| خلاصه مقاله | Cancer is a heterogeneous group of diseases and has become a prominent reason of
death worldwide. It is a complex pathological disorder characterized by altered gene expression,
aberrant genetic mutations and genomic instability (1).
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are lipid bilayer heterogeneous membranous structures and
they are usually spherical in shape with the average diameter of 30- 500 nm. They carry
different components both on the surface and as cargo. EVs are key mediators of various
(patho)physiological procedures. They play a pivotal role in diverse cell-to-cell signaling
processes. EVs are employed as delivery vehicles of therapeutic agents, peptides, and nucleic
acids. Almost all living organisms secrete EVs such as eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells (2).
It has been discovered that various plants can produce EVs that influence neighboring as well
as remote cells, thus they are involved in intercellular & interspecies interactions. The content
of EVs is different based on the producing cells, so plant-derived extracellular vesicles (PDEVs)
content is different from mammalian EVs. The structure of PDEVs protects their content against
harsh conditions (RNase and extreme pH). PDEVs possess numerous health-promoting effects
including immunomodulatory activity, modulation of gut microbiota, anticancer properties,
drug delivery & etc. These structures can pass through blood-brain-barrier however they cannot
pass the placental barrier, which reveals that PDEVs may be potentially beneficial vehicles for
drug delivery during pregnancy (3,4).
PDEVs entrance into the cancerous cells leads to regulation of gene expression to lessen the
phenotypes associated with cancer. For example, Raimondo & colleagues extracted EVs fromlemon juice. They investigated LDEVs role in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia
(CML). Reduced growth of LAMA84 (chronic myeloid leukemia) cells was observed. To
confirm the effects of EVs specificity on cancer cells, LDEVs were also treated with normal
cell line. LDEVs did not affect normal cells growth. Moreover, gene expression analysis
indicated the involvement of apoptosis process. Also, the expression of pro-angiogenic genes
were increased in LAMA84 cell line after LDEV treatment. Additionally, they studied the
potential LDEVs in reducing tumor growth in vivo. The intraperitoneal injection of LDEVs into
mice bearing CML xenograft tumors, indicated that elevated pro-apoptotic and decreased antiapoptotic as well as pro-angiogenic factors (VEGF-A, IL6, and IL8) levels (5). In another in
vitro study, the anticancer activities of LDEVs on three gastric cancer cell lines (AGS, BGC-
823, and SGC-7901) as well as SGC-7901 three-dimensional (3D) spheroid culture were
assessed. The results demonstrated LDEVs could be efficiently taken up by 3D spheroid
cultured cells. LDEVs caused the gastric cancer cell cycle S-phase arrest and induced cell
apoptosis (6). Recently, the anticancer effect of garlic derived EVs (GEVs) was investigated on
two cancer cell lines A498 (renal cancerous cells) & A549 (lung cancer) and one normal Human
Dermal Fibroblasts cell line, HDF. The GEVs treatment significantly reduced the viability of
cancer cells, however, it did not cause a cytotoxic effect on the normal cell line. The reasons
for decreased cell proliferation among cancer cells in response to GEVs treatment was the S
phase cell cycle arrest (7).
Nowadays, the formation of nontoxic natural nano-vectors from PDEVs, is considered as an
alternative approach in nanomedicine and drug delivery. In addition, owing to their small size,
PDEVs can successfully deliver therapeutic agents. Recently, the anticancer activity of EVs
isolated from cabbage and red cabbage were evaluated on SW480 colon cancer cells. Both
Cabex and Rabex demonstrated efficient Dox loading and suppression of cancer cell
proliferation. It has been shown that Dox loaded onto Cabex and Rabex successfully delivered
to cancer cells, entered the nucleus and exert its cytotoxic effects (8). In an investigation, the
intranasal delivery of miR17-carrying grape fruit derived EVs coated with folic acid (FAGEVs), which exclusively targeted the brain tumor GL-26 cells in mouse model, showed no
observable side effects. Addition of folic acid results in enhanced targeting and selective
delivery to a folate receptor-positive GL-26 brain tumor. miR17-loaded GEVs inhibited the
growth of brain tumor (9). In another research, folic acid coated ginger-derived EVs (GDEVs)
could efficiently take up by Colon-26 cells. Furthermore, drug loading efficiency and drugrelease of GDEVs loaded Doxorubicin (Dox) were evaluated. GDEVs loaded with Dox
demonstrated high efficiency & and interestingly diffused Dox more rapidly than the
commercially available liposomes. Additionally, GDEVs-Dox induced apoptosis in Colon-26
tumor xenograft mouse model (10). In an animal study, intravenous (IV) injection of folic acid
coated grapefruit-derived EVs (GEVs-FA) was detectable even after 48h of circulation, giving
them a greater opportunity to penetrate tumors. The GEVs-FA did not pass the placental barrier,
which reveals that they could be potentially beneficial vehicles for drug delivery during
pregnancy. Additionally, the therapeutic effects GEVs following the co-delivery of folic acid
and PTX (an anticancer compound), were evaluated in comparison to the administration of each
drug alone. Bio-distribution findings in mice model bearing colon tumor, treated with GEVs,
PTX, and GEVs-FA-PTX, indicated that that free GEVs and PTX mostly targeted liver and
spleen, whereas GEVs-FA-PTX mainly targeted the tumors and markedly reduced tumor
growth of colon cancer xenograft mouse models (11).
Two PDEVs have just been registered for clinical trials. In order to alleviating oral mucositis
associated with chemo-radiation following head & neck cancer, a randomized clinical trial was
designed. The grape-derived EVs should have been administered for 60 patients (20 to 85
Years) diagnosed with head and neck cancer. But the patients could not be recruited (12).
Another randomize clinical trial (NCT01294072) was designed based on PDEV-curcumin
delivery to colon tumors and normal colon tissue. The PDEV-curcumin should have been
administered for 35 patients (20 Years and older). However, this has not yet reached the
recruitment phase. |