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REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Drug Metabolism and Transport
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1565382
The role of transcytosis in the blood-retina barrier: from pathophysiological functions to drug delivery
Provisionally accepted
Chun-lin Zhang 1
Jing-Jie Ma 1 Xiang Li 1 Hai-Qing Yan 1 Yong-Kun Gui 1 Zhi-Xin Yan 1
Ming-feng You 2* Ping Zhang 1*- 1 The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, Henan Province, China
- 2 Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, Guizhou Province, China
The blood-retina barrier (BRB) serves as a critical interface that separates the retina from the circulatory system, playing an essential role in preserving the homeostasis of the microenvironment within the retina. Specialized tight junctions and limited vesicle trafficking restrict paracellular and transcellular transport, respectively, thereby maintaining BRB barrier properties. Additionally, transcytosis of macromolecules through retinal vascular endothelial cells constitutes a primary mechanism for transporting substances from the vascular compartment into the surrounding tissue. This review summarizes the fundamental aspects of transcytosis including its function in the healthy retina, the biochemical properties of transcytosis, and the methodologies used to study this process. Furthermore, we discuss the current understanding of transcytosis in the context of pathological BRB breakdown and present recent findings that highlight significant advances in drug delivery to the retina based on transcytosis.
Keywords: Transcytosis, blood-retina barrier, Barrier function, Vascular Leakage, Drug delivery
Received: 24 Jan 2025; Accepted: 31 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Ma, Li, Yan, Gui, Yan, You and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Ming-feng You, Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550004, Guizhou Province, China
Ping Zhang, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, 453100, Henan Province, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.