Novel drug delivery systems for hirudin-based product development and clinical applications
Systematic review published in International journal of biological macromolecules (2025)
Abstract
Hirudin, a natural biological polypeptide macromolecule secreted by the salivary glands of medicinal leech, is a specific thrombin inhibitor with multiple favourable bioactivities, including anti-coagulation, anti-fibrotic, and anti-tumour. Despite several anticoagulants have been widely applied in clinic, hirudin shows advantages in reducing the incidence of bleeding side effects by virtue of its high specificity in binding to thrombin. As a result, hirudin has been tested in clinical practice to prevent and treat several complex diseases. However, the application of this polypeptide macromolecule is compromised by its low bioavailability and bioactivity due to poor serum stability and susceptibility to protease degradation in vivo. To overcome these drawbacks, several studies have proposed novel drug delivery systems (NDDSs) to prevent the degradation and increase the targeting efficiency of hirudin. This systematic review summarises the clinical research on hirudin, including its classification and bioactivities, and highlights the opportunities and challenges in the clinical use of hirudin. The NDDSs designed to enhance the bioavailability and bioactivity of hirudin are discussed to explore its application in the treatment of related diseases. This review may considerably contribute to the advancement of delivery science and technology, particularly in the context of polypeptide-based therapeutics.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Resumen
Hirudin, a natural biological polypeptide macromolecule secreted by the salivary glands of medicinal leech, is a specific thrombin inhibitor with multiple favourable bioactivities, including anti-coagulation, anti-fibrotic, and anti-tumour.
Por qué esto importa para la hirudoterapia
Esta revisión sistemática resume la investigación clínica sobre la hirudina —un polipéptido secretado por las glándulas salivales de las sanguijuelas medicinales que funciona como un inhibidor específico de la trombina con bioactividades anticoagulantes, antifibróticas y antitumorales— y examina los nuevos sistemas de liberación de fármacos (NDDSs) propuestos para superar su escasa estabilidad en suero y su susceptibilidad a la degradación por proteasas in vivo. El tema es centralmente relevante para la hirudoterapia y el dominio de ASH porque la hirudina es un constituyente bioactivo clave del secretoma salivar de la sanguijuela, y la revisión aborda directamente los desafíos farmacéuticos en la traducción de este péptido derivado de la sanguijuela hacia terapéuticos eficaces mediante la mejora de la biodisponibilidad y la eficiencia de dirigirse al objetivo. Como revisión sistemática, sintetiza la literatura existente en lugar de generar nuevos datos experimentales o clínicos; el resumen no proporciona resultados cuantitativos específicos, resultados de eficacia comparativa o métricas de desempeño para NDDSs individuales.
Citación
Novel drug delivery systems for hirudin-based product development and clinical applications.
Mo L et al. · International journal of biological macromolecules, 2025
Contexto clínico relacionado
Explore cómo esta investigación se conecta con la práctica clínica
Añadido a la biblioteca ASH: March 18, 2026 · Última actualización del sitio: June 18, 2026