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Akbar Novruz

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A new therapy using pig semen-derived exosomes, engineered into eye drops capable of penetrating deep into retinal tissue, may offer a breakthrough in treating diseases that are difficult to reach, including Alzheimer’s, researchers say, AzerNEWS reports.

The development, led by Professor Zhang Yu at China’s Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, was initially aimed at treating retinoblastoma, a rare childhood eye cancer that resists conventional therapies due to its location near the brain. Published on March 27 in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances, the study demonstrates how exosomes—natural nanoparticles extracted from pig semen—can safely deliver drugs across biological barriers.

Zhao Chunxia, a drug delivery researcher at the University of Adelaide in Australia, highlighted the broader potential of the technique. “The method could improve drug delivery across other barriers that are similarly difficult to breach, such as the blood-brain barrier, to treat conditions including Alzheimer’s disease,” she said.

The key lies in the natural properties of exosomes in semen. During fertilization, exosomes release immunosupp ressive factors that protect sperm and temporarily open tight junctions between cells. Zhang’s team harnessed this mechanism to develop the eye drops, selecting pigs due to the similarity of their tissue to humans and the abundance of material.

In laboratory tests, the therapy proved highly selective. Healthy eye cells maintained over 85% survival even at higher concentrations, while retinoblastoma cells were inhibited by 82.7%, outperforming standard drug carriers.

The researchers say the system is highly versatile and could eventually be applied beyond retinoblastoma to other ocular diseases, potentially transforming drug delivery for conditions previously considered untreatable.