Mesenchymal stromal cell-derived magnetic nanovesicles for enhanced skin retention and hair follicle growth

Abstract

Background aims: Extracellular vesicles and exosome-mimetic nanovesicles (NVs) derived from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have emerged as promising to promote hair growth. However, short local skin retention after subcutaneous administration hinders their clinical applications.

Methods: In this study, we prepared magnetic nanovesicles (MNVs) from iron oxide nanoparticle-incorporated MSCs. MNVs contained more therapeutic growth factors than NVs derived from naive MSCs, and their localization and internalization were manipulated by external magnetic field.

Results: Following the subcutaneous injection of MNVs into a mouse model of depilation-induced hair regeneration, the magnetic attraction increased their skin retention. Then, the cellular proliferation and β-catenin signaling in hair follicles (HF) were markedly enhanced by MNV injection and magnetic field application. Furthermore, an acceleration of HF growth was revealed by histological analysis.

Conclusions: The proposed strategy can enhance the therapeutic potential of MSC-derived NVs for hair regeneration and other dermatological diseases.

Keywords: extracellular vesicles; hair growth; iron oxide nanoparticles; mesenchymal stromal cells; nanovesicles.