From left) Professor Lee Won-jong, Kang Soo-jin, and Lee Jung-hyun

A research team led by Professor Lee Won-jong of the Department of Bioengineering at Incheon National University recently announced the results of research that demonstrated the potential of plant-derived exosomes for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Exosomes are nano-sized biological particles secreted by cells and have great potential as next-generation treatments due to their stable delivery of biomaterials with various functions.

The research team has been conducting research aimed at developing medicines and cosmetics by separating exosomes from various plants, and in this study, the characteristics and functions of exosomes derived from red blood cells were identified, and they proved effective in treating inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease is classified into ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, and it is a disease that mainly causes chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. In particular, Crohn's disease causes inflammation throughout the digestive system and is accompanied by symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and weight loss. In this study, exosomes derived from red blood cells showed the effect of significantly alleviating these symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease.

The research team confirmed that the oral administration of erythrocyte-derived exosomes to a mouse model that caused inflammatory bowel disease significantly improved colon inflammation, which contributed to the suppression of inflammation and the promotion of cell proliferation. The results of this study are evaluated to suggest a new possibility for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

In addition, the research team developed a technology that binds hyaluronic acid to the exosome surface in order to maximize the target therapeutic effect of exosomes. Hyaluronic acid was shown to bind to the CD44 receptor to maximize the delivery effect to target cells, and red blood cell-derived exosomes were shown to be delivered more effectively to immune cells and intestinal epithelial cells.

Professor Lee Won-jong, who led the study, emphasized, "This study can be a new breakthrough in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease by developing a new treatment using exosomes derived from commonly encountered plants." He also predicted, "It is possible to develop low-cost and high-efficiency treatments using plant-derived exosomes, and this technology can be used to treat various diseases in the future."

The findings were published in the international prestigious journal Theranomics (IF=12.4, JCF Top 4.2%) and were selected as cover papers. 

This study was conducted as part of the leading research center and mid-sized research support project of the Korea Research Foundation, and student Kang Soo-jin of Incheon National University as the first author and student Lee Jung-hyun as the participating author participated.