Culture conditions greatly impact the levels of vesicular and extravesicular Ago2 and RNA in extracellular vesicle preparations.

Extracellular vesicle (EV)-carried miRNAs can influence gene expression and functional phenotypes in recipient cells. Argonaute 2 (Ago2) is a key miRNA-binding protein that has been identified in EVs and could influence RNA silencing. However, Ago2 is in a non-vesicular form in serum and can be an EV contaminant.

Vitamin A-coupled stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles regulate the fibrotic cascade by targeting activated hepatic stellate cells in vivo.

Allogeneic transplantation of mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) offers great potential for treating liver fibrosis. However, owing to their intrinsic surface characteristics, bare EVs are non-specifically distributed in the liver tissue after systemic administration, leading to limited therapeutic efficacy. To target activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), which are responsible for hepatic fibrogenesis, vitamin A-coupled small EVs (V-EVs) were prepared by incorporating vitamin A derivative into the membrane of bare EVs.

Small extracellular vesicles from human adipose-derived stem cells attenuate cartilage degeneration.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic degenerative disease of articular cartilage that is the most common joint disease worldwide. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been the most extensively explored for the treatment of OA. Recently, it has been demonstrated that MSC-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) may contribute to the potential mechanisms of MSC-based therapies.

Cell reprogramming using extracellular vesicles from differentiating stem cells into white/beige adipocytes.

Stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) offer alternative approaches to stem cell-based therapy for regenerative medicine. In this study, stem cell EVs derived during differentiation are developed to use as cell-free therapeutic systems by inducing tissue-specific differentiation. EVs are isolated from human adipose-derived stem cells (HASCs) during white and beige adipogenic differentiation (D-EV and BD-EV, respectively) via tangential flow filtration.

Thermo-responsive human α-elastin self-assembled nanoparticles for protein delivery.

Self-assembled nanoparticles based on PEGylated human α-elastin were prepared as a potential vehicle for sustained protein delivery. The α-elastin was extracted from human adipose tissue and modified with methoxypolyethyleneglycol (mPEG) to control particle size and enhance the colloidal stability. The PEGylated human α-elastin showed sol-to-particle transition with a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of 25°C-40°C in aqueous media.