Wound healing is a complex process, which ultimately leads to
fibrosis if not repaired well. Pathologically very similar to
fibrosis is the
tumor stroma, found in several solid
tumors which are regarded as
wounds that do not heal.
Integrins are heterodimeric surface receptors which control various physiological cellular functions. Additionally,
integrins also sense ECM-induced extracellular changes during pathological events, leading to cellular responses, which influence ECM remodeling. The purpose and scope of this review is to introduce
integrins as key targets for
therapeutics and drug delivery within the scope of wound healing,
fibrosis and the
tumor stroma. This review provides a general introduction to the biology of
integrins including their types,
ligands, means of signaling and interaction with
growth factor receptors. Furthermore, we highlight
integrins as key targets for
therapeutics and drug delivery, based on their biological role, expression pattern within human tissues and at cellular level. Next, therapeutic approaches targeting
integrins, with a focus on clinical studies, and targeted drug delivery strategies based on
ligands are described.