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Medical and health sciences
- In vitro testing
- Non-clinical studies
- Drug discovery and development not elsewhere classified
- Neurological and neuromuscular diseases
The brain is protected by barriers, such as the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier, which strictly control the passage of compounds into the brain while preventing harmful substances from entering. However, these barriers also hinder the delivery of therapeutic molecules, posing a challenge in the treatment of various brain diseases. Nanoparticle systems and receptor-mediated transport (RMT) have been explored to increase brain drug delivery through the BBB, while extracellular vesicles (EVs) have shown promise as a non-invasive drug delivery vehicle that can transfer biological cargo and cross cellular barriers. Although EVs are being studied as a brain drug delivery vehicle, most research focuses on the BBB. Our recent study shows that EVs derived from choroid plexus (ChP) epithelial cells, which form the blood-CSF barrier, have inherent brain targeting potential. In this project, we aim to fully characterize the brain targeting capacity of ChP-derived EVs by optimizing their characteristics and investigating their biodistribution, cargo delivery potential, and therapeutic applicability. Ultimately, our work will determine whether ChP-derived EVs have the potential to deliver different drugs to the brain, opening up new avenues for brain disease treatment.