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. 2016 Apr 1;126(4):1173–1180. doi: 10.1172/JCI81131

Figure 3. Modifying EVs for therapeutic applications.

Figure 3

APCs can be engineered in culture to generate immunoregulatory EVs for therapeutic applications. Antigen-specific effects can be achieved by pulsing the APCs with tumor- or pathogen-derived antigens or by transfer of antigen-encoding genes. Similarly, APCs can be modified to express immunosuppressive or immunostimulatory cytokines or ligands, which can render the APC-derived EVs able to suppress or stimulate antigen-specific immune responses. The expression of costimulatory ligands in the APC can result in EVs with increased levels of the ligands, thereby directly affecting the immunoregulatory activity of the EVs. Finally, the EVs themselves can be modified to carry immunomodulatory small RNAs, such as miRNAs or antagomIRs. CTL, cytotoxic T lymphocyte.