Exosomal transfer of miR-124 from engineered NK-92 cells inhibits breast cancer cell migration and induces apoptosis
- 18 November 2025
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Nature in Medical Oncology
- Vol. 43 (1) , 6
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of using engineered NK-92 cell-derived exosomes to deliver miR-124 to breast cancer cell lines and to assess the anti-tumor effects of these exosomes in breast cancer cell lines. In this study, the NK-92 cell line was genetically engineered to overexpress miR-124. Subsequently, exosomes were isolated from the modified cell line. The effects of these NK-92-miR-124 exosomes were assessed on the proliferation, apoptosis, and migration of three different subtypes of breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and SK-BR-3) using MTT assays, Annexin V/PI staining, and scratch tests, respectively. Finally, the results from all experiments were compared with the outcomes obtained from the treatment of breast cancer cell lines with NK-92 exosomes. All comparisons were made under the same experimental conditions. Our findings demonstrated that miR-124 was effectively delivered to breast cancer cell lines via engineered NK-92-derived exosomes. Furthermore, these NK-92-miR-124-loaded exosomes exhibited notable anti-tumor effects, such as reducing cell proliferation and migration across all three breast cancer cell lines. Additionally, they significantly enhanced apoptosis in MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell lines compared to NK-92-derived exosomes. Our study demonstrated that engineered NK-92-derived exosomes can effectively deliver miR-124 to breast cancer cells, leading to reduced migration and enhanced apoptosis. However, the anti-tumor effects varied among different breast cancer cell lines.Keywords
Funding Information
- Tarbiat Modares University (grant No 8142754)
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