Exosome-based Delivery Vehicle Feature Summary

Exosomes secreted and produced from diverse sources possess several functions derived from their parental origin and exhibit enhanced stability, giving them a variety of characteristics that facilitate clinical application and commercialization. Creative Biolabs with years of experience in exosome research can provide a comprehensive range of exosome production and profiling services. We additionally specialize in exosome engineering to improve the targeting, stability, and discovery of new functions in promising exosome carriers.

The Rationale for Exosomes Influencing the Recipient Cell Fate

Exosomes, nanoscale extracellular vesicles for intercellular communication, are gaining rapid momentum as a new strategy for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Components abundantly and stably present inside exosomes are the basis for their role as carriers to trigger physiological responses in target cells, greatly influencing changes in target cell fate. Specifically, the nanosphere-type membrane structure of the exosome is formed by a bilayer of phospholipids and contains various types of lipids and proteins derived from the parental generation which forms the exosome. Starting with the binding process of exosome recognition of specific receptors on the receptor cell membrane, the receptors are activated and lead to the activation of related signaling pathways resulting in the membrane fusion and endocytosis of exosomes. The recipient cell internalizes the exosome carrier and acquires its released cargos of proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids, thus enabling the regulation of biological functions. On this biological basis, exosomes are suitable for the delivery of various chemotherapeutic drugs, proteins, nucleic acids, and gene therapeutics that provide the following tool advantages as excellent drug carriers.

Exosomal membrane vesicles for the stable encapsulation and delivery of their internal cargo. Naturally present in cells and body fluids, exosomes are able to avoid degradation and impairment of their loaded cargo by phagocytosis and metabolism, prolonging the ability of cargo circulation.
Highly modifiable and expansive cargo delivery. Established genetic engineering techniques have been developed to enable the modification of exosome donor cells to obtain exosomes containing the intended cargo. Also, after isolating the exosomes, the loading of cargo into exosomes can be accomplished by multiple methods such as electroporation, freeze-thaw cycling, ultrasound, and incubation. These modification techniques when applied to the modification of exosome surfaces further improve their targeting of specific sites.
Excellent biocompatibility and low immunogenicity. Exosomes are biologically derived, with low immunogenicity, and are well tolerated, even if heterologous in origin, providing great safety in the treatment of diseases.

Fig.1 Advantages of exosome as the therapeutic nano-carrier. (Das, 2019)

Sources of Exosome Vehicle Preparation

Exosome vehicles for drug delivery can be bio-derived or nano-synthetic, providing an excellent solution to overcome the biodegradability and safety risks of conventional drugs. The sources of exosomes for drug delivery are mainly of three types according to functional characteristics.

Fig.2 Sources of exosomes and their therapeutic advantages for drug delivery. (Dai, 2022)

Common exosome sources include immunologically inert HEK (human embryonic kidney) cells that can produce therapeutic agents, mesenchymal stem cells that are easily obtained from tissues and expanded at scale, immune cells with immunomodulatory potential, and cancer cells with homologous homing properties. Exosomes from foods such as milk and edible plants are well tolerated in acidic environments, which makes them suitable for oral administration and mass production. In addition, synthetic exosome-liposome hybrids and cell extrudates are exosome mimics that expand the production pathway, as these derived vehicles expand the range of applications for exosome-based drug delivery.

Exosomes hold current promise as vehicles with tremendous applications for drug delivery and related disease treatment. Strategies to improve exosome loading and delivery by expanding into a wide source of exosome production and isolating exosomes to meet desired needs. Creative Biolabs specializes in exosome research and is committed to providing a one-stop service for exosome isolation, engineering, and exosome profiling. Please contact us to advance your project.

References

Das, C.K.; et al. Exosome as a novel shuttle for delivery of therapeutics across biological barriers. Mol Pharm. 2019, 16(1): 24-40.
Dai, X.; et al. Emerging innovations on exosome-based onco-therapeutics. Front Immunol. 2022, 13: 865245.

Plant Exosome Isolation