2026-06-12 マサチューセッツ工科大学（MIT）
In these images of human esophageal tissue, green staining shows E-cadherin, a protein involved in maintaining connections between epithelial cells. In untreated tissue (top row), the E-cadherin signal is strong, reflecting an intact epithelial barrier. After treatment with a gel-like drug formulation (bottom row), the E-cadherin signal is reduced, suggesting a temporary loosening of cell–cell junctions. Credit: Courtesy of the researchers
＜関連情報＞
- https://news.mit.edu/2026/mit-engineers-find-way-to-deliver-drugs-directly-to-esophagus-0612
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41551-026-01685-9
生物製剤の保持および粘膜吸収を評価するための食道組織スクリーニングシステム Oesophageal tissue screening system for assessing the retention and mucosal absorption of biologics
Christina Karavasili,Thomas Young,Alvin Chan,Nikhil Lal,Charmaine Jacqueline Chang,Lena Neufeld,Shriya Rangaswamy,Yuebin Huang,Jonathan Woo,Stephanie Owyang,Andrew Pettinari,Ashley Guevara,Ben Laidlaw,Niora Fabian,Alison Hayward & Giovanni Traverso
Nature Biomedical Engineering Published:12 June 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-026-01685-9
Abstract
Drug delivery to the oesophagus poses unique challenges, including rapid transit time due to gravity and the presence of a stratified squamous non-keratinized epithelium. Here, to rapidly identify formulations of excipients for enhanced drug delivery to the oesophagus, we developed an oesophageal tissue screening system consisting of specialized custom plates, to incorporate gravity effects, and excised oesophageal mucosa tissues. Using the screening system, we built an excipient library identifying the most effective non-toxic permeation enhancers and selected the formulation that could prolong the retention on the oesophageal mucosa. We identified an absorption enhancer that resulted in a 876-fold increase in the oesophageal transport of a model drug (4 kDa) in pig tissue. We validated this formulation in human oesophageal tissue and in vivo in pigs with the model drug and infliximab (149 kDa), demonstrating enhanced permeability. We characterized the mechanism of the approach, noting its capacity for enhanced delivery without causing cellular disruption of the oesophageal tissue. The oesophageal tissue screening system shows promise for high-throughput screening of effective oesophageal drug delivery systems.
