Theranostics 2021; 11(5):2034-2047. doi:10.7150/thno.51344 This issue Cite

Research Paper

Transplantation of autologous extracellular vesicles for cancer-specific targeting

Alessandro Villa1*, Mariangela Garofalo1#*, Daniela Crescenti1, Nicoletta Rizzi1, Electra Brunialti1, Andrea Vingiani2, Paolo Belotti3, Carlo Sposito3, Silvia Franzè4, Francesco Cilurzo4, Giancarlo Pruneri2, Camilla Recordati5, Chiara Giudice5, Alessia Giordano5, Monica Tortoreto6, Giangiacomo Beretta7, Damiano Stefanello5, Giacomo Manenti8, Nadia Zaffaroni6, Vincenzo Mazzaferro3✉, Paolo Ciana1✉

1. Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
2. Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS Foundation (INT), Milan, Italy.
3. Department of Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, University of Milan and HPB Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS Foundation (INT), Milan, Italy.
4. Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Milan, Italy.
5. Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Milan, Milano, Italy.
6. Molecular Pharmacology Unit, Department of Applied Research and Technological Development, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy.
7. Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
8. Animal Health and Welfare Unit, Department of Applied Research and Technical Development, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale Tumori, Milan, Italy.
*These authors contributed equally.
#Current address: Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Italy.

Citation:
Villa A, Garofalo M, Crescenti D, Rizzi N, Brunialti E, Vingiani A, Belotti P, Sposito C, Franzè S, Cilurzo F, Pruneri G, Recordati C, Giudice C, Giordano A, Tortoreto M, Beretta G, Stefanello D, Manenti G, Zaffaroni N, Mazzaferro V, Ciana P. Transplantation of autologous extracellular vesicles for cancer-specific targeting. Theranostics 2021; 11(5):2034-2047. doi:10.7150/thno.51344. https://www.thno.org/v11p2034.htm
Other styles

File import instruction

Abstract

Graphic abstract

Nano- and microsized extracellular vesicles (EVs) are naturally occurring cargo-bearing packages of regulatory macromolecules, and recent studies are increasingly showing that EVs are responsible for physiological intercellular communication. Nanoparticles encapsulating anti-tumor theranostics represent an attractive “exosome-interfering” strategy for cancer therapy.

Methods: Herein, by labeling plasma-derived EVs with indocyanine green (ICG) and following their biodistribution by in vivo and ex vivo imaging, we demonstrate the existence of nanoparticles with a highly selective cancer tropism in the blood of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients but not in that of healthy volunteers.

Results: In CRC patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse models, we show that transplanted EVs recognize tumors from the cognate nanoparticle-generating individual, suggesting the theranostic potential of autologous EVs encapsulating tumor-interfering molecules. In large canine breeds bearing spontaneous malignant skin and breast tumors, the same autologous EV transplantation protocol shows comparable safety and efficacy profiles.

Conclusions: Our data show the existence of an untapped resource of intercellular communication present in the blood of cancer patients, which represents an efficient and highly biocompatible way to deliver molecules directly to the tumor with great precision. The novel EV-interfering approach proposed by our study may become a new research direction in the complex interplay of modern personalized cancer therapy.

Keywords: biocompatible nanoparticles, cancer imaging, theranostic agents, drug delivery, fluorescence


Citation styles

APA
Villa, A., Garofalo, M., Crescenti, D., Rizzi, N., Brunialti, E., Vingiani, A., Belotti, P., Sposito, C., Franzè, S., Cilurzo, F., Pruneri, G., Recordati, C., Giudice, C., Giordano, A., Tortoreto, M., Beretta, G., Stefanello, D., Manenti, G., Zaffaroni, N., Mazzaferro, V., Ciana, P. (2021). Transplantation of autologous extracellular vesicles for cancer-specific targeting. Theranostics, 11(5), 2034-2047. https://doi.org/10.7150/thno.51344.

ACS
Villa, A.; Garofalo, M.; Crescenti, D.; Rizzi, N.; Brunialti, E.; Vingiani, A.; Belotti, P.; Sposito, C.; Franzè, S.; Cilurzo, F.; Pruneri, G.; Recordati, C.; Giudice, C.; Giordano, A.; Tortoreto, M.; Beretta, G.; Stefanello, D.; Manenti, G.; Zaffaroni, N.; Mazzaferro, V.; Ciana, P. Transplantation of autologous extracellular vesicles for cancer-specific targeting. Theranostics 2021, 11 (5), 2034-2047. DOI: 10.7150/thno.51344.

NLM
Villa A, Garofalo M, Crescenti D, Rizzi N, Brunialti E, Vingiani A, Belotti P, Sposito C, Franzè S, Cilurzo F, Pruneri G, Recordati C, Giudice C, Giordano A, Tortoreto M, Beretta G, Stefanello D, Manenti G, Zaffaroni N, Mazzaferro V, Ciana P. Transplantation of autologous extracellular vesicles for cancer-specific targeting. Theranostics 2021; 11(5):2034-2047. doi:10.7150/thno.51344. https://www.thno.org/v11p2034.htm

CSE
Villa A, Garofalo M, Crescenti D, Rizzi N, Brunialti E, Vingiani A, Belotti P, Sposito C, Franzè S, Cilurzo F, Pruneri G, Recordati C, Giudice C, Giordano A, Tortoreto M, Beretta G, Stefanello D, Manenti G, Zaffaroni N, Mazzaferro V, Ciana P. 2021. Transplantation of autologous extracellular vesicles for cancer-specific targeting. Theranostics. 11(5):2034-2047.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). See http://ivyspring.com/terms for full terms and conditions.
Popup Image