Extracellular Vesicles Cargo in Modulating Microglia Functional Responses
Maria Ester La Torre,
Maria Antonietta Panaro,
Melania Ruggiero,
Rita Polito,
Antonia Cianciulli,
Francesca Martina Filannino,
Dario Domenico Lofrumento,
Laura Antonucci,
Tarek Benameur,
Vincenzo Monda,
Marcellino Monda,
Chiara Porro,
Giovanni Messina
Affiliations
Maria Ester La Torre
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy
Maria Antonietta Panaro
Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari, 70125 Bari, Italy
Melania Ruggiero
Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari, 70125 Bari, Italy
Rita Polito
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy
Antonia Cianciulli
Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari, 70125 Bari, Italy
Francesca Martina Filannino
Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari, 70125 Bari, Italy
Dario Domenico Lofrumento
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, Section of Human Anatomy, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Laura Antonucci
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy
Tarek Benameur
Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Vincenzo Monda
Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Human Physiology and Unit of Dietetics and Sports Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Marcellino Monda
Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Human Physiology and Unit of Dietetics and Sports Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy
Chiara Porro
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy
Giovanni Messina
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Foggia, 71122 Foggia, Italy
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) represent a heterogeneous group of membranous structures derived from cells that are released by all cell types, including brain cells. EVs are now thought to be an additional mechanism of intercellular communication. Both under normal circumstances and following the addition of proinflammatory stimuli, microglia release EVs, but the contents of these two types of EVs are different. Microglia are considered the brain-resident immune cells that are involved in immune surveillance and inflammatory responses in the central nervous system. In this research, we have analyzed the effects of EVs isolated from microglia in response to LPS (Lipopolysaccharide) on microglia activation. The EVs produced as result of LPS stimulation, knows as EVs-LPS, were then used as stimuli on microglia BV2 resting cells in order to investigate their ability to induce microglia to polarize towards an inflammatory state. After EVs-LPS stimulation, we analyzed the change to BV2 cells’ morphology, proliferation, and migration, and investigated the expression and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The encouraging findings of this study showed that EVs-LPS can activate microglia in a manner similar to that of LPS alone and that EVs derived from control cells cannot polarize microglia towards a pro-inflammatory state. This study has confirmed the critical role of EVs in communication and shown how EVs produced in an inflammatory environment can exacerbate the inflammatory process by activating microglia, which may have an impact on all brain cells.
