Extracellular vesicles produced by teratocarcinoma cells were isolated and characterized. Functional assays on glioblastoma (GBM) cell cultures showed the inhibitory effect of these vesicles on tumor cell migration, without inducing undesirable effects such as increased cell proliferation or chemotherapy resistance. The oncoprotein CRIPTO was found associated to teratocarcinoma-derived extracellular vesicles and related to the inhibitory effect on GBM cell migration. This finding is relevant for the development of a targeted therapeutic approach to limit the invasiveness and high infiltrative capacity of GBM, one of the main causes of tumor recurrence, and in perspective, the formation of metastases in other tumor types.
- Extracellular vesicles derived from tumor cell lines show natural antitumoral activity (inhibition of cell migration) per se, without engineering with therapeutic molecules.
- The antimigratory activity was observed on glioblastoma (GBM) cells. The high invasiveness and infiltrative capacity of GBM underlies its high recurrence rate and poor prognosis, so the use of vesicles capable of recognizing GBM cells and inhibiting their migration is particularly relevant.
- Identification of a protein, CRIPTO, associated with vesicles, implicated in the antimigratory effect observed. CRIPTO is a membrane-anchored as well as a soluble protein, so far associated with oncogenic functions. CRIPTO presence in vesicles could alter its mechanism of action and final effect on cells.
Italy, PCT