Evaluating the Endocytosis and Lineage-Specification Properties of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Derived Extracellular Vesicles for Targeted Therapeutic Applications

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells with regenerative and immunomodulatory properties. Several aspects of MSC function have been attributed to the paracrine effects of MSC derived extracellular vesicles (EVs). Although MSC EVs show great promise for regenerative medicine applications, insights into their uptake mechanisms by different target cells and the ability to control MSC EV properties for defined function have remained elusive knowledge gaps. The primary goal of this study is to elucidate how the basic properties of MSC derived EVs can be exploited for function-specific activity in regenerative medicine. Our first important observation is that, MSC EVs possess a common mechanism of endocytosis across multiple cell types. Second, altering the MSC state by inducing differentiation into multiple lineages did not affect the exosomal properties or endocytosis but triggered the expression of lineage-specific genes and proteins and respectively. Overall, the results presented in this study show a common mechanism of endocytosis for MSC EVs across different cell types and the feasibility to generate functionally enhanced EVs by modifications to parental MSCs.