Exosomes derived from HEK293T cells interact in an efficient and non-invasive manner with mammalian sperm in vitro

Abstract

Aims: To investigate exosomes as a non-invasive delivery tool for mammalian sperm. Materials & Methods: Exosomes were isolated from HEK293T cells and co-incubated with boar sperm in vitro. Results: Internalized exosomes were detected within 10 minutes of co-incubation. Computer-assisted sperm analysis and flow cytometry demonstrated that even after 5-hours of exposure to exosomes, there were no significant deleterious effects with regards to sperm motility, viability, membrane integrity and mitochondrial membrane potential (P>0.05), thus indicating that exosomes did not interfere with basic sperm function. Conclusion: HEK293T-derived exosomes interacted with boar sperm without affecting sperm function. Exosomes represent a versatile and promising research tool for studying sperm biology and provide new options for the diagnosis and treatment of male infertility

The authors acknowledge generous support from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Spain (Grants: RYC-2014-15581 and AGL2016-81890-REDT), and the Regional Government of Catalonia, Spain (Grant: 2017-SGR-1229), the Nuffield Department of Women’s and Reproductive Health, University of Oxford, UK, the Wellcome Trust (100262Z/12/Z), Kennedy Trust for Rheumatology Research for Imaging facilities, and European Commission (ERC-2014-AdG 670930)