Employing nanoparticle tracking analysis of salivary neuronal exosomes for early detection of neurodegenerative diseases

Exosomes for neurodegenerative diseases: diagnosis and targeted therapy

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Neurodegenerative diseases are still challenging clinical issues, with no curative interventions available and early, accurate diagnosis remaining difficult. Finding solutions to them is of great importance. In this review, we discuss possible exosomal diagnostic biomarkers and explore current explorations in exosome-targeted therapy for some common neurodegenerative diseases, offering insights into the clinical transformation of exosomes in this field.

RECENT FINDINGS

The burgeoning research on exosomes has shed light on their potential applications in disease diagnosis and treatment. As a type of extracellular vesicles, exosomes are capable of crossing the blood - brain barrier and exist in various body fluids, whose components can reflect pathophysiological changes in the brain. In addition, they can deliver specific drugs to brain tissue, and even possess certain therapeutic effects themselves. And the recent advancements in engineering modification technology have further enabled exosomes to selectively target specific sites, facilitating the possibility of targeted therapy for neurodegenerative diseases. The unique properties of exosomes give them great potential in the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, and provide novel ideas for dealing with such diseases.

Dynamic Monitoring of Biomolecular Hydrodynamic Dimensions by Magnetization Motion on Quartz Crystal Microbalance

Hydrodynamic dimension (HD) is the primary indicator of the size of bioconjugated particles and biomolecules. It is an important parameter in the study of solid-liquid two-phase dynamics. HD dynamic monitoring is crucial for precise and customized medical research as it enables the investigation of the continuous changes in the physicochemical characteristics of biomolecules in response to external stimuli. However, current HD measurements based on Brownian motion, such as dynamic light scattering (DLS), are inadequate for meeting the polydisperse sample demands of dynamic monitoring. In this paper, we propose MMQCM method samples of various types and HD dynamic monitoring. An alternating magnetic field of frequency ωm excites biomolecule-magnetic bead particles (bioMBs) to generate magnetization motion, and the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) senses this motion to provide HD dynamic monitoring. Specifically, the magnetization motion is modulated onto the thickness-shear oscillation of the QCM at the frequency ωq. By analysis of the frequency spectrum of the QCM output signal, the ratio of the magnitudes of the real and imaginary parts of the components at frequency ωq ± 2ωm is extracted to characterize the particle size. Using the MMQCM approach, we successfully evaluated the size of bioMBs with different biomolecule concentrations. The 30 min HD dynamic monitoring was implemented. An increase of ∼10 nm in size was observed upon biomolecular structural stretching. Subsequently, the size of bioMBs gradually reduced due to the continuous dissociation of biomolecules, with a total reduction of 20∼40 nm. This HD dynamic monitoring demonstrates that the release of biomolecules can be regulated by controlling the duration of magnetic stimulation, providing valuable insights and guidance for controlled drug release in personalized precision medicine.

Unveiling the protective effects of BMSCs/anti-miR-124-3p exosomes on LPS-induced endometrial injury

Researchers have reported that miR-124-3p is highly expressed in patients with chronic endometritis. However, the underlying mechanism of miR-124-3p in the development of endometritis remains unclear. This study constructed an in vitro endometrial cell injury model by treating HEECs with 2 μg/mL LPS for 48 h. Then, 1 mg/kg LPS was injected into both sides of the mouse uterus to construct an in vivo endometrial injury model. The expression of miR-124-3p in human endometrial epithelial cells (HEECs) was assessed using RT‒qPCR. Exosomes were separated from bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and cocultured with HEECs. A dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to confirm the relationship between miR-124-3p and DUSP6. The results indicated that LPS inhibited HEEC viability in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The miR-124-3p inhibitor reversed the LPS-induced apoptosis and inhibition of HEEC viability. In addition, miR-124-3p could be transferred from BMSCs to HEECs by exosomes. Exosomes were derived from BMSCs treated with an NC inhibitor (BMSCs/NC Exo) or miR-124-3p inhibitor (BMSCs/anti-miR-124-3p Exo). In addition, BMSCs/anti-miR-124-3p Exo abolished the LPS-induced inhibition of HEEC viability and proliferation by inducing HEEC apoptosis. Moreover, BMSCs/anti-miR-124-3p Exo alleviated the LPS-induced inflammation of HEECs by upregulating DUSP6 and downregulating p-p65 and p-ERK. Furthermore, in an LPS-induced in vivo endometrial injury model, BMSCs/anti-miR-124-3p Exo increased the expression level of DUSP6 and decreased the expression levels of p-p65 and p-ERK. BMSCs/anti-miR-124-3p Exo protected against LPS-induced endometrial damage in vitro and in vivo by upregulating DUSP6 and downregulating p-p65 and p-ERK1/2. This study showed that BMSCs/anti-miR-124-3p Exo might be a potential alternative for the treatment of endometritis.

Salivary Biomarkers for Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease which manifests with motor features, such as bradykinesia, resting tremor, rigidity, and postural instability. Using the non-invasive technique of saliva collection, we designed a systematic review to answer the question "Are salivary biomarkers reliable for the diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease?". Following inclusion and exclusion criteria, 30 studies were included in this systematic review (according to the PRISMA statement guidelines). Mostly proteins were reported as potential biomarkers in saliva. Based on meta-analysis, in PD patients, salivary levels of total alpha-synuclein were significantly decreased, and those of oligomeric alpha-synuclein were significantly increased. Also, according to pooled AUC, heme oxygenase-1 demonstrated significant predictive value for saliva-based PD diagnosis. In conclusion, some potential biomarkers, especially alpha-synuclein, can be altered in the saliva of PD patients, which could be reliably useful for early diagnosis of this neurodegenerative disease differentiating other synucleopathies.

Dielectrophoretic Capture of Cancer-Derived Small-Extracellular-Vesicle-Bound Janus Nanoparticles via Lectin-Glycan Interaction

Glycosylation is closely related to cellular metabolism and disease progression. In particular, glycan levels in cancer cells and tissues increase during cancer progression. This upregulation of glycosylation in cancer cells may provide a basis for the development of new biomarkers for the targeting and diagnosis of specific cancers. Here, they developed a detection technology for pancreatic cancer cell-derived small extracellular vesicles (PC-sEVs) based on lectin-glycan interactions. Lectins specific for sialic acids are conjugated to Janus nanoparticles to induce interactions with PC-sEVs in a dielectrophoretic (DEP) system. PC-sEVs are selectively bound to the lectin-conjugated Janus nanoparticles (lectin-JNPs) with an affinity comparable to that of conventionally used carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) antibodies. Furthermore, sEVs-bound Lectin-JNPs (sEVs-Lec-JNPs) are manipulated between two electrodes to which an AC signal is applied for DEP capture. In addition, the proposed DEP system can be used to trap the sEVs-Lec-JNP on the electrodes. Their results, which are confirmed by lectin-JNPs using the proposed DEP system followed by target gene analysis, provide a basis for the development of a new early diagnostic marker based on the glycan characteristics of PC-sEVs. In turn, these novel detection methods could overcome the shortcomings of commercially available pancreatic cancer detection techniques.

Exosomes: potential targets for the diagnosis and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders

The field of neuropsychiatry is considered a middle ground between neurological and psychiatric disorders, thereby bridging the conventional boundaries between matter and mind, consciousness, and function. Neuropsychiatry aims to evaluate and treat cognitive, behavioral, and emotional disorders in individuals with neurological conditions. However, the pathophysiology of these disorders is not yet fully understood, and objective biological indicators for these conditions are currently lacking. Treatment options are also limited due to the blood-brain barrier, which results in poor treatment effects. Additionally, many drugs, particularly antipsychotic drugs, have adverse reactions, which make them difficult to tolerate for patients. As a result, patients often abandon treatment owing to these adverse reactions. Since the discovery of exosomes in 1983, they have been extensively studied in various diseases owing to their potential as nanocellulators for information exchange between cells. Because exosomes can freely travel between the center and periphery, brain-derived exosomes can reflect the state of the brain, which has considerable advantages in diagnosis and treatment. In addition, administration of engineered exosomes can improve therapeutic efficacy, allow lesion targeting, ensure drug stability, and prevent systemic adverse effects. Therefore, this article reviews the source and biological function of exosomes, relationship between exosomes and the blood-brain barrier, relationship between exosomes and the pathological mechanism of neuropsychiatric disorders, exosomes in the diagnosis and treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders, and application of engineered exosomes in neuropsychiatric disorders.

TNF-α stimulated exosome derived from fibroblast-like synoviocytes isolated from rheumatoid arthritis patients promotes HUVEC migration, invasion and angiogenesis by targeting the miR-200a-3p/KLF6/VEGFA axis

The pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is heavily impacted by the inflammation and activation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS). The objective of this investigation is to clarify the involvement of exosomes derived from FLS stimulated by tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) in angiogenesis and the underlying mechanisms. FLS cells were obtained from synovial fluid of RA patients and exosomes were obtained from FLS cell supernatant with TNF-α stimulation by ultracentrifugation. Exosomes were subsequently analysed using transmission electron microscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis, and western blotting. The functional effects of exosomes with TNF-α stimulation on human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) migration, invasion, and angiogenesis was evaluated using wound scratch healing test, transwell invasion assay, and tube formation assay. DNA nanoball-seq (DNBSEQ) sequencing platform was utilised to analysis different expression miRNA from exosomes, miRNA and mRNA from HUVEC. The expression level of miR-200a-3p was determined through quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The quantification of KLF6 and VEGFA expression levels were performed by qRT-PCR and western blot analysis. The validation of the association between miR-200a-3p and KLF6 was established through a fluorescence enzyme reporting assay. In comparison to exosome induced by PBS, exosome induced by TNF-α exhibited a substantial exacerbation of invasion, migration, and angiogenesis in HUVEC. 4 miRNAs in exosomes and HUVEC cells, namely miR-1246, miR-200a-3p, miR-30a-3p, and miR-99b-3p was obtained. MiR-200a-3p maintained high consistency with the sequencing results. We obtained 5 gene symbols, and KLF6 was chose for further investigation. The expression of miR-200a-3p in exosomes induced by TNF-α and in HUVEC treated with these exosomes demonstrated a significantly increase. Additionally, HUVEC cells displayed a notable decrease in KLF6 expression and a significant elevation in VEGFA expression. This was further confirmed by the fluorescence enzyme report assay, which provided evidence of the direct targeting of KLF6 by miR-200a-3p. Exosomes induced by TNF-α have the ability to enhance the migration, invasion, and angiogenesis of HUVEC cells via the miR-200a-3p/KLF6/VEGFA axis.