Thymoquinone-loaded mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosome as an efficient nano-system against breast cancer cells.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Ebrahimian, Mahboubeh Hashemi, Maryam Etemad, Leila Salmasi, Zahra
Abstract	Objective(s):Exosomes became the subject of extensive research in drug delivery approach due to their potential applicability as therapeutic tools for cancer therapy. Thymoquinone (Tq) is an anti-cancer agent due to its great anti-proliferative effect. However, poor solubility and weak bioavailability restrict its therapeutic applications. In this study, exosomes secreted from human adipocyte-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AdMSCs) were isolated and the efficacy of a novel encapsulation method for loading of Tq was investigated. Finally, the cytotoxic effect of Tq incorporated exosomes against cancer cells was evaluated.Materials and Methods:Exosomes secreted from AdMSCs were isolated via ultracentrifugation and characterized by electron microscopy and western blotting. Then, through a novel encapsulation approach, Tq was loaded into exosomes by the combination of three methods including incubation, freeze-thawing, and surfactant treatment. Then, the encapsulation efficiency, in vitro cellular uptake, and cytotoxicity of Tq incorporated exosomes (Tq@EXOs) in MCF7 and L929 cells were estimated. Results:Tq loading into exosomes through our novel method caused a significant improvement in encapsulation efficiency of about 60%. The fluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry outcomes indicated the efficient uptake of Tq@EXOs-FITC by cells throughout 4 hr. Furthermore, MTT results displayed the ability of Tq@EXOs in effectively decreasing the cell viability of MCF7 without causing any obvious cytotoxicity on L929 as normal cells.Conclusion:The results suggest that our approach provides effective loading of Tq into exosomes which offer a valuable and safe platform for drug delivery to cancer cells thus having a great potential for clinical studies.
ISSN	20083866
Journal	Iranian Journal of Basic Medical Sciences
Volume Number	25
PubMed Central reference number	PMC9320205
Issue Number	6
PubMed reference number	35949303
e-ISSN	20083874
DOI	10.22038/IJBMS.2022.64092.14116
Language	English
Publisher	Mashhad University of Medical Sciences
Publisher Date	2022-06-01
Publisher Place	Mashhad, Iran
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Subject Keyword	Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells Breast cancer Drug delivery system Exosome Thymoquinone
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Immunology and Microbiology Drug Discovery Clinical Biochemistry Biochemistry Biophysics