuticals-15-01072-t002_Table 2 Table 2 The composition of liposomes and the enzymatic stability of both the encapsulated peptide/protein and the phospholipids. API Phospholipid Strategy to Protect Liposomes from the Damage of GIT Properties EE (%) ± SD MD (nm) ± SD Zeta (mv) ± SD Ref Myrcludex B EPC GCTE, which is resistant to hydrolysis and oxidation, was embedded in the phospholipid bilayer At least 7% of the initial dose of Myrcludex B was absorbed, with a 3.5-fold increase in oral effectiveness 65.7 ± 2.9 140.7 ± 4.3 −4.2 ± 0.5 [ 25 ] rhINS SPC DPPG Chol Phytosterols with stronger interactions with phospholipids were used instead of cholesterol After 4 h in SGF, Er-lip retained more than 70% of the insulin; the plasma glucose level could be reduced to about 60% of the initial value and kept low for 8 h 30 ± 2.0 157.1 ± 0.4 −60.5 ± 9.8 [ 41 ] rhINS SPC GCA was able to reduce the degradation of liposomes in GIT and promote the internalization of lipid particles High oral bioavailability of 11.0%, with a mild and lasting hypoglycemic effect 35 ± 2.1 358 ± 28.0 - [ 42 ] Calcitonin PC DSPG Chol Surface-modified CPPs and TMC promoted the cellular uptake of liposomes Effectively enhanced the oral absorption of calcitonin 80 ± 2.0 118 ± 18.0 −27.1 ± 5.8 [ 47 ] FID DPPC DPPE-MCC Chitosan coating with thiol group modification enhanced the adhesion and permeability of liposomes and inhibited the degradation of lipid membranes by enzymes P app was 2.8–3.4 times stronger than the initial value - 702.6 ± 138.0 8.62 ± 1.4 [ 44 ] Insulin DPPC Silica coating isolated liposomes from digestive enzymes Silica coating was able to reduce the lipolysis rate and continuously release the drug for up to 8 h 70.0 297 ± 0.4 −15 ± 4.0 [ 45 ] Bee venom PC Liposomes were encapsulated into Eudragit S100-coated calcium alginate gel microspheres to slow the drug leakage of liposomes at non-specific sites Liposomes completed drug release at the colon and maintained structural integrity in Git 95.36 ± 0.3 2.05 ± 0.7 mm - [ 46 ] rhINS E-PC Liposomes with chitosan coating were encapsulated into double extrusion by “two-step” microfluidic technology Exhibited the characteristics of pH-responsive release and accelerated the intracellular internalization of encapsulated insulin 91 ± 4.0% 19 ± 1.0 μm - [ 11 ] DPPE-MCC, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[4-(p-maleimidomethyl) cyclohexane-carboxamide]; FID, fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran; rhINS, Recombinant human insulin; GCA, glycocholic acid; CS–TGA, chitosan–thioglycolic acid; CS–TGA–MNA, the chitosan-thioglycolic acid 6-mercaptonicotinamide-conjugate; CPPs, cell penetrating peptides; TMC, N-trimethyl chitosan chloride; DPPE-MCC, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[4-(p-maleimidomethyl) cyclohexane-carboxamide]; Er-lip, Ergosterol modified liposomes; E-PC, Egg-phosphatidylcholine. 6. Receptor-Mediated Transportation across Enterocytes Typically, peptide and protein drugs can enter the systemic circulation from the intestinal lumen via the transcellular pathway (through cells) and the paracellular pathway (between cells) as well as via endocytosis, as shown in Figure 4 . Liposome surface modification with Fc domain-binding peptide (FcBP) to target neonatal Fc receptors (FcRns) increases liposome endocytosis at the apical surface of the intestinal epithelium as well as exocytosis on the basolateral side. Yu, et al. prepared insulin liposomes modified with FcBP using thin-film hydrophorasis. Caco-2 cell uptake assays showed that endocytosis was maximal at pH 6.0, while the exocytosis of FcBP-Lip was significantly elevated at pH 7.4. In addition, INS-FcBP-Lip produced a significant hypoglycemic effect, with a maximum reduction of 47.87% in the initial blood glucose level [ 20 ]. There are abundant folate receptors on intestinal epithelial cells, so combining folate and liposomes can improve the effective uptake of drugs. For example, Yazdi et al. prepared folate-modified insulin-loaded liposomes; in Caco-2 cell uptake assays, 125I-labeled insulin uptake was increased 1.2–1.5-fold in folic acid-coupled liposomes and their bioavailability was increased up to 19.08% [ 48 ]. In addition, bile salts embedded in liposome bilayers promote the internalization and absorption of particles in the small intestine through bile acid transporters. Fluorescence imaging has shown that fluorescently labeled insulin encapsulated in SGC-liposomes has the strongest fluorescence and the longest duration in GIT. In monolayer Caco-2 cell transport experiments, the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) was significantly reduced in the presence of SGC-liposomes, showing effective paracellular permeability and enhancing the uptake of small intestinal epithelial cells [ 49 ]. As previously described, CS-TGA150-MNA coating can enhance the stability of liposomes; similarly, promotion of the cellular internalization of liposomes was also observed. According to an in vivo small intestine transit assay, liposomes with this coating have the highest P app —which was approximately 4.2-times higher than that of the blank control—and the CS-TGA coating decreased the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) values. Thiomers indirectly inhibit protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) and thus open tight intercellular junctions, resulting in enhanced uptake of liposomes [ 44 ]. 7. Small Intestine-Lymphatic Circulation Prevents the First-Pass Effect The liver is the largest reticuloendothelial system (RES) organ; nearly all (∼85%) nanoparticles will be accumulated in the liver mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS) [ 50 ]. Their powerful metabolic capacity makes nanoparticles that have experienced gastrointestinal erosion unable to react. Therefore, it is necessary to seek a hepatic bypass pathway into the systemic circulation to avoid the damage of the first pass effect to the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). Intestinal lymphatic transport is considered an alternative drug delivery strategy. Targeting microfold cells (M cells) or forming chylomicrons (CMs) can mediate the entry of APIs into the systemic circulation through gut-associated lymphoid tissue [ 51 ]. For example, both Cholera toxin B subunit (CTB)—which is non-toxic to humans—and Ulex europaeus 1 (UEA-1) can specifically target M cells [ 52 , 53 ]. FITC-labeled surface-modified UEA-1 liposomes show stronger adhesion to Peyer’s patch M-cells. In vivo experiments show that oral administration of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) encapsulated in UEA-1-modified liposomes induced the highest sIgA levels in the intestine. As the main antibody type present in the GIT, the upregulation of sIgA content suggests that targeting M cells accelerates the absorption of liposomes in the intestine [ 53 ]. Orally ingested liposomes form micelles in the presence of phospholipase and bile salts, and then undergo a series of intracellular processes to form chylomicrons. The type of lipid, length and saturation of lipid chains, and the logP value of the loaded drug are potentially useful for forming chylomicrons [ 54 ]. Multiple studies in the literature have shown that drugs with logP > 5 and solubility in triglyceride (TG) greater than 50 mg/g are beneficial to the lymphatic transport of chylomicrons [ 55 ]. Saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated lipids differ in their lymphatic transport patterns. In general, lipids with increasing degrees of unsaturation appear to preferentially promote lymphatic lipid transport [ 56 ]. Caliph et al. showed that the lymphatic transport of halofantrine (Hf) is highly dependent on the chain length of the co-administered triglyceride lipid. Longer chain lengths lead to higher absorption, suggesting that long-chain phospholipids should be selected to promote lymphatic circulation [ 57 ]. 8. Inhibition of P-gp and CYP3A4 On entry into the small intestinal epithelium, liposomes are subject to P-glycoprotein (P-gp) efflux and CYP3A4 metabolism, which are widely distributed in the intestinal mucosa and hepatocytes—the most evident factors for reduced bioavailability in BCS Class II and IV drugs [ 58 , 59 ]. The synergistic effects of CYP3A4 and P-gp can be avoided by modifying liposomes with a P-gp inhibitor or coating surfaces with a polymer such as Tween 80, Cremophor EL, or vitamin TPGS. All three nonionic surfactants Tween 80, Cremophor EL, and vitamin E TPGS exhibit permeation inhibition of the P-gp-specific substrate R123. The difference is that Vitamin E TPGS reduces the permeability of basolateral-to-apical (BL-AP) permeability, while Tween 80 and Cremophor EL slowly reduce apical-to-basolateral permeability. Gly-sar has been used as a substrate for the peptide transporter hPepT-1, and only Tween 80 reduces Gly-sar permeability in a concentration-dependent manner. Benzoic acid has been used as a substrate for the monocarboxylic acid transporter (MCT); the results showed that only Cremophor EL reduces the transport of benzoic acid. The selection of a suitable nonionic surfactant for mixing into the lipid bilayer could enhance the bioavailability and tissue distribution of the drug [ 60 , 61 ]. Tween 80 markedly represses CYP3A4 protein expression by 70% in human primary hepatocytes (HPH). There are also a large number of CYP3A4 enzymes in small intestinal epithelial cells; they can be mixed into lipid bilayers to delay the metabolism of liposomes by small intestinal cells [ 62 , 63 ]. Nanoparticle components also modulate the enzymatic activity of cytochrome P450, and nanoparticles composed of PLGA (lactide-co-glycolide) have a slight inhibitory effect on CYP2B and CYP3A. The same inhibitory effect has also been observed for inorganic silica nanoparticles; their inhibition shows a size-dependent effect, with 30 nm silica nanoparticles exhibiting a high inhibition level of 73% [ 63 ]. Using these characteristics, lipid vesicles can be optimized to minimize the metabolic effects of small intestinal epithelial cells on drugs before their absorption into the blood [ 64 ]. 9. Conclusions In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in research on nano-preparations for the oral delivery of therapeutic peptides. Depending on the production processes employed and on the post-processing techniques, liposomes can have different properties. We can choose the appropriate preparation process to form the liposomes we want, such as single unilamellar vesicles (SUVs), large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs), or multilamellar vesicles (MLVs). For post-processing techniques, the rigidity of the bilayer can be enhanced by polymer coating or small molecule compounds that have stronger interactions with phospholipid molecules; this would be suitable for the oral delivery of drugs with fragile chemical structures such as peptides and proteins. The combination of liposomes and other dosage forms to deliver drugs has shown more attractive advantages in gastrointestinal stability, such as the above-mentioned double emulsions and alginate granules, which both contain liposomes. However, the absorption of liposomes in the small intestinal epithelium is an equally important issue to be taken into account. Liposomes modified by various targets show higher permeability in the intestine; although lipid carriers absorbed into the blood through the small intestine inevitably lose their original membrane structure, the peptides and proteins hidden in the liposomes will face the powerful metabolism of the liver, and so lose their function. Small intestinal lymphatic circulation is undoubtedly the best option available to avoid metabolism that will deactivate the drug. Understanding the processes involved in the oral absorption of liposomes could help in the design of more efficient delivery systems to improve the bioavailability of oral polypeptides. This will be our focus in the future. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Author Contributions Literature collection, writing—original draft preparation, J.C.; writing—original draft preparation, Z.W.; writing—review and editing, W.Z.; writing—review and editing, W.W. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Institutional Review Board Statement Not applicable. Informed Consent Statement Not applicable. Data Availability Statement Data sharing not applicable. Conflicts of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest. Abbreviations EE: encapsulation efficiency; MD, mean diameter; SD, standard deviation; P app , Apparent Permeability Coefficients; TEER, transepithelial electrical resistance; API, active pharmaceutical ingredient; SGF, simulated gastric fluid; SIF, simulated intestinal fluid; Ins@MPs, Liposomes embedded in double emulsions; 99m Tc-MIBI, sestamibi; Er-lip, Ergosterol modified liposomes; SGC-Liposome, sodium glycopyrrolate modified liposome; Gly-sar, GLYCYL-SARCOSINE. References 1.

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Size and surface modification of amorphous silica particles determine their effects on the activity of human CYP3A4 in vitro Nanoscale Res. Lett. 2014 9 651 10.1186/1556-276X-9-651 25520598 PMC4266520 Figure 1 Liposome formation process. Figure 2 Supercritical-assisted liposome formation; SuperLip process layout ( a ) and a sketch of the phenomena occurring in it ( b ), adapted from Trucillo et al. [ 36 ]. Figure 3 Liposome modification strategy. Figure 4 Intestinal absorption mechanism. pharmaceuticals-15-01072-t001_Table 1 Table 1 Characteristics of previously reported oral liposomes. Agent Phospholipid Formulation Property Modification EE (%) ± SD Zeta (mv) ± SD MD (nm) ± SD Gain Ref Insulin DMPG (PSC) Stirring ultrasonic Anionic phospholipid - 70.9 ± 2.0 6.2 ± 0.5 29.8 ± 2.3 Degradation of insulin was reduced [ 6 ] Salmon calcitonin DPPC DPPE-MCC TFH + FTC Amphoteric phospholipid CS–TGA and CS–TGA–MNA modification 69 ± 12.0 27.9 ± 1.1 604.8 ± 29.6 Reduces blood calcium by 35% [ 7 ] BSA SPC Supercritical assisted process Amphoteric phospholipid - 95 ± 3.0 25 ± 5.0 250 ± 58.0 Up to 90% encapsulation rate [ 8 ] Silymarin (SM) SPC Supercritical assisted process Amphoteric phospholipid SGC modification 91.4 −62.3 160.50 SM-Lip-SEDS Cmax, AUC increases [ 9 ] HGH EPC (GCTE) DAC Amphoteric phospholipid GCTE 31.2 ± 0.5 41.0 ± 1.2 229.7 ± 12.8 3.4% oral bioavailability [ 10 ] RhIns PC, DSPE-PEG, Chol MHF Amphoteric phospholipid Chitosan coated with double emulsion carrier 91 ± 4 23 ± 1.0 363 ± 54 The stability and permeability of rhIns increase [ 11 ] BSA SPC RPE Cationic phospholipid chitosan coated 44.2 ± 0.3 33.1 ± 0.6 173.7 ± 5.6 More stable [ 12 ] Calcitonin DSPC DCP Chol TFH Amphoteric phospholipid Protease inhibitor modified chitosan >75 39.9 ± 1.6 4460.0 Increases the AAC [ 13 ] Exendin-4 DOPC DOTAP RPE Anionic phospholipid GCA modified chitosan coating 74.2 ± 2.5 −31 ± 0.2 229 ± 4.0 19% oral bioavailability [ 14 ] Insulin SPC RPE Amphoteric phospholipid Biotin-DSPE promotes absorption - 38.5 ± 3.5 150.0 12% oral bioavailability [ 15 ] Insulin SPC RPE Amphoteric phospholipid Thiamine and nicotinic acid Decoration 30.6 ± 2.4 - 125.6 ± 2.9 2.5% oral bioavailability [ 16 ] Insulin EPC: Chol DOTAP TFH Cationic phospholipid Protein adsorption 28.7 ± 5.1 −23.1 ± 0.5 164.7 ± 5.3 12% oral bioavailability [ 17 ] Cy5-amine POPC POPS, TFH Anionic phospholipid Alginate microcapsule - −12.0± 1.0 124 ± 13.0 Longer residence time in the intestine [ 18 ] Salmon calcitonin PC TFH Amphoteric phospholipid Bile salt modification 54.9 ± 4.1 - 741 ± 76.9 7.1-times higher bioavailability of sCT [ 19 ] Insulin SPC Chol TFH Amphoteric phospholipid FcBP receptor modification 70.9 ± 2.0 6.2 ± 0.5 29.8 ± 2.3 Blood sugar decreased by 47.87% [ 20 ] TFH, Thin Film Hydration; DAC, dual asymmetric centrifugation; RPE, reversed-phase evaporation; FTC, Freeze–Thaw Cycling; GCTE, tetraether lipid glycerylcaldityl tetraether; DPPE-MCC, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[4-(p-maleimidomethyl) cyclohexane-carboxamide]; ML, mistletoe lectin; AChE, acetylcholinesterase; SOD, superoxide dismutase; OVA, Ovalbumin; HGH, Human growth hormone; FID, fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran; rhINS, Recombinant human insulin; DOGS-NTA-Ni, 1,2-Dioleoyl-sn-Glycero-3-N(5-Amino-1-Carboxypentyl)iminodiAcetic Acid]Succinyl (Nickel salt); GCA, glycocholic acid; Biotin, vitamin B7; CS–TGA, chitosan–thioglycolic acid; CS–TGA–MNA, the chitosan-thioglycolic acid 6-mercaptonicotinamide-conjugate;AAC, Area Above Curve; Papp, Apparent Permeability Coefficient; DPPC, 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine; POPC, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine; POPS, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoserine; PC, L-α-phosphatidylcholin; SPC, soy phosphatidylcholine; EPC, egg phosphatidylcholine; DOTAP, 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammoniumpropane; FATP4, The fatty acid transport protein 4; FcBP, Fc domain-binding peptide; DSPE-PEG, 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[biotinyl(polyethylene glycol).

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# 口服多肽或蛋白类药物脂质体的研究进展

崔健 † 文志伟 † 张伟 * 吴伟 * 学术编辑:Dimitris Tsiourvas 桂林医学院药学院,桂林 541199,中国 * 通讯作者:zhangwei0773935@126.com (张伟);wuwei@glmc.edu.cn (吴伟) † 这些作者对本工作做出了同等贡献。

## 摘要

治疗性多肽和蛋白质因其高生理活性和低毒性,近年来成为药物研发的热点。然而,其口服生物利用度差及代谢不稳定使其临床应用面临困难。脂质体的双层膜结构为包封在其中的药物提供了保护,其高生物相容性使药物更易被机体吸收。但构成脂质体膜的磷脂在消化道中受到各种消化酶的作用及黏液吸附,在吸收之前即发生崩解。通过改善脂质体组成或对其表面进行修饰,可以增强脂质体在胃肠道中的稳定性。本文综述了促进治疗性多肽口服给药的脂质体制备及表面修饰的基本策略。

**关键词:** 多肽和蛋白质药物;口服给药;口服生物利用度;药物递送系统;脂质体

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## 1. 引言

多肽和蛋白质在治疗癌症、遗传性疾病、炎症和糖尿病方面已取得了巨大成功。多肽的活性和特异性是小分子药物无法比拟的。然而,其复杂的空间构象和脆弱的三级结构使其极易被胃肠道恶劣的生理环境破坏,导致生物利用度极低。目前,仅有寡肽或环肽可供口服使用,例如美国食品药品监督管理局(FDA)批准的大环药物利那洛肽(Linaclotide)用于治疗肠易激综合征,以及镥-177(Lutetium Lu 177)用于胃肠胰神经内分泌肿瘤的治疗 [1]。

为进一步拓展口服多肽的种类,预期将通过剂型改进来提高多肽的口服吸收。一些有前景的治疗性多肽已进入临床阶段,例如采用Peptelligence技术的奥曲肽(Octreotide)口服制剂、基于Eligen技术的口服司美格鲁肽(semaglutide)等 [2]。然而,仍有许多有前景的治疗性多肽需要设计新型口服递送系统,如GLP-1、乳铁蛋白(Lactotransferrin)等。

目前已开发出多种口服药物递送策略以提高治疗性多肽的生物利用度,例如自乳化药物递送系统(SEDDS)[3]、固体脂质纳米粒(SLN)[4]、脂质体和微凝胶 [5]。脂质体是以磷脂为主要成分的球形结构,其生物学性质与细胞膜相似,是口服药物的理想载体。然而,由于胃肠道中存在消化酶和极端pH变化,脂质体的稳定性较差。将脂质体作为口服药物递送载体系统面临巨大挑战。随着纳米技术的不断发展,脂质体的口服递送再次成为研究热点,如表1所示。

## 2. 蛋白质和多肽药物的性质

了解多肽的理化性质是合理设计和开发优化制剂系统的基础。Fogg等 [21] 报道,分子量小于1400 Da的治疗性多肽的表观渗透系数(Papp)与分子量呈显著负相关。表观渗透系数(Papp)用于反映药物对细胞膜的渗透性。此外,较小的多肽更易被脂质体的内水相捕获。同样,治疗性多肽的电荷和疏水性会导致其吸附发生改变,从而影响其在纳米粒中的滞留和释放。

蛋白质的天然结构易受pH、离子组成、温度或消化酶的影响而发生改变。使用非天然氨基酸(如D-α、Nα-烷基化、Cα-取代、β-和γ-氨基酸)或酰胺键模拟物(如硫代酰胺、氮杂肽、1,4-二取代1,2,3-三唑)锚定肽骨架特定位点以形成刚性结构,可降低多肽对酶降解的敏感性 [22]。环化通过消除端基来降低肽分子本身的极性,也是多肽抵御恶劣外部环境的策略 [23]。

## 3. 适用于口服脂质体的磷脂材料

磷脂的理化性质是制备制剂的前提条件。迄今为止,多种脂质——包括二棕榈酰磷脂酰胆碱(DPPC)、二硬脂酰磷脂酰胆碱(DSPC)——已被用于包封治疗性蛋白质,如胰岛素和鲑鱼降钙素(sCT)[24]。然而,口服给药要求磷脂不易发生水解和氧化,以增强脂质双分子层的刚性。某些特殊脂质如二醚脂质或四醚脂质可在极端pH下保持结构完整性 [25]。

具有与磷脂类似性质的两亲性聚合物,如聚氧乙烯烷基醚,可用于形成更稳定的囊泡——非离子表面活性剂囊泡(niosomes),用于口服给药。由表面活性剂(非离子型)和胆固醇组成的双分子层称为非离子表面活性剂囊泡(niosomes),其毒性低于常规脂质体,结构更稳定 [26]。

新型bola脂质在长跨膜C32烷基链的1-和32-位含有不同长度的侧链烷基链,起到脂质体稳定剂的作用。研究表明,其在磷酸盐缓冲液和模拟胃液中表现出更强的稳定性;与正常脂质体相比,包封在Borealis脂质体中的环孢素在模拟胃液中的释放量减少了50% [27]。

## 4. 多肽脂质体的制备方法

多肽脂质体的制造和生产面临诸多挑战,制备工艺极大地影响脂质体对多肽和蛋白质的包封。通过改变磷脂极性基团的符号和电荷密度以及分散介质的pH和离子强度,可以调节生物活性蛋白在囊泡中的滞留、保护和释放 [28, 29]。

脂质体表面在蛋白质吸附前后的电荷密度差(∆σ)可通过以下公式计算:

**∆σ = σA − σB = 2eXZp / AL** (1)

其中,X为蛋白质吸附程度(每摩尔脂质的摩尔数),AL为磷脂分子的平均表面积,Zp为蛋白质的有效电荷。研究表明,吸附主要依赖于物质表面的静电相互作用 [30]。

Jacques-Philippe Colletier等揭示,在pH 8.5时,两亲性磷脂POPC对带负电荷的乙酰胆碱酯酶(AChE)表现出更高的包封率。添加DOGS-NTA-Ni脂质诱导了脂质双层与酶之间更强的相互作用,从而进一步提高了包封率 [31]。

分散介质的pH和离子强度也需要考虑;远离等电点(PI)的pH值会显著提高胰蛋白酶的包封率。同样,较低的离子强度会降低蛋白质的溶解度,促进蛋白质与脂质双层之间的相互作用,使磷脂更易捕获药物蛋白 [32]。

多肽可通过氢键与非离子表面活性剂发生非共价相互作用;疏水相互作用形成不溶于水的复合物,称为肽-表面活性剂复合物(PSC)。由于疏水离子对(HIP)的形成增加了多肽和蛋白质药物的亲脂性,它们可溶解在脂质基纳米载体的亲脂相中,从而提高药物包封率 [33, 34]。

此外,制备过程中的温度、高压、非水溶剂、pH、离子强度和剪切力均会影响蛋白质的稳定性 [35]。一些不同的制备方法可有效避免这些不利影响。图1展示了脂质体形成的一般过程。

**冻融循环法(FTC):** 用于制备脂质体和包封蛋白质的冻融循环法分为两步:首先通过薄膜水化法制备空白脂质囊泡;然后将脂质体悬浮液与蛋白质溶液混合,在液氮(−196 °C)和水浴(65 °C)中进行冻融循环。当脂质体膜在液氮中破碎并在水浴中重新形成时,蛋白质负载的脂质体即形成。最后,用脂质体挤出器对脂质体进行挤出。

此前研究发现,未包衣脂质体的包封效率为69%;粒径为174.8 ± 0.9 nm,PDI为0.19 ± 0.01 [7]。

**微流控流体动力学聚焦法(MHF):** 该方法由Jahn等 [11] 首次提出。通常,在直径达500 μm的微小微流控通道中,层流中有机相在水相中的梯度扩散和局部稀释使磷脂自组装成脂质体。Zehua Liu等通过调节水相与有机相之间的流速比,将重组人胰岛素(rhINS)的包封率提高至91 ± 4%,并将粒径稳定在144 ± 23 nm。然而,有机溶剂的使用可能导致蛋白质部分失活,且有机溶剂深入渗透脂质双分子层可能改变膜的机械和物理性质 [11]。

**超临界二氧化碳辅助法:** 超临界二氧化碳作为共溶剂可成功包封牛血清白蛋白并保持其生物活性,包封率在92%至98%之间。将含有牛血清白蛋白的溶液喷雾到溶解有脂质的超临界二氧化碳流体中。由于分散介质的表面张力极低,脂质层在雾化液滴周围迅速形成。随后,水/CO2乳液与水溶液混合形成脂质体 [8]。图2展示了超临界流体辅助脂质体形成的过程。

超临界二氧化碳与含有溶解磷脂和药物的有机溶剂混合时产生反溶剂效应,诱导前体脂质体的形成。Gang Yang等成功制备了包封水飞蓟素(SM)的胆汁盐-脂质体,平均粒径为160.50 nm,包封率为91.38% [9]。

超临界流体已成功用于制备口服应用的脂质体,其对蛋白质也表现出优异的包封效果。因此,超临界流体可作为开发多肽和蛋白质药物口服脂质体的参考工艺。

包封率和粒径是选择合适制备方法的重要参数,同时尽可能避免有机溶剂对蛋白质的破坏也至关重要。上述工艺在蛋白质包封方面各有优势,与传统方法相比,大多数工艺具有较高的包封率和相对稳定的粒径。

## 5. 稳定性策略

口服载体在胃肠道中面临极端pH变化(从胃的酸性环境到肠道的中性或碱性环境)以及消化酶(如磷脂酶、胰脂肪酶和胆固醇酯酶)和胆汁盐的综合不利影响 [37]。这些条件会影响脂质体的稳定性。例如,磷脂酶C和D均可切割磷脂酰胆碱分子中磷酸酯的磷氧键,产生二酰甘油或磷脂酸。二酰甘油可引起大规模的脂质重排和相变,导致膜厚度变化和脂质体分解 [38]。

脂质体可通过多种表面修饰来抵抗胃肠道的恶劣生理环境,如图3所示。更多细节见表2。

### 5.1. 改变脂质体膜组成

糖基甘油二烷基四醚(GCTE)具有抗水解和氧化的刚性结构。将其嵌入磷脂双分子层可稳定脂质膜,使其抵抗胃酸和胰蛋白酶A2 [39]。Schulze等的研究表明,Myrcludex B——一种在肝脏中特异性聚集的肽 [40]——可被包封在含有5% GCTE的脂质体中。结果显示,口服给予Wistar大鼠后,GCTE-脂质体显著增强了碘-131标记的Myrcludex B在肝脏的摄取,约为普通脂质体的三倍 [25]。

一些植物甾醇与胆固醇结构相似,与DPPC的酰基链具有更强的范德华相互作用,使脂质体能够抵抗胃肠道(GIT)的生理环境;引入阴离子磷脂并嵌入麦角甾醇的脂质双分子层表现出优异的稳定性。先前实验表明,游离胰岛素在15分钟内几乎完全降解,而包封在甾醇脂质体中的胰岛素在模拟肠液中4小时后仍可保留70%以上。在单层Caco-2细胞转运实验中也观察到Er-Lip的最高转运效率 [41]。

### 5.2. 嵌入胆汁盐

将胆汁盐嵌入脂质双分子层可减缓内源性胆汁对载体的乳化作用。Niu等的研究中,采用逆相蒸发法制备了含有甘氨胆酸钠(SGC)的脂质体,以胰岛素为模型药物。结果表明,SGC-脂质体包封的胰岛素在非糖尿病和糖尿病大鼠中的生物利用度分别约为8.5%和11.0%。在Wistar大鼠灌胃实验中,口服给药后10小时血糖最大降低63%,约20小时恢复正常 [42]。

### 5.3. 表面包衣策略

表面修饰可通过在脂质体磷脂与酶之间形成接触屏障,显著提高脂质体在肠道中的稳定性 [43]。

用壳聚糖-硫代乙醇酸聚合物包衣的脂质体可增强表面黏附性和渗透性,并抑制脂质降解。已测试了不同分子量(77 KD和150 KD)的壳聚糖-硫代乙醇酸以及壳聚糖-硫代乙醇酸-6-巯基烟酰胺偶联物(CS-TGA150-MNA)修饰的脂质体在模拟胃液(SGF)和模拟肠液(SIF)中的稳定性。脂质体在SGF中具有良好的稳定性,CS-TGA修饰的脂质体在SIF中释放速率较慢,证明了CS-TGA包衣对胰蛋白酶的抵抗作用 [44]。

脂质体表面的亲水性二氧化硅纳米粒可形成界面层,延缓药物释放并减缓消化酶的脂解作用。通过TFH法制备含胰岛素的脂质体,离心浓缩后与超纯水中的梯度浓度二氧化硅纳米粒混合,制备二氧化硅包衣脂质体。在SIF中,二氧化硅包衣脂质体的脂解率显著降低。在SGF中,亲水性二氧化硅纳米粒延缓了胰岛素的释放并增强了脂质体的稳定性 [45]。

### 5.4. 多样化剂型

海藻酸盐在存在多价阳离子时具有独特的凝胶形成特性;将其与含有蜂毒的脂质体悬浮液混合,滴入氯化钙溶液中形成负载蜂毒脂质体的海藻酸钙凝胶微球,并在表面包覆Eudragit S100以抵抗胃酸和消化酶对纳米粒的侵蚀。体外释放结果表明,在pH 1.2时蜂毒几乎不释放,而在pH 6.8和pH 7.4时蜂毒释放被触发。γ闪烁研究表明,99m Tc-MIBI标记的蜂毒平均小肠转运时间为3.5 ± 0.5小时。给药后4小时药物在结肠释放,表明药物在胃液和肠液中的稳定性 [46]。

如前所述,已采用微流控技术制备了包封胰岛素的壳聚糖包衣脂质体(InsLip-CHT)。此外,通过双乳液微流控方法获得了Ins@MPs;纳米粒被包封在含有羟丙基甲基纤维素醋酸琥珀酸酯(HPMCAS-MF)的双乳液中,以提高纳米粒在胃肠道中的稳定性。Ins@MPs在模拟肠液(SIF,pH 6.8)中表现出响应性释放,在SGF(pH 1.2)中几乎不释放。使用Caco-2和HT29-MTX细胞系评估Ins@MPs的肠道渗透性。观察到Ins@MPs的Papp远高于游离胰岛素(Papp为2.27 × 10−5 cm·s−1),同时跨上皮电阻(TEER)降低。作为荧光探针,4-(4-二十六烷基氨基苯乙烯基)-N-甲基吡啶碘化物(DiA)被包封在壳聚糖脂质体(DiALip-CHT)中,加速了细胞的内在化 [11]。

**表2 脂质体的组成以及包封的多肽/蛋白质和磷脂的酶稳定性**

| API | 磷脂 | 保护脂质体免受GIT损伤的策略 | 性质 | EE (%) ± SD | MD (nm) ± SD | Zeta (mv) ± SD | 参考文献 | |-----|------|--------------------------|------|-------------|--------------|----------------|---------| | Myrcludex B | EPC | 将抗水解和氧化的GCTE嵌入磷脂双分子层 | Myrcludex B初始剂量的至少7%被吸收,口服有效性提高3.5倍 | 65.7 ± 2.9 | 140.7 ± 4.3 | −4.2 ± 0.5 | [25] | | rhINS | SPC DPPG Chol | 使用与磷脂相互作用更强的植物甾醇替代胆固醇 | 在SGF中4小时后,Er-lip保留了70%以上的胰岛素;血糖水平可降低至初始值的约60%并维持低水平8小时 | 30 ± 2.0 | 157.1 ± 0.4 | −60.5 ± 9.8 | [41] | | rhINS | SPC | GCA能够减少脂质体在GIT中的降解并促进脂质颗粒的内化 | 口服生物利用度高达11.0%,具有温和持久的降血糖作用 | 35 ± 2.1 | 358 ± 28.0 | - | [42] | | 降钙素 | PC DSPG Chol | 表面修饰的CPP和TMC促进了脂质体的细胞摄取 | 有效增强了降钙素的口服吸收 | 80 ± 2.0 | 118 ± 18.0 | −27.1 ± 5.8 | [47] | | FID | DPPC DPPE-MCC | 含硫醇基团修饰的壳聚糖包衣增强了脂质体的黏附和渗透性,抑制了酶对脂质膜的降解 | Papp比初始值强2.8–3.4倍 | - | 702.6 ± 138.0 | 8.62 ± 1.4 | [44] | | 胰岛素 | DPPC | 二氧化硅包衣将脂质体与消化酶隔离 | 二氧化硅包衣能够降低脂解率并持续释放药物长达8小时 | 70.0 | 297 ± 0.4 | −15 ± 4.0 | [45] | | 蜂毒 | PC | 将脂质体包封在Eudragit S100包衣的海藻酸钙凝胶微球中,以减缓脂质体在非特异性部位的药物泄漏 | 脂质体在结肠完成药物释放并在GIT中保持结构完整性 | 95.36 ± 0.3 | 2.05 ± 0.7 mm | - | [46] | | rhINS | E-PC | 将壳聚糖包衣的脂质体通过"两步"微流控技术包封在双乳液中 | 表现出pH响应性释放特性并加速包封胰岛素的细胞内化 | 91 ± 4.0% | 19 ± 1.0 μm | - | [11] |

DPPE-MCC,1,2-二棕榈酰-sn-甘油-3-磷酸乙醇胺-N-[4-(对马来酰亚胺甲基)环己烷-甲酰胺];FID,异硫氰酸荧光素-葡聚糖;rhINS,重组人胰岛素;GCA,甘氨胆酸;CS-TGA,壳聚糖-硫代乙醇酸;CS-TGA-MNA,壳聚糖-硫代乙醇酸-6-巯基烟酰胺偶联物;CPPs,细胞穿透肽;TMC,N-三甲基壳聚糖氯化物;Er-lip,麦角甾醇修饰的脂质体;E-PC,蛋黄磷脂酰胆碱。

## 6. 受体介导的肠上皮细胞跨膜转运

通常,多肽和蛋白质药物可通过跨细胞途径(穿过细胞)、旁细胞途径(细胞之间)以及内吞作用从肠腔进入体循环,如图4所示。

用Fc结构域结合肽(FcBP)对脂质体表面进行修饰以靶向新生儿Fc受体(FcRns),可增加脂质体在肠上皮细胞顶膜侧的内吞作用以及基底外侧的外排作用。Yu等采用薄膜水化法制备了FcBP修饰的胰岛素脂质体。Caco-2细胞摄取实验显示,在pH 6.0时内吞作用最大,而在pH 7.4时FcBP-Lip的外排显著升高。此外,INS-FcBP-Lip产生了显著的降血糖效果,血糖水平最大降低47.87% [20]。

肠上皮细胞上存在丰富的叶酸受体,因此将叶酸与脂质体结合可提高药物的有效摄取。例如,Yazdi等制备了叶酸修饰的载胰岛素脂质体;在Caco-2细胞摄取实验中,叶酸偶联脂质体对125I标记胰岛素的摄取增加了1.2–1.5倍,生物利用度提高至19.08% [48]。

此外,嵌入脂质体双分子层的胆汁盐通过胆汁酸转运蛋白促进颗粒在小肠中的内化和吸收。荧光成像显示,包封在SGC-脂质体中的荧光标记胰岛素在GIT中荧光最强且持续时间最长。在单层Caco-2细胞转运实验中,SGC-脂质体存在时跨上皮电阻(TEER)显著降低,显示出有效的旁细胞渗透性并增强小肠上皮细胞的摄取 [49]。

如前所述,CS-TGA150-MNA包衣可增强脂质体的稳定性;同样也观察到其促进脂质体细胞内化的作用。根据体内小肠转运实验,具有该包衣的脂质体Papp最高,约为空白对照的4.2倍,且CS-TGA包衣降低了跨上皮电阻(TEER)值。硫醇化聚合物间接抑制蛋白酪氨酸磷酸酶(PTP),从而打开细胞间紧密连接,增强脂质体的摄取 [44]。

## 7. 小肠-淋巴循环避免首过效应

肝脏是最大的网状内皮系统(RES)器官;几乎所有(约85%)的纳米粒都将在肝脏单核吞噬细胞系统(MPS)中蓄积 [50]。其强大的代谢能力使经历了胃肠道侵蚀的纳米粒无法发挥作用。因此,有必要寻求一条绕过肝脏进入体循环的途径,以避免首过效应(first-pass effect)对活性药物成分(API)的破坏。

肠道淋巴转运被认为是一种替代性药物递送策略。靶向微褶细胞(M细胞)或形成乳糜微粒(CMs)可介导API通过肠道相关淋巴组织进入体循环 [51]。例如,对人类无毒的霍乱毒素B亚基(CTB)和荆豆凝集素1(UEA-1)均可特异性靶向M细胞 [52, 53]。FITC标记的表面修饰UEA-1脂质体对派伊尔斑M细胞显示出更强的黏合性。体内实验表明,口服给予包封在UEA-1修饰脂质体中的乙肝表面抗原(HBsAg)在肠道中诱导了最高水平的sIgA。作为GIT中存在的主要抗体类型,sIgA含量的上调表明靶向M细胞加速了脂质体在肠道中的吸收 [53]。

口服摄入的脂质体在磷脂酶和胆汁盐存在下形成胶束,随后经历一系列细胞内过程形成乳糜微粒。脂质类型、脂质链的长度和饱和度以及所载药物的logP值对乳糜微粒的形成具有潜在作用 [54]。文献中多项研究表明,logP > 5且在甘油三酯(TG)中溶解度大于50 mg/g的药物有利于乳糜微粒的淋巴转运 [55]。

饱和、单不饱和和多不饱和脂质在淋巴转运模式中有所不同。一般而言,不饱和度增加的脂质似乎更优先促进脂质淋巴转运 [56]。Caliph等表明,卤泛群(Hf)的淋巴转运高度依赖于共同给药的甘油三酯脂质的链长。较长的链导致较高的吸收,提示应选择长链磷脂来促进淋巴循环 [57]。

## 8. 抑制P-gp和CYP3A4

进入小肠上皮后,脂质体受到P-糖蛋白(P-gp)外排和CYP3A4代谢的影响,这两种蛋白广泛分布于肠黏膜和肝细胞中,是BCS II类和IV类药物生物利用度降低的最显著因素 [58, 59]。

通过用P-gp抑制剂修饰脂质体或用聚合物(如吐温80、Cremophor EL或维生素E TPGS)包衣表面,可避免CYP3A4和P-gp的协同作用。三种非离子表面活性剂吐温80、Cremophor EL和维生素E TPGS均表现出对P-gp特异性底物R123的渗透抑制作用。不同之处在于,维生素E TPGS降低了基底外侧到顶侧(BL-AP)的渗透性,而吐温80和Cremophor EL则缓慢降低顶侧到基底外侧的渗透性。

Gly-sar被用作肽转运蛋白hPepT-1的底物,仅吐温80以浓度依赖性方式降低Gly-sar的渗透性。苯甲酸被用作单羧酸转运蛋白(MCT)的底物,结果显示仅Cremophor EL降低苯甲酸的转运。选择合适的非离子表面活性剂混合到脂质双分子层中可增强药物的生物利用度和组织分布 [60, 61]。

吐温80显著抑制人原代肝细胞(HPH)中CYP3A4蛋白表达达70%。小肠上皮细胞中也存在大量CYP3A4酶;将其混合到脂质双分子层中可延缓小肠细胞对脂质体的代谢 [62, 63]。

纳米粒组分也调节细胞色素P450的酶活性,由PLGA(丙交酯-乙交酯共聚物)组成的纳米粒对CYP2B和CYP3A有轻微抑制作用。无机二氧化硅纳米粒也观察到相同的抑制作用,其抑制作用表现出尺寸依赖性,30 nm二氧化硅纳米粒的抑制水平高达73% [63]。

利用这些特性,可以优化脂质体,以最小化小肠上皮细胞在药物吸收进入血液前对药物的代谢影响 [64]。

## 9. 结论

近年来,治疗性多肽口服递送纳米制剂的研究急剧增加。根据所采用的制备工艺和后处理技术,脂质体可具有不同的性质。我们可以选择合适的制备工艺来形成所需的脂质体,如小单层囊泡(SUVs)、大单层囊泡(LUVs)或多层囊泡(MLVs)。

对于后处理技术,可通过聚合物包衣或与磷脂分子具有更强相互作用的小分子化合物来增强双分子层的刚性;这适用于化学结构脆弱的药物(如多肽和蛋白质)的口服递送。脂质体与其他剂型联合给药在胃肠道稳定性方面表现出更具吸引力的优势,例如上述的双乳液和海藻酸盐颗粒均含有脂质体。

然而,脂质体在小肠上皮中的吸收同样是一个需要重视的问题。经各种靶点修饰的脂质体在肠道中表现出更高的渗透性;尽管通过小肠吸收进入血液的脂质载体不可避免地失去其原始膜结构,但隐藏在脂质体中的多肽和蛋白质将面临肝脏的强大代谢,从而失去功能。小肠淋巴循环无疑是避免药物失活代谢的最佳选择。

了解脂质体口服吸收的过程有助于设计更高效的递送系统,以提高口服多肽的生物利用度。这将是我们未来的研究重点。

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**出版商声明:** MDPI对已出版地图和机构隶属关系中的管辖权主张保持中立。

**作者贡献:** 文献收集、初稿撰写,J.C.;初稿撰写,Z.W.;审阅和编辑,W.Z.;审阅和编辑,W.W.。所有作者均已阅读并同意稿件的发表版本。

**机构审查委员会声明:** 不适用。

**知情同意声明:** 不适用。

**数据可用性声明:** 不适用数据共享。

**利益冲突:** 作者声明无利益冲突。

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**缩写词:**

EE,包封效率;MD,平均粒径;SD,标准差;Papp,表观渗透系数;TEER,跨上皮电阻;API,活性药物成分;SGF,模拟胃液;SIF,模拟肠液;Ins@MPs,包封在双乳液中的脂质体;99m Tc-MIBI,甲氧异腈;Er-lip,麦角甾醇修饰的脂质体;SGC-Liposome,甘氨胆酸钠修饰的脂质体;Gly-sar,甘氨酰肌氨酸。

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**基金资助:** 本研究由广西自然科学基金资助(编号:2020GXNSFAA297133),同时获得广西高等学校千名中青年骨干教师培育计划的支持。