A drug delivery platform using engineered MUC1-targeting exosomes enhances chemosensitivity and immunogenic cell death in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Exosomes, a specific subset of extracellular vesicles, have diverse functions in various biological processes. In the field of cancer research, there has been a growing interest in the potential of exosomes to act as versatile vehicles for targeted tumor imaging and therapy. In this study, we constructed a targeted delivery platform using hypoimmunogenic exosomes by genetically modifying β2-microglobulin knocking-out HEK-293F cells to express a fusion protein, referred to as αMUC1-Exo, which comprises the exosomal membrane-enriched platelet-derived growth factor receptor, intracellular nanoluciferase, and extracellular anti-MUC1 single-chain variable fragment. The findings of this study indicate that αMUC1-Exos exhibited notable drug delivery properties toward MUC1-positive pancreatic cancer cells, resulting in a substantial inhibition of tumor growth. Moreover, these exosomes demonstrated a high level of biosafety and the absence of any adverse effects. The application of engineered exosomes as a vehicle for drug delivery holds promise for enhancing the immunogenicity of neoplastic cells following treatment, thereby inducing antitumor immune memory in mice with intact immune systems, and also improving the response to anti-PD1 therapy. This approach utilizing engineered exosomes for Gemcitabine administration holds promise as a potential strategy for overcoming drug resistance in pancreatic carcinoma thereby improving the overall treatment efficacy.

Keywords

delivery platform / drug resistance / ductal adenocarcinoma / exosomes / gemcitabine / pancreatic

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2024 The Authors. SmartMat published by Tianjin University and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.