Immunostimulatory Potential of Extracellular Vesicles Isolated from an Edible Plant, Petasites japonicus, via the Induction of Murine Dendritic Cell Maturation

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2021-10, Vol.22 (19), p.10634
• Main Authors: Han, Jeong Moo, Song, Ha-Yeon, Lim, Seung-Taik, Kim, Kwang-Il, Seo, Ho Seong, Byun, Eui-Baek
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptive immunity; Antigens; Biomolecules; Cancer; CD8 antigen; CD80 antigen; CD86 antigen; Cell differentiation; Cell proliferation; Centrifugation; Cytokines; Cytology; Cytotoxicity; Dendritic cells; Extracellular vesicles; Immunology; Immunomodulation; Immunostimulation; Inflammatory bowel disease; Interleukin 12; Interleukin 2; Light scattering; Lipids; Lymphocytes; Lymphocytes T; Major histocompatibility complex; MAP kinase; Maturation; NF-κB protein; Oral administration; Petasites japonicus; Phosphorylation; Photon correlation spectroscopy; Plants; Transmission electron microscopy; Tumor necrosis factor-α; Vesicles; γ-Interferon
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms221910634

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have recently been isolated from different plants. Plant-derived EVs have been proposed as potent therapeutics and drug-delivery nanoplatforms for delivering biomolecules, including proteins, RNAs, DNAs, and lipids. Herein, Petasites japonicus-derived EVs (PJ-EVs) were isolated through a series of centrifugation steps and characterized using dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy. Immunomodulatory effects of PJ-EVs were assessed using dendritic cells (DCs). PJ-EVs exhibited a spherical morphology with an average size of 122.6 nm. They induced the maturation of DCs via an increase in the expression of surface molecules (CD80, CD86, MHC-I, and MHC-II), production of Th1-polarizing cytokines (TNF-α and IL-12p70), and antigen-presenting ability; however, they reduced the antigen-uptake ability. Furthermore, maturation of DCs induced by PJ-EVs was dependent on the activation and phosphorylation of MAPK and NF-κB signal pathways. Notably, PJ-EV-treated DCs strongly induced the proliferation and differentiation of naïve T cells toward Th1-type T cells and cytotoxic CD8+ T cells along with robust secretion of IFN-γ and IL-2. In conclusion, our study indicates that PJ-EVs can be potent immunostimulatory candidates with an ability of strongly inducing the maturation of DCs.