Potential application of plant lipid transfer proteins for drug delivery

Ligand-binding proteins show an increasing interest as drug carriers and de livery systems [Wolf FA, Brett GM. Pharmacol Rev, 2000;52:207-36]. The wide binding properties of plant non-specific lipid transfer proteins such as L TP1 also offer many unexplored possibilities for such a task. In the presen t paper, by using intrinsic tyrosine LTP1 fluorescence, we survey, for the first time, the binding of wheat LTP1 with various ligands having cosmetic or pharmaceutical applications. LTP1 was found to bind skin lipids such as sphingosine, sphingomyelin, and cerebroside with an affinity of about one m icromolar, low enough to allow a slow release of these molecules. Ether pho spholipids and an azole derivative BD56 having antitumoral and/or antileish mania properties were also shown to bind LTP1 with similar affinity. Finall y, amphotericin B, which is widely used as an antifungal drug, was shown to form a complex with LTP1, although no affinity could be determined. This b inding study is a prerequisite for further work aimed at developing applica tions in LTP-mediated transport and controlled release of low molecular wei ght drugs. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.