Exosome-mediated aptamer S58 reduces fibrosis in a rat glaucoma filtration surgery model

AIM:To confirm whether exosome-mediated delivery of aptamer S58(Exo-S58) has a better antifibrotic effect than naked S58 in human conjunctival fibroblasts(HCon Fs) and a rat glaucoma filtration surgery(GFS) model.METHODS:To enhance the effective reaction time of aptamer S58 in vivo, we loaded aptamer S58 into exosomes derived from HEK293 T cells by PEI transfection to determine the effect of Exo-S58 in HCon Fs and a rat GFS model.RESULTS:Exo-S58 can significantly reduce cell proliferation, migration and fibrosis in TGF-β2-induced HCon Fs. In an in vivo experiment, Exo-S58 treatment prolonged filtering bleb retention and reduced fibrosis compared with naked S58 treatment in GFS rats.CONCLUSION:The exosomes are safe and valid carriers to deliver aptamers. Furthermore, Exo-S58 exhibited superior antifibrotic effect than naked S58 both in HCon Fs cells and rat GFS models.