Cell type-specific and common characteristics of exosomes derived from mouse cell lines: Yield, physicochemical properties, and pharmacokinetics

Exosomes are small membrane vesicles secreted from cells and are expected to be used as drug delivery systems. Important characteristics of exosomes, such as yield, physicochemical properties, and pharmacokinetics, may be different among different cell types. However, there is limited information about the effect of cell type on these characteristics. In the present study, we evaluated these characteristics of exosomes derived from five different types of mouse cell lines: B16BL6 murine melanoma cells, C2C12 murine myoblast cells, NIH3T3 murine fibroblasts cells, MAEC murine aortic endothelial cells, and RAW264.7 murine macrophage-like cells. Exosomes were collected using a differential ultracentrifugation method. The exosomes collected from all the cell types were negatively charged globular vesicles with a diameter of approximately 100 nm. C2C12 and RAW264.7 cells produced more exosomes than the other types of cells. The exosomes were labeled with a fusion protein of Gaussia luciferase and lactadherin to evaluate their pharmacokinetics. After intravenous injection into mice, all the exosomes rapidly disappeared from the systemic circulation and mainly distributed to the liver. In conclusion, the exosome yield was significantly different among the cell types, and all the exosomes evaluated in this study showed comparable physicochemical and pharmacokinetic properties. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.