Cow Milk and Intestinal Epithelial Cell-derived Extracellular Vesicles as Systems for Enhancing Oral Drug Delivery

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Drug Delivery Systems
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Oral drug administration is preferred but limited by poor bioavailability for many compounds.
• Extracellular vesicles (EVs) from sources like cow milk show promise for improving oral drug absorption.
• The potential of intestinal epithelial cell-derived EVs for this application remains unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the efficacy of cow milk-derived EVs and intestinal epithelial cell-derived EVs in enhancing oral drug bioavailability.
• To investigate the role of cell differentiation in EV uptake and drug delivery.

Main Methods:

• Isolation and characterization of EVs from cow milk and intestinal epithelial cells.
• Fluorescent labeling of EVs and loading with curcumin (CUR) as a model drug.
• Assessment of EV uptake and CUR permeability in a Caco-2 intestinal model.

Main Results:

• Intestinal epithelial cell-derived EVs exhibited significantly higher cellular uptake compared to cow milk EVs.
• EV uptake was enhanced in differentiated intestinal cells for both sources.
• Both types of EVs improved curcumin uptake and intestinal permeability, with epithelial cell-derived EVs showing superior performance.

Conclusions:

• Intestinal epithelial cell-derived EVs represent a promising strategy for enhancing oral drug bioavailability.
• EV source and cell differentiation state are critical factors for optimizing drug delivery via EVs.