The advancement of exosome studies has positioned engineered exosomes as crucial biomaterials for the development of advanced drug delivery systems. This study focuses on developing a hybrid exosome system by fusing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) exosomes with folate-targeted liposomes. The aim was to improve the drug loading capacity and target modification of exosome nanocarriers for delivering the first-line chemotherapy drug paclitaxel (PTX) and its effectiveness was assessed through cellular uptake studies to evaluate its ability to deliver drugs to tumor cells in vitro. Additionally, in vivo experiments were conducted using a CT26 tumor-bearing mouse model to assess the therapeutic efficacy of hybrid exosomes loaded with PTX (ELP). Cellular uptake studies demonstrated that ELP exhibited superior drug delivery capabilities to tumor cells in vitro. Moreover, in vivo experiments revealed that ELP significantly suppressed tumor growth in the CT26 tumor-bearing mouse model. Notably, for the first time, we examined the tumor microenvironment following intratumoral administration of ELP. We observed that ELP treatment activated CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells, reduced the expression of M2 type tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs), polarized TAMs towards the M1 type, and decreased regulatory T cells (Tregs). Our research highlights the considerable therapeutic efficacy of ELP and its promising potential for future application in cancer therapy. The development of hybrid exosomes presents an innovative approach to enhance drug delivery and modulate the tumor microenvironment, offering exciting prospects for effective cancer treatment strategies.

Preparation, characterization, and in vitro and in vivo investigation of chitosan-coated poly (d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles for intestinal delivery of exendin-4 Mengshu Wang,1* Yong Zhang,1* Jiao Feng,1 Tiejun Gu,1 Qingguang Dong,1 Xu Yang,2 Yanan Sun,1 Yongge Wu,1 Yan Chen,1 Wei Kong1 1National Engineering Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine, College of Life Science, Jilin University, Changchun, People’s Republic of China; 2BCHT Biopharm Co, Ltd, Changchun, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workBackground: Exendin-4 is an incretin mimetic agent approved for type 2 diabetes treatment. However, the required frequent injections restrict its clinical application. Here, the potential use of chitosan-coated poly (d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (CS-PLGA) nanoparticles was investigated for intestinal delivery of exendin-4.Methods and results: Nanoparticles were prepared using a modified water–oil–water (w/o/w) emulsion solvent-evaporation method, followed by coating with chitosan. The physical properties, particle size, and cell toxicity of the nanoparticles were examined. The cellular uptake mechanism and transmembrane permeability were performed in Madin-Darby canine kidney-cell monolayers. Furthermore, in vivo intraduodenal administration of exendin-4-loaded nanoparticles was carried out in rats. The PLGA nanoparticle coating with chitosan led to a significant change in zeta potential, from negative to positive, accompanied by an increase in particle size of ~30 nm. Increases in both the molecular weight and degree of deacetylation of chitosan resulted in an observable increase in zeta potential but no apparent change in the particle size of ~300 nm. Both unmodified PLGA and chitosan-coated nanoparticles showed only slight cytotoxicity. Use of different temperatures and energy depletion suggested that the cellular uptake of both types of nanoparticles was energy-dependent. Further investigation revealed that the uptake of PLGA nanoparticles occurred via caveolin-mediated endocytosis and that of CS-PLGA nanoparticles involved both macropinocytosis and clathrin-mediated endocytosis, as evidenced by using endocytic inhibitors. However, under all conditions, CS-PLGA nanoparticles showed a greater potential to be transported into cells, as shown by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Transmembrane permeability analysis showed that unmodified and modified PLGA nanoparticles could improve the transport of exendin-4 by up to 8.9- and 16.5-fold, respectively, consistent with the evaluation in rats.Conclusion: The chitosan-coated nanoparticles have a higher transport potential over both free drug and unmodified particles, providing support for their potential development as a candidate oral delivery agent for exendin-4.Keywords: chitosan, PLGA, intestinal absorption

In this study, a novel conjugate consisting of glycol chitosan (GCS) and ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) was synthesized and characterized in terms of conjugation and heavy metal ion chelating capacity. Moreover, its potential application as a metalloenzyme inhibitor was evaluated with three thymopoietin oligopeptides in the presence of leucine aminopeptidase. The results from FTIR and NMR spectra revealed that the covalent attachment of EDTA to GCS was achieved by the formation of amide bonds between the carboxylic acid group of EDTA and amino groups of GCS. The conjugated EDTA lost part of its chelating capacity to cobalt ions compared with free EDTA as evidenced by the results of cobalt ion chelation-mediated fluorescence recovery of calcein. However, further investigation confirmed that GCS-EDTA at low concentrations significantly inhibited leucine aminopeptidase-mediated degradation of all thymopoietin oligopeptides.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the permeability of exendin-4-loaded chitosan nanoparticles using the Madin Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell monolayer as an in vitro model and the rat intestine as an ex vivo model of the human intestinal barrier. A series of formulations of sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) and chitosan with different molecular weights and degrees of deacetylation was evaluated. The formulation consisting of 0.1% TPP and 0.2% chitosan (400 kDa, 95% degree of deacetylation), which gave optimized monodispersed particle size (303.1±10.36 nm), zeta potential (18.37±1.15 mV) and encapsulation efficiency (38.0±2.6%), was used for further analysis. After determining their biocompatibility, the transport potential of drug-loaded chitosan nanoparticles was evaluated and compared with free exendin-4 using both MDCK cell monolayers and different rat intestinal segments. Mechanisms underlying enhanced transport of exendin-4 in the cell model were also explored. Compared with free exendin-4, the absorption of optimized chitosan nanoparticles was enhanced by 4.7-fold in MDCK cell monolayers and by 2.0–2.78-fold in different rat intestinal segments, with no significant difference between the duodenum, jejunum and ileum. As supported by confocal laser scanning microscopic analysis, the lower enhancement of absorption in the intestine compared to the cell monolayer likely resulted from the chitosan nanoparticle-mediated opening of cellular tight junctions and not through intracellular transport. These findings suggest that the potential application of chitosan nanoparticles as delivery carriers of exendin-4 is limited and may need further modifications.