MSC-derived extracellular vesicles show promise in treating high-dose radiation injuries

A new study in the peer-reviewed journal Stem Cells and Development highlights the potential of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) as a therapeutic strategy for high-dose radiation injuries by promoting hematopoietic recovery and improving survival. 

Sicheng Wen, from Brown University, and coauthors, had previously demonstrated that MSC-EVs can reverse bone marrow injury caused by mold or moderate radiation. In the current study they evaluated the therapeutic potential of human MSC-EVs in mice exposed to high-dose total body irradiation.

MSC-EV administration significantly enhanced survival, with 70% of treated mice surviving 120 days after total body irradiation exposure, compared to 0% survival in untreated controls. MSC-EV treatment facilitated substantial peripheral blood recovery at three months post-irradiation, with significant increases in red blood cell, platelet, white blood cell, and hemoglobin levels. Changes in hematopoietic-related gene expression presented at 14 days post-irradiation returned to normal levels by 120 days in MSC-EV-treated mice.

"Well-intentioned efforts by academic and biotech researchers to advance the therapeutic potential of extracellular vesicles need to address the difficulties acknowledged by Peter Quesenberry's group in mechanistic explanation of observed improved recovery, as well as the difficulty in stringently characterizing the extracellular vesicles being used to address rigor and reproducibility," states Graham C. Parker, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Stem Cells and Development and the Department of Pediatrics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI.