Autologous Cancer Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles as Drug-Delivery Systems: A Systematic Review of Preclinical and Clinical Findings and Translational Implications

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoscale natural membrane vesicles released by cells and are involved in intercellular communication. A number of studies have used autologous cancer cell-derived EVs (ACCD-EVs) as nanocarriers for delivery of therapeutics as they may be more efficiently uptaken by the cancer cells themselves. However, they also have been suggested to promote proliferation, survival and metastasis of cancers. Here, we evaluated the targeting efficacy, therapeutic outcome and safety of ACCD-EVs. Overall, superior targeting efficacy and enhanced anticancer efficacy of ACCD-EV-mediated delivery of therapeutics are evidenced. But existing data are insufficient to allow any conclusion about the safety of therapeutic-loaded EVs. A more profound elucidation of the specificity, efficacy and safety will contribute to future translational research of ACCD-EVs.

Keywords::

• biodistribution
• cancer
• drug delivery
• exosome
• extracellular vesicles
• microvesicles
• nanomedicine
• purification

Supplementary data

To view the supplementary data that accompany this paper please visit the journal website at: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.2217/nnm-2018-0286

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Plan (2016TP2002), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Central South University (2018zzts082) and Hunan Provincial Innovation Foundation For Postgraduate. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Ethical disclosure

For studies involving data relating to human or animal experimental investigations, authors should obtain appropriate institutional review board approval and state this within the article (for those investigators who do not have formal ethics review committees, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki should be followed). In addition, for investigations involving human subjects, authors should obtain informed consent from the participants involved and include an explanation of how this was obtained in the manuscript.

Author contributions

Y-J Li and D-X Xiang defined the scope of the review. Y-J Li, J-Y Wu and X-B Hu searched and selected studies. Y-J Li, J-Y Wu and J-M Wang summarized studies. Y-J Li drafted the manuscript. All authors contributed to critical review of the manuscript and approved the final version.

Additional information

Funding

Hunan Provincial Science and Technology Plan (2016TP2002), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Central South University (2018zzts082) and Hunan Provincial Innovation Foundation For Postgraduate. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.