Engineered extracellular vesicles enriched with the <scp>miR</scp> ‐214/199a cluster enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy in ovarian cancer

Recurrent ovarian cancer (OC) remains a major cause of mortality due to chemoresistance and metastasis. Epigenetic aberrations, particularly dysregulated microRNA (miRNA) expression, contribute to disease progression and represent a promising therapeutic target. Here, we identify the miR-214-3p/miR-199a-5p cluster as a stage-associated, tumor-suppressive network that is lost in recurrent and chemoresistant OC but can be elevated using engineered small extracellular vesicles enriched with this miRNA cluster (m214-sEVs). Using a clinically relevant mouse model that recapitulates spontaneous OC relapse following platinum-based chemotherapy, we show that m214-sEVs are internalized by OC cells and niche fibroblasts, leading to increased intracellular levels of this cluster and suppression of key chemoresistance-associated pathways, including through downregulation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), β-catenin, and the soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) protein YKT6. m214-sEV treatment reprograms secondary tumor-derived sEVs toward a less prometastatic cargo profile and decreases carboplatin resistance and cell migration. Enforced YKT6 overexpression abrogates these effects, establishing YKT6 as a key downstream effector. Collectively, these findings support engineered sEVs as a translatable strategy to overcome chemoresistance and disrupt pro-tumorigenic EV signaling in recurrent OC.

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Publication Details

Journal
Molecular Oncology
Published
2026-02-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/1878-0261.70224
Primary Topic
Extracellular vesicles in disease
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Engineered extracellular vesicles enriched with the miR ‐214/199a cluster enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy in ovarian cancer

Mingjin Wang, Michael Millman, Y Li, Amy Kemper et al.
Molecular Oncology
Extracellular vesicles in disease
article

Engineered extracellular vesicles enriched with the miR ‐214/199a cluster enhance the efficacy of chemotherapy in ovarian cancer

Mingjin Wang, Michael Millman, Y Li, Amy Kemper, Alexandra Fox, Xian Shuang Liu, Z. Zhang, A. Alvero, Gil Mor, Yi Zhang, Weida Wang, Yi Qin, Michael Chopp
article en

Abstract

Recurrent ovarian cancer (OC) remains a major cause of mortality due to chemoresistance and metastasis. Epigenetic aberrations, particularly dysregulated microRNA (miRNA) expression, contribute to disease progression and represent a promising therapeutic target. Here, we identify the miR-214-3p/miR-199a-5p cluster as a stage-associated, tumor-suppressive network that is lost in recurrent and chemoresistant OC but can be elevated using engineered small extracellular vesicles enriched with this miRNA cluster (m214-sEVs). Using a clinically relevant mouse model that recapitulates spontaneous OC relapse following platinum-based chemotherapy, we show that m214-sEVs are internalized by OC cells and niche fibroblasts, leading to increased intracellular levels of this cluster and suppression of key chemoresistance-associated pathways, including through downregulation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), β-catenin, and the soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor (SNARE) protein YKT6. m214-sEV treatment reprograms secondary tumor-derived sEVs toward a less prometastatic cargo profile and decreases carboplatin resistance and cell migration. Enforced YKT6 overexpression abrogates these effects, establishing YKT6 as a key downstream effector. Collectively, these findings support engineered sEVs as a translatable strategy to overcome chemoresistance and disrupt pro-tumorigenic EV signaling in recurrent OC.

Molecular Oncology
Oakland University (US), Wayne State University (US), Henry Ford Hospital (US), Michigan State University (US)
Wayne State University, Michigan State University, Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, College of Engineering, Michigan State University
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 56%
Extracellular vesicles in disease
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