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 (HConFs) 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 HEK293T cells by PEI transfection to determine the effect of Exo-S58 in HConFs and a rat GFS model. RESULTS: Exo-S58 can significantly reduce cell proliferation, migration and fibrosis in TGF-beta 2-induced HConFs. 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 HConFs cells and rat GFS models.