Exosome transfer of nucleic acids to cells

Methods for introducing nucleic acids to cells via exosomes for use in gene modulation and therapy, such as for gene silencing and to introduce genetic material into cells to compensate for abnormal genes or to induce or repress a process in the recipient cell.

The present invention is based on the unexpected findings that exosomes released to the extracellular milieu can carry selective RNA from the parental cells. This can, according to this invention, be used to transfer genetic material to recipient cells by exosomes. By transferring nucleic acids to recipient cells, exosomes affect another cell’s (recipient cells) protein machinery and thus protein content, and the invention demonstrates for the first time that nucleic acids, for example RNA and DNA, deliberately can be transferred between the cells or organs using exosomes, and can thus be utilized for gene modulation and therapy in mammalian cells.

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