Extracellular vesicles: emerging anti-cancer drugs and advanced functionalization platforms for cancer therapy

Abstract

Increasing evidences show that unmodified extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from various cells can effectively inhibit the malignant progression of different types of tumors by delivering the bioactive molecules. Therefore, EVs are expected to be developed as emerging anticancer drugs. Meanwhile, unmodified EVs as an advanced and promising nanocarrier that is frequently used in targeted delivery therapeutic cargos and personalized reagents for the treatment and diagnosis of cancer. To improve the efficacy of EV-based treatments, researchers are trying to engineering EVs as an emerging nanomedicine translational therapy platform through biological, physical and chemical approaches, which can be broaden and altered to enhance their therapeutic capability. EVs loaded with therapeutic components such as tumor suppressor drugs, siRNAs, proteins, peptides, and conjugates exhibit significantly enhanced anti-tumor effects. Moreover, the design and preparation of tumor-targeted modified EVs greatly enhance the specificity and effectiveness of tumor therapy, and these strategies are expected to become novel ideas for tumor precision medicine. This review will focus on reviewing the latest research progress of functionalized EVs, clarifying the superior biological functions and powerful therapeutic potential of EVs, for researchers to explore new design concepts based on EVs and build next-generation nanomedicine therapeutic platforms.

Exosomes: A potential tool for immunotherapy of ovarian cancer

“…CD8+ T cells play an indispensable role in the TME, and CD8+ T cells infiltrating tumor tissues are associated with the prognosis of human malignancies ( 139 ). CD8+ T cells can not only kill tumors ( 140 , 141 ), but also induce the production and release of specific substances (mRNA, miRNA, protein, and lipid) by acting on recipient tumor cells, which can affect tumor development ( 98 ) ( Table 2 ).…”

Application of nanomedicine in radiotherapy sensitization

“…( 82 ) coupled the prostate cancer cell-permeable condensate R11 and the radiosensitizer NU7441 with poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) into nanoparticles ((274 ± 80) nm) with sustained and slow release of radiosensitizer, which demonstrated good targeting and radiosensitization of prostate cancer PC3 cells. EVs loaded with a variety of therapeutic components such as tumor suppressor drugs, siRNAs, proteins, peptides, and conjugates exhibit significantly enhanced anti-tumor effects, so EVs can be used as an advanced and promising nanocavitor ( 83 ) ( Figure 2A ). In addition, the design and preparation of tumor-targeted modified EVs have greatly enhanced the specificity and effectiveness of tumor therapy, providing new ideas for tumor precision medicine.…”

“…(A) MSCs derived EVs for cancer therapy. This research was originally published in ( 83 ). Copyright(2022) Drug Delivery.…”

Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles: A Potential Therapy for Diabetes Mellitus and Diabetic Complications

“…Various methods have been established to directly load exogenous cargos into isolated MSC-EVs including incubation, electroporation, sonication, extrusion, and freeze and thaw cycles ( Table 4 ). Several hydrophobic drugs can be encapsulated into MSC-EVs after simple incubation through the interaction with the hydrophobic membrane of MSC-EVs [ 165 ]. Electroporation relies on the stimulation of electrical fields to create transit pores on the membrane of MSC-EVs, leading to the introduction of bioactive molecules and drugs [ 166 ].…”