Introduction: Oral delivery of peptide drugs is limited by poor gastrointestinal absorption, necessitating new strategies beyond conventional chemical permeation enhancers (CPEs) like sodium caprate (C10). Biological permeation enhancers (BPEs), inspired by natural membrane permeation strategies utilized by pathogens, offer a promising path to develop more potent agents. Phospholipases C (PLC), which hydrolyze membrane phospholipids (1), have been shown to disrupt epithelial integrity and increase drug absorption (2). In this study, we evaluated the permeability enhancing potential of Clostridium perfringens PLC (cpPLC) in vitro.
Learning Objectives:
1. Explain how enzymes can modulate epithelial barrier permeability.
2. Discuss the importance of TEER reversibility when evaluating BPE.
