Researchers at Karolinska Institute have recently shown that tiny bubbles can transmit protein drugs for treating inflammation, an infection resulting from various diseases.
A ScienceDaily report said the strategy presented in the findings published in Nature Biomedical Engineering exhibits promising outcomes using animal models.
In connection to this, scientists have hoped that small sacs of material expelled by cells can be used to deliver drugs inside the body.
EVs or extracellular vesicles are essential in inter-cellular communication as biological signals' carriers. They are described as nanometer-sized membrane-coated packages expelled by cells that can transport fatty acids, proteins, and genetic material to different tissues.
These tiny bubbles exist naturally in bodily fluids. They can pass through biological barriers such as the blood-brain barrier and be used as natural transporters of treatment substances. As a result, EVs have gained growing interest as potential drugs.
Use of 'Biomolecular' Techniques
With the use of biomolecular techniques, the Karolinska Institutet researchers have coated the outlet EV membrane with the therapeutic proteins more accurately receptors that bind to the "inflammatory substances TNF-α and interleukin 6 (IL 6)."
A similar Medical Xpress report specified that the said substances in the body under inflammatory conditions like multiple sclerosis or MS and inflammatory bowel disease or IBD, which is described on the Mayo Clinic site, play a vital role in inflammation in the subsequent tissue impairment.
Such knowledge has resulted in the development of biological drugs that dampen the inflammatory response through inhibition of TNF-α and IL 6.
In this current study, the study investigators tried inhibiting the inflammatory substances through therapeutic EVs that express the receptors on their membranes. These are receptors that bind to IL6 and TNF-α.
According to doctoral student Dhanu Gupta from the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, they used different approaches for optimizing the expression of receptors and tested the different variants of EVs in inflammatory cell models to determine which strategy provided the greatest inflammatory impact. Gupta is the study's joint first author with departmental colleague Oscar Wiklander.
The study investigator then studied the impacts of therapeutic EVs in three important inflammatory animal models for blood poisoning or sepsis, IBD, and MS.
Study Findings
Using the animal model for sepsis, treatment substantially enhanced survival chances, suggesting a successful diminishing of the inflammatory response.
Meanwhile, in the MS model, the scientists discovered a substantial decrease in the neurological symptoms observed in MS flare-ups.
As specified in this study, treatment using EVs expressing both receptors showed a substantial rise in survival chances in rodent models for IBD.
Principal investigator Samir EL Andaloussi, from the Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, and joint last author of the study with Joel Nordin from the same department said, their findings are an essential step in the right path.
They added that the same findings demonstrate that EVs can be a potential inflammation treatment, although the approach has great potential for many other illnesses.
Related information about fighting inflammation is shown on Healthy Coach Kait's YouTube video below:
Check out more news and information on Medicine & Health in Science Times.
