Lincy Shiny Marino G’s scientific contributions

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is on the rise, with existing treatment modules showing little therapeutic success. Earlier studies have shown that the alteration of the tumor microenvironment was made possible by the secretory factors of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) which include extracellular vesicles (EVs), certain chemokines, cytokines, and other metabolites. MSC-EVs tend to mimic their parental cells, which possess characteristics like pro-tumor and anti-tumor effects. As conventional cancer treatments have shown adverse effects like anticancer drug resistance, the need for the use of natural products is a recent topic of interest. Eugenol, an active component of S. aromaticum, is known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer properties. This study focuses on the priming of Eugenol with the human umbilical cord tissue (hUCT) MSC derived EVs as an alternate therapeutic option to treat colorectal cancer, followed by EVs characterization. Finally, the anti-cancer activity of the formulated EVs was assessed by in vitro studies on colon cancer cells. The in vitro anticancer assay showed a significant reduction in the proliferation of cells when treated with Eugenol primed EVs. Thus, the anti-cancer potential of the Eugenol primed EVs was validated, which can be looked upon as a suitable alternative to a cell-free therapeutic option for treating CRC.