In vitro and in vivo evaluation of folate-mediated triptolide exosome targeted delivery system against malignant melanoma / 药学学报

In this study, exosomes were extracted from human malignant melanoma cell A375. Folic acid (FA) receptor was used as target and triptolide (TPL) was used as model drug to prepare exosome targeted drug delivery system, FA-Exo/TPL. The physicochemical properties and antitumor effect were evaluated in vivo and in vitro. Gradient centrifugation method was applied to collect exosomes. Then, exosome was modified with FA for loading TPL. The particle sizes of the FA-Exo/TPL were about 100 nm with a double-layer membrane structure like a tray. It is characteristic of high encapsulation efficiency and drug loading. In vitro experiments showed that FA-Exo/TPL could be effectively uptaken by A375 cells, thus significantly inhibiting proliferation and promoting apoptosis the cells. In vivo experiment results showed that FA-Exo/TPL could effectively inhibit the growth of tumor tissue, prolong the model mice life cycle, and significantly reduce the systemic toxicity of the free drug, playing a synergistic and toxic role. Animal welfare and experimental procedures follow the regulations of the Animal Ethics Committee of Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center. This study provides a new strategies and methods for the preparation of TPL against malignant melanoma.

Research advances in exosomes as biomarkers for tumor diagnosis / 医学研究生学报

Malignancy is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Effective screening and early diagnosis of tumors are clinically difficult. The existing tumor markers have low sensitivity and poor specificity. Exosomes, the nanoscale vesicles with a phospholipid bilayer structure, are widely distributed in various body fluids. Studies have shown that tumor-derived exosomes (TEXs) are closely related to the occurrence and progression of cancers. The contents of TEXs including proteins, RNA and DNA, glycoproteins, glycolipids and lipids can serve as highly sensitive tumor-specific markers, playing a crucial role in the basic research and clinical examination of cancers. Therefore, TEXs are expected to become new non-invasive tumor diagnostic biomarkers. This review describes the biological characteristics of exosomes, their advantages as diagnostic biomarkers and their applications in diagnosis of tumors, treatment monitoring and prognosis evaluation.