Engineered extracellular vesicles and cancer therapy

Abstract

<p indent="0mm">Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play important roles in intercellular communication. They are stable, biocompatible and can easily enter histocytes, which makes them particularly useful in cancer therapy. However, natural EVs have limitations in targeting and killing cancer cells. Numerous studies have shown that engineering helps EVs to achieve improved therapeutic effects. EV engineering focuses on two main areas: surface modification and cargo loading. Surface modifications include modifying nanobodies, tumor targeting peptides, aptamers and superparamagnetic nanoparticles, which help EVs target cancer cells. Cargo loading, which involves loading small chemical molecules, proteins or nucleic acids into EVs, helps kill cancer cells. Engineered EVs can specifically deliver chemotherapeutic drugs to tumor sites, regulate gene expression of cancer cells, promote an anti-tumor immune response and can be used in combination with multiple other therapeutic strategies. It is believed that engineered EVs will soon be widely used in cancer therapy since it is currently a prominent area of research. However, as the adoption of engineered EVs in cancer therapy expands, it is imperative to enact laws and regulations that govern safe use and to reduce production costs to improve clinical accessibility.