Combinatorial vascular targeting in translational medicine.

In the post-genomic era, the phage display technology surfaces as an alternative approach for large-scale study of tissue-specific protein interactions with direct clinical and therapeutic applications. The unbiased identification of molecular complexes expressed on the surface of cells and blood vessels of organs and tissues may eventually lead to a considerably improved understanding of cellular and vascular proteomics. The ultimate value of this technology consists in the conception of a new ligand-directed pharmacology, with broad implications for both treatment and molecular imaging of cancer patients. In this review, we describe the use and applications of phage display for efficient development of targeted drug discovery and design.