Title: The Effects of Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Extracellular Vesicles on Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Aims: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks hormone receptors, limiting the availability of targeted therapies. This study aimed to evaluate the anti-tumour effects of extracellular vesicles derived from adipose-derived stem cells (ADSC-EVs) on TNBC cells. Methods: ADSC-EVs were isolated from six patient donors and characterised using qNano Gold (Izon Science). Functional assays assessing proliferation, migration, and invasion were performed on MDA-MB-231 cells following 48-hour co-culture with ADSC-EVs. RNA sequencing was conducted to examine transcriptomic changes and identify differentially expressed genes linked to tumourigenic pathways. Results: Preliminary results demonstrate that ADSC-EVs significantly reduce TNBC cell migration by approximately 30% at 24 hours (p = 0.0289) and invasion by up to 35% at 48 hours (p < 0.05), with observed donor-dependent variability. Additionally, ADSC-EVs reduce proliferation in MCF7, MDA-MB-231, and SkBr3 cell lines without inducing cell death or enhancing motility. Ongoing transcriptomic analysis will explore differential regulation of pathways related to proliferation, apoptosis, and tumour progression.
Conclusions: These findings support the oncological safety and anti-tumour potential of ADSC-EVs in TNBC. This study builds on previous work to assess donor variability and inform future strategies for engineering ADSC-EVs as cell-free therapeutics or delivery vehicles for targeted anti-cancer therapies.
Student Research Project Student: Asha Bhakta
Primary Supervisor: Associate Professor Kirsty Danielson Department of Surgery and Anaesthesia University of Otago, Wellington 23 Mein Street, Newtown, Wellington Email: kirsty.danielson@otago.ac.nz Phone: 04 832 3044