Articular cartilage defect treatment is a very important problem because its therapeutic options are not successful enough. Due to the weak self-repairing capacity of the avascular cartilage, even minor damage can progress and cause joint damage leading to osteoarthritis. Although various treatment strategies have been developed to repair damaged cartilage, cell- and exosome-based therapies are promising. Plant extracts have been used for decades, and their effects on cartilage regeneration have been studied. Exosome-like vesicles, which are secreted by all living cells, are involved in cell-to-cell communication and cell homeostasis. The differentiation potential of exosome-like vesicles isolated from S. lycopersicum and C. limon, which are known to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, was investigated in the differentiation of human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hASCs) into chondrocytes. In order to obtain tomato-derived exosome-like vesicles (TELVs) and lemon-derived exosome-like vesicles (LELVs) Aquous Two- Phase system was performed. Characterisation of isolated vesicles based on size, shape were achived via Zetasizer, NTA FAME analysis, and SEM techniques. These results showed that TELVs and LELVs increased cell viability and did not show any toxic effects on stem cells. Although TELVs triggered chondrocyte formation, LELVs downregulated. The expression of ACAN, SOX9, and COMP, known as chondrocyte markers, was increased by TELV treatment. In addition, protein expression of the two most important proteins, COL2 and COLXI, found in the extracellular matrix of cartilage, increased. These findings suggest that TELVs can be used for cartilage regeneration, and may be a novel and promising treatment for osteoarthritis.
Keywords: Chondrogenic differentiation; Citrus limon; Exosome-like vesicles; Mesenchymal stem cells; Osteoarthritis; Solanum lycopersicum.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.