In vivo Kinetic Biodistribution of Nano-Sized Outer Membrane Vesicles Derived from Bacteria

Evaluation of kinetic distribution and behaviors of nanoparticles in vivo provides crucial clues into their roles in living organisms. Extracellular vesicles are evolutionary conserved nanoparticles, known to play important biological functions in intercellular, inter-species, and inter-kingdom communication. In this study, the first kinetic analysis of the biodistribution of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs)—bacterial extracellular vesicles—with immune-modulatory functions is performed. OMVs, injected intraperitoneally, spread to the whole mouse body and accumulate in the liver, lung, spleen, and kidney within 3 h of administration. As an early systemic inflammation response, increased levels of TNF-α and IL-6 are observed in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. In addition, the number of leukocytes and platelets in the blood is decreased. OMVs and cytokine concentrations, as well as body temperature are gradually decreased 6 h after OMV injection, in concomitance with the formation of eye exudates, and of an increase in ICAM-1 levels in the lung. Following OMV elimination, most of the inflammatory signs are reverted, 12 h post-injection. However, leukocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid are increased as a late reaction. Taken together, these results suggest that OMVs are effective mediators of long distance communication in vivo.