Researchers at Ohio State University and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center say they have developed a new gene therapy technique by transforming human cells into mass producers of tiny nano-sized particles full of genetic material that has the potential to reverse disease processes.
We transfected various source cells with plasmid DNAs and stimulated the cells with a focal and transient electrical stimulus that promotes the release of exosomes carrying transcribed mRNAs and targeting peptides,” the investigators wrote.
“The advantage of this is there is no toxicity, nothing to provoke an immune response,” said Lee, also a member of Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Exosomes go almost everywhere in the body, including passing the blood-brain barrier. Most drugs can’t go to the brain.
Because of exosomes’ safe access to the brain, Lee said, this drug-delivery system has promise for future applications in neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.