Coix seed seedlings-derived exosome-like nanovesicles as a natural, stable and highly effective nanoscale radioprotective agent for alleviating ionizing radiation-induced damage

Plant-derived exosome-like nanovesicles play an important role in regulating the biological functions of organisms. To excavate natural and stable radioprotective nano-agent from coix seed seedlings, the coix seed seedlings-derived exosome-like nanovesicles (CSSELNs) were successfully obtained. CSSELNs with a particle size of 85.85 - 135.7 nm and a surface charge of (-17.1 ± 1.35) mV, were enriched with various functional components including RNAs, proteins and lipids. In addition, CSSELNs demonstrated excellent stability, high cellular uptake efficiency. Cellular experiments demonstrated that CSSELNs effectively alleviated ionizing radiation-induced damage in hepatocytes<em> in vitro</em>. Further <em>in vivo</em> experiments also demonstrated that CSSELNs could exhibit superior radioprotective effects and good safety in mice. Based on these excellent characteristics, CSSELNs have the potential to be developed as a natural and stable radioprotective nano-agent.