Navigating P‐Selectin for Targeted Drug Delivery and Therapeutic Applications in Cancer and Inflammatory Disorders
P-selectin, a cell adhesion molecule overexpressed in pathological conditions such as inflammation, thrombosis, and cancer, has emerged as a promising biomarker for targeted drug delivery. As a dynamic and disease-specific biomarker, its rapid translocation to cell surfaces upon injury or external stimuli, coupled with minimal expression in healthy tissues, enables precise therapeutic targeting. This review comprehensively examines P-selectin's structural and functional roles in mediating leukocyte adhesion, platelet aggregation, and tumor metastasis, highlighting its potential as a dynamic target for drug delivery systems. We discuss diverse P-selectin-targeting biomaterials, including polysaccharide derivatives, glycomimetics, antibodies, peptides, aptamers, and cell-mimetic carriers, which exploit P-selectin's affinity for its ligands. Advanced delivery systems leveraging these materials demonstrate enhanced efficacy in treating cancers, thrombotic disorders, atherosclerosis, ischemia-reperfusion injuries, rheumatoid arthritis, often synergized with exogenous stimuli (e.g., radiation) to spatiotemporally upregulate P-selectin expression. Challenges such as biodistribution optimization, scalability, and clinical translation are critically analyzed, alongside emerging strategies like dual-targeting and stimuli-responsive designs. By integrating multidisciplinary advances in nanotechnology, biomedical engineering, and biomimetics, P-selectin-based delivery systems offer a transformative approach to precision medicine, bridging mechanistic insights with therapeutic applications for inflammatory and oncological diseases.
Authors
- Yifan Zhao
- Y. Cai
- Lifeng Luo
- Xiaonan Liu
- Qiuyue Chen
- Xiuzhi Wang
- Yiran Zhang
Institutions
- Hangzhou Normal University (CN)
- Drug Discovery Laboratory (Norway) (NO)
- Chongqing Electromechanical Holdings (China) (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Healthcare Materials
- Published
- 2026-02-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.70968
- Primary Topic
- Cell Adhesion Molecules Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00