Exosomes: new molecular targets of diseases

• Published in: Acta pharmacologica Sinica Vol. 39; no. 4; pp. 501 - 513
• Main Authors: Samanta, Saheli, Rajasingh, Sheeja, Drosos, Nicholas, Zhou, Zhigang, Dawn, Buddhadeb, Rajasingh, Johnson
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01-04-2018; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Animals; Apoptosis; Biocompatibility; Biomarkers; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Biosynthesis; Cell interactions; Drug Carriers - chemistry; Drug Carriers - metabolism; Drug Carriers - pharmacology; Enzyme Inhibitors - pharmacology; Exosomes; Exosomes - chemistry; Exosomes - drug effects; Exosomes - metabolism; Exosomes - physiology; Gene Transfer Techniques; Heart Diseases - physiopathology; Humans; Immunogenicity; Immunology; Inflammation - physiopathology; Internal Medicine; Ligands; Lipids; Liver Diseases - physiopathology; Medical Microbiology; miRNA; mRNA; Neoplasms - physiopathology; Neurodegenerative Diseases - physiopathology; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Physiology; Plasma; Proteins; Review; review-article; Stem cells; Therapeutic applications; Toxicity; Vaccine; microvesicles; drug delivery; exosome mimics; noncoding RNAs; biomarker; exosomes
• ISSN: 1671-4083; 1745-7254; 1745-7254
• DOI: 10.1038/aps.2017.162

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) comprise apoptotic bodies, microvesicles and exosomes, and they perform as key regulators in cell-to-cell communication in normal as well as diseased states. EVs contain natural cargo molecules, such as miRNA, mRNA and proteins, and transfer these functional cargos to neighboring cells or more distant cells through circulation. These functionally active molecules then affect distinct signaling cascades. The message conveyed to the recipient cells is dependent upon the composition of the EV, which is determined by the parent cell and the EV biogenesis. Because of their properties such as increased stability in circulation, biocompatibility, low immunogenicity and toxicity, EVs have drawn attention as attractive delivery systems for therapeutics. This review focuses on the functional use of exosomes in therapy and the potential advantages and challenges in using exosomes for therapeutic purposes.