Exosomes derived from HEK293T cells interact in an efficient and non-invasive manner with mammalian sperm in vitro

<p><strong>Aims:</strong> To investigate exosomes as a non-invasive delivery tool for mammalian sperm.</p> <p><strong>Materials & Methods:</strong> Exosomes were isolated from HEK293T cells and co-incubated with boar sperm in vitro.</p> <p>...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Coward, K, Vilanova-Perez, T, Jones, C, Balint, S, Dragovic, R, Dustin, M, Yeste, M
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Future Medicine 2020
Description
Summary:<p><strong>Aims:</strong> To investigate exosomes as a non-invasive delivery tool for mammalian sperm.</p> <p><strong>Materials & Methods:</strong> Exosomes were isolated from HEK293T cells and co-incubated with boar sperm in vitro.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Internalized exosomes were detected within 10 minutes of co-incubation. Computer-assisted sperm analysis and flow cytometry demonstrated that even after 5-hours of exposure to exosomes, there were no significant deleterious effects with regards to sperm motility, viability, membrane integrity and mitochondrial membrane potential (P>0.05), thus indicating that exosomes did not interfere with basic sperm function.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> HEK293T-derived exosomes interacted with boar sperm without affecting sperm function. Exosomes represent a versatile and promising research tool for studying sperm biology and provide new options for the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility.</p>