title: Exosomal doxorubicin reduces the cardiac toxicity of doxorubicin.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To test the efficacy and toxicity of exosomal doxorubicin (exoDOX) compared with free doxorubicin.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cytotoxic effects of exoDOX were tested in vitro and in nude mice by measuring the tumor volume. The toxic effects were evaluated by measuring the bodyweight and through histopathologic analyses. The biodistribution of DOX was assessed by MS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In vitro and in vivo studies showed that exosomes did not decrease the efficacy of DOX. Surprisingly, exoDOX showed no cardiotoxicity as observed in DOX-treated mice and MS studies confirmed that the accumulation of exoDOX in the heart was reduced by approximately 40%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We demonstrated that exoDOX was less toxic than DOX through its altered biodistribution.
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Research, National Cancer Institute - CRO-IRCSS, Aviano, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Toffoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Research, National Cancer Institute - CRO-IRCSS, Aviano, Italy.|Doctoral School in Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padua, Italy.
authors.forename: Mohamad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hadla
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Research, National Cancer Institute - CRO-IRCSS, Aviano, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Corona
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Research, National Cancer Institute - CRO-IRCSS, Aviano, Italy.
authors.forename: Isabella
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Caligiuri
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Research, National Cancer Institute - CRO-IRCSS, Aviano, Italy.|Doctoral School in Nanotechnology, University of Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Palazzolo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Semeraro
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Amelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gamini
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Research, National Cancer Institute - CRO-IRCSS, Aviano, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Canzonieri
authors.affiliation: Department of Translational Research, National Cancer Institute - CRO-IRCSS, Aviano, Italy.
authors.forename: Flavio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rizzolio
keywords: breast cancer; drug delivery; exosomal doxorubicin; exosome; nanomedicine; toxicity