Targeting damages in the brain: exosomes derived from MSC present migration and homing abilities to different neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric locations

Abstract

Background & Aim One of the greatest challenges in both neurology and psychiatry is targeted drug delivery. Most of the molecules do not cross the blood-brain barrier, and those who cross it do not target the damaged area in the brain and causes major side effect and non-specific changes. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are known to have migration abilities to inflammatory regions. They also have the potential of immunomodulation in the damaged tissue and promote regeneration. The therapeutic effects of MSC are known to be mediated mainly via the secretion of factors and vesicles to the tissues. Exosomes are small nano-vesicles containing genetic information and are used as cell-to-cell communication. Here we that exosomes secreted from MSC (MSC-exo) have migration abilities to distinct pathological areas in the brain, also when they are given through intranasal administration. Methods, Results & Conclusion We used gold nanoparticles loaded exosomes for in-vivo neuroimaging and present specific migration and homing to various brain pathologies including stroke, Parkinson s, Alzheimer s, Autism and healthy brains as a control. By this method, we visualized the migration and homing abilities of exosomes in long-term follow-up ad report that in pathological areas they home for more than 96 hours while in healthy brains they are being evacuated within 24 hours. Furthermore, we show that MSC-exo uses chemotaxis signaling to target the inflammatory areas in the brain.