Semin Thromb Hemost 2022; 48(08): 949-954
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1749395
Review Article

Heparin: The Journey from Parenteral Agent to Nasal Delivery

Giovanni Carpenè*
1   Section of Clinical Biochemistry and School of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
,
Davide Negrini*
1   Section of Clinical Biochemistry and School of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
,
Giuseppe Lippi
1   Section of Clinical Biochemistry and School of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
,
2   Department of Haematology, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research (ICPMR), NSW Health Pathology, Westmead Hospital, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
3   Sydney Centres for Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Westmead, New South Wales, Australia
4   Faculty of Science and Health, Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia
,
Martina Montagnana
1   Section of Clinical Biochemistry and School of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
› Institutsangaben

Abstract

Although the worldwide usage of direct oral anticoagulants has continuously increased over the past decade, heparin remains an important weapon in the current arsenal of anticoagulant drugs. Parenteral heparin administration (i.e., either intravenously or subcutaneously) has represented for decades the only possible route for generating a significant anticoagulant effect, although being notoriously associated with some important drawbacks such as discomfort and risk of low compliance, thus paving the way to searching for more amenable means of administration. We provide here an updated analysis of animal and human studies that have explored the feasibility, suitability, and efficiency of heparin administration through the unconventional nasal route, as a possible alternative to the more traditional parenteral injection. The major hurdles that contribute to impair intranasal absorption and systemic delivery of heparin are represented by its relatively high molecular weight and negative charge. Therefore, although pure drug administration would not be associated with efficient nasal adsorption, or by systemic biological activity (i.e., anticoagulant effect), the combination of low molecular weight heparins and absorption enhancers such as surfactants, mucoadhesive, cyclodextrins, polyethylenimines and encapsulation into (nano)carriers seems effective to at least partially improve drug transport through the nasal route and allow systemic delivery in animals. Besides generating anticoagulant effects, intranasal heparin administration can also produce local pleiotropic effects, mostly related to anti-inflammatory properties, such as attenuating airway allergic inflammation or inhibiting the binding of the spike protein of some coronaviruses (including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) to their host cell receptors. This preliminary evidence represents a valuable premise for planning future studies in humans aimed at establishing the pharmacokinetics and biological activity of locally and systemically delivered intranasal heparin formulations.

* Equally contributed to this work.




Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
22. Juni 2022

© 2022. Thieme. All rights reserved.

Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
333 Seventh Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10001, USA

 
  • References

  • 1 McLean J. The thromboplastic action of cephalin. Am J Physiol 1916; 41: 250-257
  • 2 Howell WH, Holt E. Two new factors in blood coagulation—heparin and pro-antithrombin. Am J Physiol 1918; 47: 328-341
  • 3 Brinkhous KM, Smith HP, Warner ED, Seegers WH. The inhibition of blood clotting: an unidentified substance which acts in conjunction with heparin to prevent the conversion of prothrombin into thrombin. Am J Physiol 1939; 125: 683-687
  • 4 Hirsh J, Anand SS, Halperin JL, Fuster V. American Heart Association. Guide to anticoagulant therapy: heparin: a statement for healthcare professionals from the American Heart Association. Circulation 2001; 103 (24) 2994-3018
  • 5 Danielsson A, Raub E, Lindahl U, Björk I. Role of ternary complexes, in which heparin binds both antithrombin and proteinase, in the acceleration of the reactions between antithrombin and thrombin or factor Xa. J Biol Chem 1986; 261 (33) 15467-15473
  • 6 Casu B, Oreste P, Torri G. et al. The structure of heparin oligosaccharide fragments with high anti-(factor Xa) activity containing the minimal antithrombin III-binding sequence. Chemical and 13C nuclear-magnetic-resonance studies. Biochem J 1981; 197 (03) 599-609
  • 7 Hirsh J, Warkentin TE, Shaughnessy SG. et al. Heparin and low-molecular-weight heparin: mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics, dosing, monitoring, efficacy, and safety. Chest 2001; 119 (1, Suppl): 64S-94S
  • 8 Holmer E, Kurachi K, Söderström G. The molecular-weight dependence of the rate-enhancing effect of heparin on the inhibition of thrombin, factor Xa, factor IXa, factor XIa, factor XIIa and kallikrein by antithrombin. Biochem J 1981; 193 (02) 395-400
  • 9 de Swart CA, Nijmeyer B, Roelofs JM, Sixma JJ. Kinetics of intravenously administered heparin in normal humans. Blood 1982; 60 (06) 1251-1258
  • 10 Favaloro EJ, Kershaw G, Mohammed S, Lippi G. How to optimize activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) testing: solutions to establishing and verifying normal reference intervals and assessing APTT reagents for sensitivity to heparin, lupus anticoagulant, and clotting factors. Semin Thromb Hemost 2019; 45 (01) 22-35
  • 11 Morabia A. Heparin doses and major bleedings. Lancet 1986; 1 (8492): 1278-1279
  • 12 Frydman AM, Bara L, Le Roux Y, Woler M, Chauliac F, Samama MM. The antithrombotic activity and pharmacokinetics of enoxaparine, a low molecular weight heparin, in humans given single subcutaneous doses of 20 to 80 mg. J Clin Pharmacol 1988; 28 (07) 609-618
  • 13 Warkentin TE, Levine MN, Hirsh J. et al. Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia in patients treated with low-molecular-weight heparin or unfractionated heparin. N Engl J Med 1995; 332 (20) 1330-1335
  • 14 Shaughnessy SG, Young E, Deschamps P, Hirsh J. The effects of low molecular weight and standard heparin on calcium loss from fetal rat calvaria. Blood 1995; 86 (04) 1368-1373
  • 15 Palm M, Mattsson C. Pharmacokinetics of heparin and low molecular weight heparin fragment (Fragmin) in rabbits with impaired renal or metabolic clearance. Thromb Haemost 1987; 58 (03) 932-935
  • 16 Mengiardi S, Tsakiris DA, Lampert ML, Hersberger KE. Drug use problems with self-injected low-molecular-weight heparins in primary care. Eur J Clin Pharmacol 2011; 67 (02) 109-120
  • 17 Anselmo AC, Gokarn Y, Mitragotri S. Non-invasive delivery strategies for biologics. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2019; 18 (01) 19-40
  • 18 Laffleur F, Bauer B. Progress in nasal drug delivery systems. Int J Pharm 2021; 607: 120994
  • 19 Sayani AP, Chien YW. Systemic delivery of peptides and proteins across absorptive mucosae. Crit Rev Ther Drug Carrier Syst 1996; 13 (1-2): 85-184
  • 20 Oreste P, Stella P, Zoppetti G. Detection of the low molecular weight heparin component of ITF 1300 in urines after intranasal administration to dogs. Semin Thromb Hemost 1994; 20 (03) 293-296
  • 21 Monzani MV, Coltro G, Sala A. HPLC determination of ITF 188 and its metabolite ITF 1078 in urine after intranasal administration of new heparin salt ITF 1300 to dogs. Boll Chim Farm 1997; 136 (03) 272-274
  • 22 Arnold J, Ahsan F, Meezan E, Pillion DJ. Nasal administration of low molecular weight heparin. J Pharm Sci 2002; 91 (07) 1707-1714
  • 23 Bianchini P, Bergonzini GL, Parma B, Osima B. Relationship between plasma antifactor Xa activity and the antithrombotic activity of heparins of different molecular mass. Haemostasis 1995; 25 (06) 288-298
  • 24 Mustafa F, Yang T, Khan MA, Ahsan F. Chain length-dependent effects of alkylmaltosides on nasal absorption of enoxaparin. J Pharm Sci 2004; 93 (03) 675-683
  • 25 Yang T, Mustafa F, Ahsan F. Alkanoylsucroses in nasal delivery of low molecular weight heparins: in-vivo absorption and reversibility studies in rats. J Pharm Pharmacol 2004; 56 (01) 53-60
  • 26 Yang T, Hussain A, Paulson J, Abbruscato TJ, Ahsan F. Cyclodextrins in nasal delivery of low-molecular-weight heparins: in vivo and in vitro studies. Pharm Res 2004; 21 (07) 1127-1136
  • 27 Yildiz A, Okyar A, Baktir G, Araman A, Özsoy Y. Nasal administration of heparin-loaded microspheres based on poly(lactic acid). Farmaco 2005; 60 (11-12): 919-924
  • 28 Yang T, Hussain A, Bai S, Khalil IA, Harashima H, Ahsan F. Positively charged polyethylenimines enhance nasal absorption of the negatively charged drug, low molecular weight heparin. J Control Release 2006; 115 (03) 289-297
  • 29 Lider O, Mekori YA, Miller T. et al. Inhibition of T lymphocyte heparanase by heparin prevents T cell migration and T cell-mediated immunity. Eur J Immunol 1990; 20 (03) 493-499
  • 30 Matzner Y, Marx G, Drexler R, Eldor A. The inhibitory effect of heparin and related glycosaminoglycans on neutrophil chemotaxis. Thromb Haemost 1984; 52 (02) 134-137
  • 31 Ekre HPT, Fjellner B, Hägermark O. Inhibition of complement dependent experimental inflammation in human skin by different heparin fractions. Int J Immunopharmacol 1986; 8 (03) 277-286
  • 32 Bowler SD, Smith SM, Lavercombe PS. Heparin inhibits the immediate response to antigen in the skin and lungs of allergic subjects. Am Rev Respir Dis 1993; 147 (01) 160-163
  • 33 Ahmed T, Garrigo J, Danta I. Preventing bronchoconstriction in exercise-induced asthma with inhaled heparin. N Engl J Med 1993; 329 (02) 90-95
  • 34 Vancheri C, Mastruzzo C, Armato F. et al. Intranasal heparin reduces eosinophil recruitment after nasal allergen challenge in patients with allergic rhinitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2001; 108 (05) 703-708
  • 35 Ogawa T, Shimizu S, Tojima I, Kouzaki H, Shimizu T. Heparin inhibits mucus hypersecretion in airway epithelial cells. Am J Rhinol Allergy 2011; 25 (02) 69-74
  • 36 Ogawa T, Shimizu S, Shimizu T. The effect of heparin on antigen-induced mucus hypersecretion in the nasal epithelium of sensitized rats. Allergol Int 2013; 62 (01) 77-83
  • 37 Fu LS, Tsai JJ, Chen YJ, Lin HK, Tsai MC, Chang MDT. Heparin protects BALB/c mice from mite-induced airway allergic inflammation. Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol 2013; 26 (02) 349-359
  • 38 Huang JN, Tsai MC, Fang SL. et al. Low-molecular-weight heparin and unfractionated heparin decrease Th-1, 2, and 17 expressions. PLoS One 2014; 9 (11) e109996
  • 39 Lippi G, Sanchis-Gomar F, Henry BM. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): the portrait of a perfect storm. Ann Transl Med 2020; 8 (07) 497
  • 40 Kielian M. Enhancing host cell infection by SARS-CoV-2. Science 2020; 370 (6518): 765-766
  • 41 Evans JP, Liu SL. Role of host factors in SARS-CoV-2 entry. J Biol Chem 2021; 297 (01) 100847
  • 42 Kim SY, Jin W, Sood A. et al. Characterization of heparin and severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike glycoprotein binding interactions. Antiviral Res 2020; 181: 104873
  • 43 Mycroft-West CJ, Su D, Pagani I. et al. Heparin inhibits cellular invasion by sars-cov-2: structural dependence of the interaction of the spike s1 receptor-binding domain with heparin. Thromb Haemost 2020; 120 (12) 1700-1715
  • 44 Tandon R, Sharp JS, Zhang F. et al. Effective inhibition of sars-cov-2 entry by heparin and enoxaparin derivatives. J Virol 2021; 95 (03) e01987 -20
  • 45 Harris HM, Boyet KL, Liu H. et al. Safety and pharmacokinetics of intranasally administered heparin. Pharm Res 2022; 39 (03) 541-551
  • 46 Lippi G, Gosselin R, Favaloro EJ. Current and emerging direct oral anticoagulants: state-of-the-art. Semin Thromb Hemost 2019; 45 (05) 490-501
  • 47 Kurmi BD, Tekchandani P, Paliwal R, Paliwal SR. Nanocarriers in improved heparin delivery: recent updates. Curr Pharm Des 2015; 21 (30) 4509-4518
  • 48 Lippi G, Henry BM, Favaloro EJ. The benefits of heparin use in COVID-19: pleiotropic antiviral activity beyond anticoagulant and anti-inflammatory properties. . Semin Thromb Hemost 2022 (e-Pub ahead of print). DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1742740.