Abstract
Breast cancer amidst one of the principal roots of tumour-related mortality in women globally that necessitating the development of targeted and less toxic therapeutic strategies. Human dental pulp mesenchymal stem cells derived extracellular vesicles (hDPSC-EVs) or exosomes are emerging as promising novelty in targeting cells to deliver novel or conventional drugs. In this study, we explored the anticancer potential of small extracellular vehicles (EVs) derived from human dental pulp, primed with Doxorubicin, a widely used chemotherapeutic agent. Human dental pulp was collected and processed to isolate and culture mesenchymal stem cells, which were subsequently characterized through immunophenotyping and gene expression analysis to confirm their stemness and mesenchymal lineage. The EVs were isolated following standard operating procedures. Doxorubicin was successfully loaded into the EVs to formulate a targeted nano-carrier system. The bioengineered Doxorubicin-EVs were then evaluated for their in vitro anticancer activity using cytotoxicity assays and wound healing assay on triple negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. The cytotoxicity assay demonstrated significant dose-dependent effect on breast tumour cell viability. Additionally, wound healing assay revealed marked inhibition of cancer cell proliferation, supported by quantitative ImageJ analysis. These findings highlighted the potential of Doxorubicin-primed hDPSC-derived EVs as a novel, cellfree and biocompatible nano-therapeutic strategy for the therapy of breast cancer, offering enhanced drug delivery efficiency and reduced systemic toxicity.
Keywords: Doxorubicin, Exosomes, Extracellular Vesicles, Nano-carrier System, Scratch Assay, Triple Negative MDA-MB-231 Breast Cancer Cells.