The inherent antibiotic activity of myxobacteria-derived autofluorescent outer membrane vesicles is switched on and off by light stimulation.

Outer membrane vesicles are small, lipid-based vesicles shed from the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. They are becoming increasingly recognised as important factors for resistance gene transfer, bacterial virulence factors and host cell modulation. The presence of pathogenic factors and antimicrobial compounds in bacterial vesicles has been proven in recent years, but it remains unclear, if and how environmental factors, such as light specifically regulate the vesicle composition. We report the first example of autofluorescent vesicles derived from non-pathogenic soil-living myxobacteria. These vesicles additionally showed inherent antibiotic activity, a property that is specifically regulated by light stimulation of the producing bacteria. Our data provide a central basis for better understanding the environmental impact on bacteria-derived vesicles, and design of future therapeutic options.

Tracking matricellular protein SPARC in extracellular vesicles as a non-destructive method to evaluate lipid-based antifibrotic treatments.

Uncovering the complex cellular mechanisms underlying hepatic fibrogenesis could expedite the development of effective treatments and noninvasive diagnosis for liver fibrosis. The biochemical complexity of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their role in intercellular communication make them an attractive tool to look for biomarkers as potential alternative to liver biopsies. We developed a solid set of methods to isolate and characterize EVs from differently treated human hepatic stellate cell (HSC) line LX-2, and we investigated their biological effect onto naïve LX-2, proving that EVs do play an active role in fibrogenesis. We mined our proteomic data for EV-associated proteins whose expression correlated with HSC treatment, choosing the matricellular protein SPARC as proof-of-concept for the feasibility of fluorescence nanoparticle-tracking analysis to determine an EV-based HSCs' fibrogenic phenotype. We thus used EVs to directly evaluate the efficacy of treatment with S80, a polyenylphosphatidylcholines-rich lipid, finding that S80 reduces the relative presence of SPARC-positive EVs. Here we correlated the cellular response to lipid-based antifibrotic treatment to the relative presence of a candidate protein marker associated with the released EVs. Along with providing insights into polyenylphosphatidylcholines treatments, our findings pave the way for precise and less invasive diagnostic analyses of hepatic fibrogenesis.

Bacteriomimetic Liposomes Improve Antibiotic Activity of a Novel Energy-Coupling Factor Transporter Inhibitor.

Liposomes have been studied for decades as nanoparticulate drug delivery systems for cytostatics, and more recently, for antibiotics. Such nanoantibiotics show improved antibacterial efficacy compared to the free drug and can be effective despite bacterial recalcitrance. In this work, we present a loading method of bacteriomimetic liposomes for a novel, hydrophobic compound (HIPS5031) inhibiting energy-coupling factor transporters (ECF transporters), an underexplored antimicrobial target. The liposomes were composed of DOPG (18:1 (Δ9-cis) phosphatidylglycerol) and CL (cardiolipin), resembling the cell membrane of Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae, and enriched with cholesterol (Chol). The size and polydispersity of the DOPG/CL/± Chol liposomes remained stable over 8 weeks when stored at 4 °C. Loading of the ECF transporter inhibitor was achieved by thin film hydration and led to a high encapsulation efficiency of 33.19% ± 9.5% into the DOPG/CL/Chol liposomes compared to the phosphatidylcholine liposomes (DMPC/DPPC). Bacterial growth inhibition assays on the model organism Bacillus subtilis revealed liposomal HIPS5031 as superior to the free drug, showing a 3.5-fold reduction in CFU/mL at a concentration of 9.64 µM. Liposomal HIPS5031 was also shown to reduce B. subtilis biofilm. Our findings present an explorative basis for bacteriomimetic liposomes as a strategy against drug-resistant pathogens by surpassing the drug-formulation barriers of innovative, yet unfavorably hydrophobic, antibiotics.

Author Correction: Extracellular vesicles protect glucuronidase model enzymes during freeze-drying.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Evaluation of the Storage Stability of Extracellular Vesicles.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are promising targets in current research, to be used as drugs, drug-carriers, and biomarkers. For their clinical development, not only their pharmaceutical activity is important but also their production needs to be evaluated. In this context, research focuses on the isolation of EVs, their characterization, and their storage. The present manuscript aims at providing a facile procedure for the assessment of the effect of different storage conditions on EVs, without genetic manipulation or specific functional assays. This makes it possible to quickly get a first impression of the stability of EVs under a given storage condition, and EVs derived from different cell sources can be compared easily. The stability measurement is based on the physicochemical parameters of the EVs (size, particle concentration, and morphology) and the preservation of the activity of their cargo. The latter is assessed by the saponin-mediated encapsulation of the enzyme beta-glucuronidase into the EVs. Glucuronidase acts as a surrogate and allows for an easy quantification via the cleavage of a fluorescent reporter molecule. The present protocol could be a tool for researchers in the search for storage conditions that optimally retain EV properties to advance EV research toward clinical application.

Biocompatible bacteria-derived vesicles show inherent antimicrobial activity.

Up to 25,000 people die each year from resistant infections in Europe alone, with increasing incidence. It is estimated that a continued rise in bacterial resistance by 2050 would lead up to 10 million annual deaths worldwide, exceeding the incidence of cancer deaths. Although the design of new antibiotics is still one way to tackle the problem, pharmaceutical companies investigate far less into new drugs than 30 years ago. Incorporation of antibiotics into nanoparticle drug carriers ("nanoantibiotics") is currently investigated as a promising strategy to make existing antibiotics regain antimicrobial strength and overcome certain types of microbial drug resistance. Many of these synthetic systems enhance the antimicrobial effect of drugs by protecting antibiotics from degradation and reducing their side effects. Nevertheless, they often cannot selectively target pathogenic bacteria and - due to their synthetic origin - may induce side-effects themselves. In this work, we present the characterisation of naturally derived outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) as biocompatible and inherently antibiotic drug carriers. We isolated OMVs from two representative strains of myxobacteria, Cystobacter velatus Cbv34 and Sorangiineae species strain SBSr073, a bacterial order with the ability of lysing other bacterial strains and currently investigated as sources of new secondary metabolites. We investigated the myxobacterias' inherent antibacterial properties after isolation by differential centrifugation and purification by size-exclusion chromatography. OMVs have an average size range of 145-194 nm. We characterised their morphology by electron cryomicroscopy and found that OMVs are biocompatible with epithelial cells and differentiated macrophages. They showed a low endotoxin activity comparable to those of control samples, indicating a low acute inflammatory potential. In addition, OMVs showed inherent stability under different storage conditions, including 4 °C, -20 °C, -80 °C and freeze-drying. OMV uptake in Gram-negative model bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) showed similar to better incorporation than liposome controls, indicating the OMVs may interact with model bacteria via membrane fusion. Bacterial uptake correlated with antimicrobial activity of OMVs as measured by growth inhibition of E. coli. OMVs from Cbv34 inhibited growth of E. coli to a comparable extent as the clinically established antibiotic gentamicin. Liquid-chromatography coupled mass spectrometry analyses revealed the presence of cystobactamids in OMVs, inhibitors of bacterial topoisomerase currently studied to treat different Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens. This work, may serve as an important basis for further evaluation of OMVs derived from myxobacteria as novel therapeutic delivery systems against bacterial infections.

Extracellular vesicles protect glucuronidase model enzymes during freeze-drying.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are natural nanoparticles that play important roles in intercellular communication and are increasingly studied for biosignalling, pathogenesis and therapy. Nevertheless, little is known about optimal conditions for their transfer and storage, and the potential impact on preserving EV-loaded cargoes. We present the first comprehensive stability assessment of different widely available types of EVs during various storage conditions including -80 °C, 4 °C, room temperature, and freeze-drying (lyophilisation). Lyophilisation of EVs would allow easy handling at room temperature and thus significantly enhance their expanded investigation. A model enzyme, ß-glucuronidase, was loaded into different types of EVs derived from mesenchymal stem cells, endothelial cells and cancer cells. Using asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation we proved that the model enzyme is indeed stably encapsulated into EVs. When assessing enzyme activity as indicator for EV stability, and in comparison to liposomes, we show that EVs are intrinsically stable during lyophilisation, an effect further enhanced by cryoprotectants. Our findings provide new insight for exploring lyophilisation as a novel storage modality and we create an important basis for standardised and advanced EV applications in biomedical research.

Targeting of injectable drug nanocrystals.

"Nano" drug delivery carriers are established technologies for improving the therapeutic index of chemotherapeutic drugs and overcoming formulation challenges of poorly water-soluble compounds. Two important remaining challenges, however, are the need to formulate drugs on a case-by-case basis (due to the specific chemistry of each drug) and the difficulty associated with transporting large amounts of drug specifically to the site of the tumor (in part because of moderate to poor drug loadings). One of the most valuable "nano" opportunities in this field is to address these challenges by creating nanocarriers composed of the drug itself, in the form of so-called nanocrystals. However, "nano" creates both opportunities and challenges for targeted drug delivery, which are critically discussed in both in vitro and in vivo settings in this contribution.

Modular design of redox-responsive stabilizers for nanocrystals.

Many potent drugs are difficult to administer intravenously due to poor aqueous solubility. A common approach for addressing this issue is to process them into colloidal dispersions known as "nanocrystals" (NCs). However, NCs possess high-energy surfaces that must be stabilized with surfactants to prevent aggregation. An optimal surfactant should have high affinity for the nanocrystal's surface to stabilize it, but may also include a trigger mechanism that could offer the possibility of altering size distribution and uptake of the NC. This study presents a modular and systematic strategy for optimizing the affinity of polymeric stabilizers for drug nanocrystals both before and after oxidation (i.e., the selected trigger), thus allowing for the optimal responsiveness for a given application to be identified. A library of 10 redox-responsive polymer stabilizers was prepared by postpolymerization modification, using the thiol-yne reaction, of two parent block copolymers. The stabilizing potential of these polymers for paclitaxel NCs is presented as well as the influence of oxidation on size and dissolution following exposure to reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are strongly associated with chronic inflammation and cancer. Owing to the versatility of postpolymerization modification, this contribution provides general tools for preparing triggered-sheddable stabilizing coatings for nanoparticles.

PEG nanocages as non-sheddable stabilizers for drug nanocrystals.

Many potent drugs are difficult to administer intravenously due to poor aqueous solubility. One validated approach for addressing this issue is to process them into colloidal dispersions known as "nanocrystals" (NCs). However, NCs possess high-energy surfaces that must be stabilized with surfactants to prevent aggregation. In addition, the stabilizer provides a means of anchoring targeting moieties to the NCs for achieving deposition or uptake at specified locations. Nevertheless, a critical challenge is that the surfactant (and consequently the targeting agents) can be shed upon high dilution. This work demonstrates successful cross-linking by click chemistry of stabilizers around paclitaxel NCs to form polymeric "nanocages". Cross-linking does not cause aggregation, as evidenced by transmission electron microscopy, and the nanocages retained the particulate drug through a combination of physical entrapment and physisorption. Size measurements by dynamic light scattering showed that nanocages act as sterically stabilizing barriers to particle-particle interactions and aggregation. The nanocages were shown to be less shed from the NCs than comparable non-cross-linked stabilizers. This contribution provides crucial general tools for preparing poorly sheddable stabilizing coatings to NCs and potentially other classes of nanoparticles for which covalent attachment of the stabilizer to the particle is undesirable (e.g., a drug) or impossible (chemically inert). The presented approach also offers the possibility of more stably attaching targeting moieties to the latter by use of heterotelechelic PEG derivatives, which may favor active targeting and internalization by cells.

Fabrication of paclitaxel nanocrystals by femtosecond laser ablation and fragmentation.

Nanonization, which involves formulating the drug powder as nanometer-sized particles, is a known method to improve drug absorption and allow the intravenous administration of insoluble drugs. This study investigated a novel femtosecond (fs) laser technique for the fabrication of nanocrystals in aqueous solution of the insoluble model drug paclitaxel. Two distinct methods of this technology, ablation and fragmentation, were investigated and the influence of laser power, focusing position and treatment time on the particle size, drug concentration, and degradation was studied. The colloidal suspensions were characterized with respect to size, chemical composition, morphology, and polymorphic state. Optimal laser fragmentation conditions generated uniformly sized paclitaxel nanoparticles (<500 nm) with quantifiable degradation, while ablation followed by fragmentation was associated with a larger polydispersity. Laser treatment at higher powers produced smaller particles with larger amount of degradation. The crystalline morphology of the drug was retained upon nanonization, but the anhydrous crystals were converted to a hydrated form, a phenomenon also observed during bead milling. These findings suggest that drug nanocrystals can be produced with fs laser technology using very little drug quantities, which may be an asset for preclinical evaluation of new drug candidates.