Synthetic Mimetics of Exosomal Lipid Profile Enhance Gemcitabine Delivery in Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer ranks fourth among cancer-related deaths. Despite decades of research, the cure rate of disease remains disappointingly low. This dismal prognosis is due to late detection and to resistance of tumors to all known systemic therapies. Here, we build upon our previous findings that highlighted the selective uptake of tumor-associated macrophage-derived exosomes by cancer cells. We hypothesize that the prominent lipid contents on the exosome surface play a crucial role in facilitating selective cellular interactions, offering a novel avenue for developing efficient drug delivery platforms for pancreatic cancer. Lipids’ affinity toward cancer cells was measured, following mass spectral lipidomic analysis for screening the lipidic composition of macrophages and their derived exosomes. Subsequently, optimized and characterized synthetic exosomes underwent detailed intracellular trafficking studies in human pancreatic cancer cells, demonstrating enhanced cellular uptake kinetics. Notably, gemcitabine-loaded synthetic exosomes exhibited superior efficacy in inducing programmed cell death compared to both the free drug and conventional liposome formulations. The biodistribution examination of these synthetic exosomes underscored their potential for tumor specificity. In vivo experiments further demonstrated that the treatment with gemcitabine-incorporated synthetic exosomes inhibited tumor growth by nearly 50% compared to the administration of the free drug, indicating a significantly enhanced treatment efficacy. Our findings indicate that leveraging the lipid membrane composition of exosomes could lead to breakthroughs in drug delivery efficiency. This innovative strategy offers a promising direction in the ongoing battle against pancreatic cancer, highlighting the potential of exosomal lipid profiles for cancer therapy.