Tyrosine–Peptide Analog Modulates Extracellular Vesicles miRNAs Cargo from Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal and Cancer Cells to Drive Immunoregeneration and Tumor Suppression
Soft tissue sarcoma remains challenging to treat due to its heterogeneity, stemness-associated survival programs, and resistance to conventional therapies. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) mediate tumor-stroma communication, yet how stemness-targeted therapies reshape EVs-associated miRNAs networks remains unclear. This study profiled EVs miRNAs cargo from infrapatellar fat pad mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (IFP-MSCs) and sarcoma cells (SCs) under basal conditions and following treatment with a synthetic tyrosine peptide analog (TPA). EVs were isolated, characterized, and subjected to miRNAs profiling and pathway enrichment analyses. TPA induced ≥2-fold regulation of 182 miRNAs, including 49 upregulated and 24 downregulated in IFP-MSC-EVs and 86 upregulated and 23 downregulated in SC-EVs. A conserved core of 149 miRNAs (67.1%) was shared across all EVs groups. Abundant species included miR-3960 and miR-21-5p, while TPA reduced tumor-associated miRNAs such as miR-1246 (~10-fold decrease in IFP-MSC-EVs). Pathway enrichment revealed consistent targeting of cancer, MAPK, Wnt, TGF-β, and immune signaling pathways, with modest increases in mapped gene coverage following TPA treatment. In silico analysis identified distinct EVs miRNA-gene interaction profiles, with VEGFA emerging as a recurrent predicted target. These results demonstrate that stemness-targeted modulation quantitatively reprograms EVs miRNA cargo in a cell-type-dependent manner, reshaping vesicle-mediated signaling networks in sarcoma.
Authors
- Lee Friedman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6693-8398)
- Karina Galoian
- Thomas Michael Best (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2836-161X)
- Tressa Parker
- Dimitrios Kouroupis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3892-9013)
- Francis J. Hornicek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6916-8042)
- Allie L. Andryski
- Arianna Patel
- Reanna Thomas
- Michelle B. R. G. Ley
- Daniel A. Martinez
Institutions
- University of Miami (US)
- Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Biomolecules
- Published
- 2026-02-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/biom16020243
- Primary Topic
- Extracellular vesicles in disease
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- University of Miami
- Soffer Family Foundation
- National Institutes of Health
- Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
- National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases