Malignant melanoma is considered the most aggressive skin carcinoma with invasive growth patterns. Triptolide (TPL) possesses various biological and pharmacological activities involved in cancer treatment. Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) can induce cancer cell apoptosis by binding to DR5 highly expressed on cancer cells. Exosomes are natural nanomaterials with low immunogenicity, nontoxicity, and excellent biocompatibility and have been extensively used as emerging delivery vectors for diverse therapeutic cargos. Herein, a delivery system based on TRAIL-engineered exosomes (TRAIL-Exo) for loading TPL for targeted therapy against malignant melanoma is proposed and systematically investigated. Our results showed that TRAIL-Exo/TPL could improve tumor targetability, enhance cellular uptake, inhibit proliferation, invasion, and migration, and induce apoptosis of A375 cells through activating the extrinsic TRAIL pathway and the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway in vitro. Moreover, intravenous injection of TRAIL-Exo/TPL significantly suppressed tumor progression and reduced the toxicity of TPL in the melanoma nude mouse model. Together, our research presents a novel strategy for high-efficiency exosome-based drug-delivery nanocarriers and provides an alternative dimension for developing a promising approach with synergistic therapeutic efficacy and targeting capacity for melanoma treatment.
Keywords: TRAIL; exosomes; malignant melanoma; targeting drug delivery; triptolide.