Abstract
Human microvesicles are key mediators of cell–cell communication. Exosomes function as microRNA transporters, playing a crucial role in physiological and pathological processes. Plant microvesicles (MVs) display similar features to mammalian exosomes, and these MVs might enhance plant microRNA delivery in mammals. Considering that plant microRNAs have been newly identified as bioactive constituents in medicinal plants, and that their potential role as regulators in mammals has been underlined, in this study, we characterized MVs purified from Moringa oleifera seeds aqueous extract (MOES MVs) and used flow cytometry methods to quantify the ability to deliver their content to host cells. The microRNAs present in MOES MVs were characterized, and through a bioinformatic analysis, specific human apoptosis-related target genes of plant miRNAs were identified. In tumor cell lines, MOES MVs treatment reduced viability, increased apoptosis levels associated with a decrease in B-cell lymphoma 2 protein expression and reduced mitochondrial membrane potential. Interestingly, the effects observed with MOES MVs treatment were comparable to those observed with MOES treatment and transfection with the pool of small RNAs isolated from MOES, used as a control. These results highlight the role of microRNAs transported by MOES MVs as natural bioactive plant compounds that counteract tumorigenesis.
Highlights
Cells are in constant communication with each other.This communication is mainly mediated by extracellular vesicles, which are small transporters made up of a lipidic membrane that act as carriers of molecules[1]
Using the Megamix-Plus SSC (Biocytex, France) standard as a reference in flow cytometry analysis, we identified a population of 100–500 nm MO seed aqueous extract (MOES) MVs (Fig. 1a), as described in the Materials and Methods
The contents of MOES MVs, analyzed by spectrophotometer, showed an absence of DNA (Fig. 1f, i) but presence of RNA, proteins, and lipids: the MOES MVs present in 10 mg of MOES contained 1.63 ± 0.03 μg/μl of protein and 7.9 ± 0.75 ng/μl of RNA (Table 1a)
Summary
Cells are in constant communication with each other This communication is mainly mediated by extracellular vesicles, which are small transporters made up of a lipidic membrane that act as carriers of molecules[1]. In this context, extracellular vesicles have recently been suggested to be able to transfer their cargo into exogenous recipient cells, mediating communication between unrelated species[1,2,3,4,5]. Several in vitro and in vivo studies have suggested that edible plant-derived MVs can accumulate in mammalian cells, and have important functional effects on recipient cells. These plant-derived MVs seem to participate in intestinal tissue homeostasis in healthy subjects and have anti-inflammatory effects in tumor cells[8]
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