Preliminary investigation of extracellular vesicles in mammary cancer of dogs and cats: Identification and characterization

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane-bound vesicles produced by cells, known to play a key role in cell-to-cell communication. They exert pleiotropic biological functions via the horizontal transfer of bioactive molecules (DNA, RNAs, proteins, and lipids) within the tumour microenvironment and throughout the body. In human cancer, EVs are known to interfere with pathways that lead to tumour progression and are used as novel cancer biomarkers. In veterinary medicine, very little is known on cancer-derived EVs. In this study, we preliminarily characterized EVs in mammary gland cancer of dogs and cats. EVs were isolated by ultracentrifugation from canine (CYPp), feline (FMCp) and human (MCF7) mammary tumour cell lines. EVs were visualized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), counted using nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and characterized by immunogold (CD63 and Alix) and western blot (Alix and TSG101). Additionally, EV production by "donor" cells (palmtdTomato+ ) and uptake by "recipient" cells (GFP+ ) were assessed. EVs were successfully isolated from all 3 cell lines by ultracentrifugation. Membrane-bound structures (50-400 nm) were identified by TEM and were positive for both CD63 and Alix at immunogold. Western blot showed positivity of EVs to Alix and TSG101. NTA analysis detected EVs from cell culture media ranging from 1.67 to 2.56 × 102 as number of EVs/cell and from 80 to 600 nm in size. Confocal microscopy identified the presence of palmtdTomato+ EVs into the cytoplasm of GFP+ cells. This preliminary study identified and characterized canine and feline mammary tumour cell-derived EVs, opening in veterinary medicine a new interesting unexplored field with several applications and limitless potential.