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Updated: Jun 13, 2025
Flow Cytometric Analysis of Extracellular Vesicles from Cell-conditioned Media
Published on: February 12, 2019
Engineering extracellular vesicles derived from endothelial cells sheared by laminar flow for anti-atherosclerotic
Chunli Li1, Fei Fang1, Erxiang Wang1
1Institute of Biomedical Engineering, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences & Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.
Abstract:
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) secreted by endothelial cells in response to blood laminar flow play a crucial role in maintaining vascular homeostasis. However, the potential of these EVs to modulate the immune microenvironment within plaques for treating atherosclerosis remains unclear. Here, we present compelling evidence that EVs secreted by endothelial cells sheared by atheroprotective laminar shear stress (LSS-EVs) exhibit excellent immunoregulatory effects against atherosclerosis. LSS-EVs demonstrated a robust capacity to induce the conversion of M1-type macrophages into M2-type macrophages. Mechanistic investigations confirmed that LSS-EVs were enriched in miR-34c-5p and reprogrammed macrophages by targeting the TGF-β-Smad3 signaling pathway. Moreover, we employed click chemistry to modify hyaluronic acid (HA) on the surface of LSS-EVs, enabling specific binding to the CD44 receptor expressed by inflammatory macrophages within plaques. These HA-modified LSS-EVs (HA@LSS-EVs) exhibited exceptional abilities for targeting atherosclerosis and demonstrated promising therapeutic effects both in vitro and in vivo.
