Le vescicole extracellulari in medicina veterinaria: isolamento, caratterizzazione e funzione

During the XX century, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been largely studied in human medicine. EVs are cell-derived nano-shuttles with the ability of transferring cell-material such as proteins, lipids, sugars and nucleic acids to other cells. Because of their membranous structure and carrier ability, EVs are innovative tools which can be applied to different research fields, from physiological to pathological aspects and from the diagnosis of different diseases to their treatment. Despite EV-research has exponentially increased in the last decades, a lot of information on animal-derived EVs is still lacking. The aim of this work of thesis was to start to fill this gap of knowledge, taking advantage of the multidisciplinary aspect of EVs and studying them in different animal species and for different purposes. After reviewing the literature on EV-related methodology and the state of art of EVs in veterinary medicine, this thesis preliminary explored EVs in unconventional animal species, describing EVs released in vitro by two cetacean (Tursiops truncates and Ziphius cavirostris) cell lines and a protocol for EV-isolation from Manila clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) hemolymph. The rest of the thesis focused on EVs in canine cancers, comparing the functionality of EVs isolated with two different techniques in vitro from a canine mammary tumor cell line and the expression of microRNA in the plasma of dogs with T-cell lymphoma. With these studies some new insights on EVs isolated from different animal species were given, showing some of the possible future applications of EV-research, which can fit very well into the concept of One Health, connecting human, animal and environmental health.