Exosomes as nanocarriers for the delivery of bioactive compounds from black bean extract with antiproliferative activity in cancer cell lines

Exosomes are membrane-derived nanovesicles secreted by a variety of cell types to the extracellular space for intercellular communication. Based on this biological function, exosomes have been used in numerous applications such as drug delivery. In this work, exosomes isolated from MCF7, Caco2, PC3 and HepG2 cell lines were characterized and loaded with bioactive compounds from black bean extract by electroporation. The cellular uptake and the antiproliferative activity of exosomal formulation were evaluated in cancerous cells in vitro, resulting in a maximum exosome uptake after 24 h with an enhanced antiproliferative activity. Our results suggest that exosomes are a promising alternative for the development of novel and more efficient cancer therapies. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.