One of the biggest problems in the pharmaceutical industry is getting drugs, especially large protein molecules, into appropriate tissues and cells. They accomplished this by adapting the cells own targeting equipment. Once inside, the proteins functioned normally, overcoming yet another challenge. The technique is simple and inexpensive, and not surprisingly, it has already attracted the attention of several pharmaceutical companies.
Proteins manufactured inside our cells each have a specific destination within or outside the cell.
Often, this destination is specified on the protein like a mailing label on an envelope. The researchers have used this technique to import relatively large proteins. Currently, pharmaceutical companies try to keep drug molecules small so they are easily absorbed. By enabling the import of much larger proteins, Dr. Lin s technique may not only increase the ability of existing drugs to reach their targets, but may also open up new avenues for drug and vaccine development. For example, diseases like cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia that result from defects in a single protein could theoretically be treated by importing normal versions of the defective proteins.