Super homotypic targeting by surface engineering of extracellular vesicles
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Homotypic targeting is the inherent ability of cells to preferentially interact with cells of the same type, a phenomenon seen in cell adhesion, tissue formation and immune responses. However, its potential remains underexploited. Here we report a strategy to substantially enhance homotypic targeting through extracellular vesicles secreted by cells. By engineering the surface of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) with lanthanides, we amplify specific cell-sEV interactions by more than 25-fold, enabling the selective capture of sEVs by cells of the same lineage even in the presence of excess off-target sEVs. We term this effect 'super homotypic targeting'. Super homotypic targeting provides a means to distinguish sEVs of different origins within highly heterogeneous sEV populations and enables two applications: using cells to detect specific sEVs and using sEVs to detect specific cells, specifically demonstrated here in the context of cancer detection from blood samples. Super homotypic targeting could hold potential for diagnostics, immunotherapy, drug delivery, rejuvenation and tissue engineering.
Source: Nature Biomedical Engineering
Authors: Huai-Song Wang, Tianben Ding, Yuhong Liu, Fabio Lisi, Yuqi Zhou, Yaqi Zhao, Xin-Yuan Hu, Zi-Wei Yang, Jing-Lian Su, Mika Hayashi, Natsumi Tiffany Ishii, Hiroki Matsumura, Anel Umirbaeva, Hongwei Guo, Yin-Yu Yan, Fu-Han Gao, Jia-Jing Li, Yasutaka Kitahama, Petra Paiè, Ayumi Taguchi, Kenbun Sone, Yuka Inoue, Takayuki Ueno, Abdullah N. Alodhayb, Nao Nitta, Masako Nishikawa, Yutaka Yatomi, Hiroyuki Matsumura, Ya Ding, Masahiro Sonoshita, Dino Di Carlo, Shiro Suetsugu, Keisuke Goda
Institutions: China Pharmaceutical University, The University of Tokyo, Tohoku University, Nazarbayev University, Huaqiao University, Politecnico di Milano, The Cancer Institute Hospital, Japanese Foundation For Cancer Research, King Saud University, CYBO (Japan), Hokkaido University, California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Wuhan University
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $12,690
Funders: Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, King Saud University, China Scholarship Council, University of Tokyo, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing University, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology, H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
OpenAlex ID: W7170054701