Pulmonary Delivery for miRs: Present and Future Potential

Abstract

Administration through the respiratory tract can be advantageous, with high drug bioavailability, limited enzymatic activity, reduced dose requirements compared to oral, and potentially diminished side effects. Among the different types of drugs studied for pulmonary delivery, genetic material delivery has gained favorable scientific interest, using polymer-, lipid-, inorganic-, or vector-based nanocarriers. As pulmonary drug delivery has been associated with challenges, including physiological barriers and lung metabolism, the delivery of sensitive molecules such as nucleic acids can exacerbate these challenges. While short-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) have been extensively reported as suitable ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi) candidates for pulmonary delivery, discussion on micro-RNA (miR) pulmonary delivery is limited despite their significant therapeutic potential. Recently, these non-coding RNAs have been explored in targeted or non-targeted pulmonary administration against various diseases. This review addresses the information gap on miR-pulmonary delivery with updated and concentrated literature. We briefly discuss the barriers to lung administration, describe different functional nanocarriers for miR delivery, and provide an extensive literature update on the different miRs and their targeted diseases currently being studied.