HMN 2026: How Body’s own cell-to-cell messaging packets is studied as the basis for next-generation medicines

The Blood and Tissue Bank is studying how to therapeutically manufacture and use a type of nanoparticles released by the body’s cells to communicate with one another, in one of the most promising fields of research for the therapies of the future. New medicines and advanced therapies modify cells (immune cells), genes and tissues to treat diseases such as cancer. However, the next step is to focus on these subcellular packages loaded with biological information, known as extracellular vesicles (EVs), which perform essential functions such as tissue regeneration and the modulation of inflammation.

The Blood and Tissue Bank (BST), in collaboration with the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) and the Reus-based technology company Biosfer Teslab, is playing a leading role in the development and improvement of these therapies through the publication of research aimed at enabling the large-scale manufacture of regenerative medicine products based on these cell-to-cell “information packages,” known as extracellular vesicles (EVs).

Therapies based on these nanoparticles are not yet part of routine clinical practice. Many are still under development, and work is ongoing to demonstrate their safety, the appropriate route, dose and treatment regimen, as well as their efficacy, before they can become widely used treatments.

The study coordinated by the BST represents a significant boost for the advancement of this therapeutic field and has been published in the Journal of Extracellular Vesicles (JEV). The research demonstrates the potential of a specific technology: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) as a Process Analytical Technology (PAT) to monitor, optimize and scale up the manufacture of these extracellular vesicles (EVs). The EVs used are derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which have the unique ability to differentiate into other tissues in the body (bone, cartilage or muscle), and have great potential as the basis for new therapies in regenerative medicine and immunology.

“These nanoparticles could represent a genuine revolution in medicine. They could become a kind of microscopic drone capable of delivering medicines and regenerative molecules directly to the cells that need them, making treatments more precise and less aggressive,” explained Dr. Joaquim Vives from the BST Research Department. They could be used, for example, in patients who have suffered a myocardial infarction, “by injecting these nanoparticles into the damaged heart tissue so that the healthy cells can signal and trigger revascularization and regeneration of the damaged tissue,” Vives explained, with a much lower risk of rejection because they are not cell-based therapies.

NMR makes it possible to determine precisely the biochemical status of the cell culture inside the bioreactors where these vesicles are secreted. In other words, it allows researchers to assess whether cell metabolism is optimal and aligned with compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements, which are essential for this type of therapy.

Multiple therapeutic possibilities

The functions of these nanoparticles are wide-ranging. They act as communication elements with the immune system and are involved in processes such as tissue repair and cell growth, among others. They are currently used as highly useful diagnostic biomarkers for the early detection of diseases, as they are released by tumors and damaged tissues and can be detected directly in blood samples.

In the future, these nanoparticles could become key biological tools for the targeted delivery of drugs and therapeutic molecules to the cells that need them, as well as for modulating the immune response, reducing excessive inflammation or even enhancing the immune response against tumors. They also open the door to applications in gene therapies through RNA delivery, as well as to the repair of tissues such as the heart, bones and nervous system.

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