FURI | Spring 2025

Determining the Tolerogenic Capacity of Trophoblast-Derived Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) on Macrophage Cytokine Secretion

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (T1D) is an autoimmune disorder that impairs pancreatic islet function. Islet cell transplantation is a promising treatment, but direct and indirect antigen recognition lead to rejection by the immune system. Literature suggests that trophoblast extracellular vesicles (EVs) contain immunomodulatory factors that play a role in fetal immune tolerance, which can be used to develop tolerogenic therapies. This study aims to determine the immunomodulatory potential of trophoblast-derived EVs on macrophages in vitro by tracking cytokine release by M0 macrophages over time using ELISA.