Mesenchymal stem cell- (MSC-) derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) serving as delivery system have attracted extensive research interest, especially in
cancer therapy. In our previous study,
lipocalin-type
prostaglandin D2 synthase (L-PGDS) showed inhibitory effects on
gastric cancer growth. In this study, we aimed to explore whether MSC-EV-delivered L-PGDS (EVs-L-PGDS) could inhibit
gastric cancer progression. EVs-L-PGDS were generated from MSCs transfected with adenovirus encoding L-PGDS. Cell colony-forming, migration, invasion, and flow cytometry assays were used to show the inhibitory effects of EVs on
tumor cells in vitro, and the nude mouse subcutaneous
tumor model was performed to show the inhibitory effect of EVs on
tumor progression in vivo. In vitro, EVs-L-PGDS could be internalized and inhibit the colony-forming, migration, and invasion ability of
gastric cancer cell SGC-7901 and promote cell apoptosis. In vivo, EVs-L-PGDS inhibited the
tumor growth in nude mouse subcutaneous
tumor-bearing model. Compared with the PBS and EVs containing empty vector (EVs-Vector) group, more apoptotic cells and higher L-PGDS expression were detected in
tumor tissue of the EVs-L-PGDS treatment group. And these differences are significant. Mechanistically, EVs-L-PGDS reduced the expression of stem cell markers including Oct4, Nanog, and Sox2 and inhibited STAT3 phosphorylation in
gastric cancer cell SGC-7901. In conclusion, our results imply that MSC-derived EVs could be utilized as an effective nanovehicle to deliver L-PGDS for
gastric cancer treatment, which provides a novel idea for the EV-based
cancer therapy.