Glioblastoma-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles: Nanoparticles for Glioma Treatment

Abstract

Glioblastoma (GBM), characterized by fast growth and invasion into adjacent tissue, is the most aggressive cancer of brain origin. Current protocols, which include cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents, effectively treat localized disease; however, these aggressive therapies present side effects due to the high doses administered. Therefore, more efficient ways of drug delivery have been studied to reduce the therapeutic exposure of the patients. We have isolated and fully characterized small extracellular vesicles (EVs) from seven patient-derived GBM cell lines. After loading them with two different drugs, Temozolomide (TMZ) and EPZ015666, we observed a reduction in the total amount of drugs needed to trigger an effect on tumor cells. Moreover, we observed that GBM-derived small EVs, although with lower target specificity, can induce an effect on pancreatic cancer cell death. These results suggest that GBM-derived small EVs represent a promising drug delivery tool for further preclinical studies and potentially for the clinical development of GBM treatments.

Changes Induced by P2X7 Receptor Stimulation of Human Glioblastoma Stem Cells in the Proteome of Extracellular Vesicles Isolated from Their Secretome

“…EVs are produced by cells under physiological and pathological conditions, including tumors. Thus, EVs are released from cancer cells [5] and the study of their content and functions is relevant mainly for more aggressive tumors such as GBM, providing remarkable insights into intercellular communications during tumor initiation, growth, and recurrence, as well as allowing new possibilities for the diagnosis and treatment of GBM [6,7].…”