Abstract
Plants produce different types of nano and micro-sized vesicles. Observed for the first time in the 60s, plant nano and microvesicles (PDVs) and their biological role have been inexplicably under investigated for a long time. Proteomic and metabolomic approaches revealed that PDVs carry numerous proteins with antifungal and antimicrobial activity, as well as bioactive metabolites with high pharmaceutical interest. PDVs have also been shown to be also involved in the intercellular transfer of small non-coding RNAs such as microRNAs, suggesting fascinating mechanisms of long-distance gene regulation and horizontal transfer of regulatory RNAs and inter-kingdom communications. High loading capacity, intrinsic biological activities, biocompatibility, and easy permeabilization in cell compartments make plant-derived vesicles excellent natural or bioengineered nanotools for biomedical applications. Growing evidence indicates that PDVs may exert anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anticancer activities in different in vitro and in vivo models. In addition, clinical trials are currently in progress to test the effectiveness of plant EVs in reducing insulin resistance and in preventing side effects of chemotherapy treatments. In this review, we concisely introduce PDVs, discuss shortly their most important biological and physiological roles in plants and provide clues on the use and the bioengineering of plant nano and microvesicles to develop innovative therapeutic tools in nanomedicine, able to encompass the current drawbacks in the delivery systems in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical technology. Finally, we predict that the advent of intense research efforts on PDVs may disclose new frontiers in plant biotechnology applied to nanomedicine.
Highlights
As plant extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been shown to play a major role in plant protection, plant nano and microvesicles (PDVs) may represent a valuable source of bioactive compounds, whose functions need to be accurately evaluated in order to understand their biological effects on human health
PDVs extracted from the roots of the ginger (Zingiber officinalis) have been demonstrated to reduce the inflammatory process and the local lymphocyte infiltration in mice treated with dextran sulphate sodium (DSS), to favor the repair of the intestinal epithelium, and to prevent colitis-associated cancer [61]
The properties of grape EVs and their ability to prevent oral mucositis as a side effect of chemotherapy treatment of head and neck cancers are being tested on humans (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01668849) and the capacity of EVs derived from aloe and ginger to reduce insulin resistance and chronic inflammation in patients who have been diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. PDVs have been poorly investigated and their biological role remains still not fully understood This knowledge gap compared to what is currently known on EVs from mammalian cells, which are isolated from physiological fluids collected from the body (urine, blood, sweat, saliva, etc.) is probably due to the difficulty to purify plant. (300–16,000 g) are aimed at removing cells, debris, and large vesicles from the sample, Alternative methods for EV isolation such as ultrafiltration, chromatography, polywhile high-speed steps ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 g for 1–3 h are used to precipitate mer-based precipitation, and affinity capture on antibody-coupled magnetic beads are not EVs. It is important to underline that these steps may vary according to the experimental common in plants [31].
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