Natural Killer Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Exhibit Cytotoxicity Against Bulk Tumor Cells and Cancer Stem Cells in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

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Title: Natural Killer Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Exhibit Cytotoxicity Against Bulk Tumor Cells and Cancer Stem Cells in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.
Authors: Kirkby, Melanie1,2 (AUTHOR), St-Denis-Bissonnette, Frederic1,2 (AUTHOR), Diab, Marena D.2,3 (AUTHOR), Mediratta, Karan2,4 (AUTHOR), Korobkow, Anna1,2,5 (AUTHOR), Humber, James2,6 (AUTHOR), Han, Peter2,7 (AUTHOR), Muradia, Gauri1 (AUTHOR), Ardolino, Michele2,3,4 (AUTHOR), Lee, Seung-Hwan2,3 (AUTHOR), Gibbings, Derrick J.4,5 (AUTHOR), Burger, Dylan5,6 (AUTHOR), Wang, Lisheng2,3,6,7 (AUTHOR) lisheng.wang@uottawa.ca, Lavoie, Jessie R.1,2,7 (AUTHOR) jessie.lavoie@hc-sc.gc.ca
Source: Nanomaterials (2079-4991). May2026, Vol. 16 Issue 9, p525. 19p.
Subjects: Extracellular vesicles, Triple-negative breast cancer, Apoptosis, Cancer stem cells, Drug resistance, Killer cells, Immunotherapy, Cytotoxins
Abstract: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains a significant challenge in oncology, contributing to a significant portion of cancer-related deaths among women. Current therapeutic options, including chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and hormonal targeting therapies, exhibit limited efficacy, necessitating the exploration of innovative treatment modalities. The emergence of drug resistance and the persistence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) further emphasize the urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies. In this context, natural killer cell-derived extracellular vesicles (NK-EVs) have emerged as a promising cell-free therapeutic approach that exhibits high tumor infiltration and cytotoxicity against cancer cells and CSCs. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of NK-EVs as a therapeutic strategy for TNBC using various clinically relevant models, including patient-derived xenografts. Pathway analysis suggests strong activation of apoptosis via canonical caspase activation, as well as necrosis, thereby confirming the important cytotoxic effect of NK-EVs. Interestingly, NK-EVs were also found to suppress TNBC CSCs by disrupting their functionality and viability, and NK-EV treatment increased the expression of apoptosis markers in both CSCs and non-CSCs. By elucidating the therapeutic efficacy and translational potential of NK-EV-based interventions in TNBC, these findings offer critical insights for the development of future immunotherapeutic strategies against this aggressive subtype of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Nanomaterials (2079-4991) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Natural Killer Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Exhibit Cytotoxicity Against Bulk Tumor Cells and Cancer Stem Cells in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.
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  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) remains a significant challenge in oncology, contributing to a significant portion of cancer-related deaths among women. Current therapeutic options, including chemotherapy, surgery, radiation, and hormonal targeting therapies, exhibit limited efficacy, necessitating the exploration of innovative treatment modalities. The emergence of drug resistance and the persistence of cancer stem cells (CSCs) further emphasize the urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies. In this context, natural killer cell-derived extracellular vesicles (NK-EVs) have emerged as a promising cell-free therapeutic approach that exhibits high tumor infiltration and cytotoxicity against cancer cells and CSCs. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of NK-EVs as a therapeutic strategy for TNBC using various clinically relevant models, including patient-derived xenografts. Pathway analysis suggests strong activation of apoptosis via canonical caspase activation, as well as necrosis, thereby confirming the important cytotoxic effect of NK-EVs. Interestingly, NK-EVs were also found to suppress TNBC CSCs by disrupting their functionality and viability, and NK-EV treatment increased the expression of apoptosis markers in both CSCs and non-CSCs. By elucidating the therapeutic efficacy and translational potential of NK-EV-based interventions in TNBC, these findings offer critical insights for the development of future immunotherapeutic strategies against this aggressive subtype of breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Nanomaterials (2079-4991) is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.3390/nano16090525
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 19
        StartPage: 525
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      – SubjectFull: Extracellular vesicles
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Triple-negative breast cancer
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Apoptosis
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      – SubjectFull: Cancer stem cells
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      – SubjectFull: Drug resistance
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      – SubjectFull: Killer cells
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      – SubjectFull: Immunotherapy
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      – SubjectFull: Cytotoxins
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              Text: May2026
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