Exosomal cargo-loading and synthetic exosome-mimics as potential therapeutic tools

• Published in: Acta pharmacologica Sinica Vol. 39; no. 4; pp. 542 - 551
• Main Authors: Li, Song-pei, Lin, Zhong-xiao, Jiang, Xue-yan, Yu, Xi-yong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01-04-2018; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Biomimetic Materials - chemistry; Biomimetic Materials - metabolism; Biomimetic Materials - pharmacology; Biosynthesis; Cell Line; Cell signaling; Ceramide; Ceramides - metabolism; Cholesterol; Drug Carriers - chemistry; Drug Carriers - metabolism; Drug Carriers - pharmacology; Drug delivery; Enzymes; Exosomes; Exosomes - chemistry; Exosomes - metabolism; Humans; Immunology; Internal Medicine; Kinases; Lipids; Medical Microbiology; Mice; MicroRNAs - metabolism; Nanoparticles - therapeutic use; Nucleic acids; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Plasma; Proteins; Review; review-article; Stem cells; Therapeutic applications; Vaccine; lipid raft; drug delivery; exosome-mimic; exosome; extracellular vesicle
• ISSN: 1671-4083; 1745-7254; 1745-7254
• DOI: 10.1038/aps.2017.178

Exosomes are nano-sized vesicles that serve as mediators for intercellular communication through the delivery of cargo, including protein, lipids, nucleic acids or other cellular components, to neighboring or distant cells. Exosomal cargo may vary in response to different physiological or pathological conditions. The endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) family has been widely accepted as a key mechanism in biogenesis and cargo sorting. On the other hand, accumulating evidence show that ESCRT-independent pathways exist. Due to the critical role of exosomes in intercellular communications in delivering cargo to recipient cells, exosomes have been investigated as a vector for the delivery of endogenous or exogenous cargo for therapeutic purposes. But the number of exosomes produced by cells is limited, which hampers their application. Synthetic exosome-mimics have been fabricated and investigated as a therapeutic tool for drug delivery. This review focuses on ESCRT-independent regulation of cargo loading into exosomes, including lipid raft and ceramide-mediated mechanisms, and reported exosomes or exosome-mimics with therapeutic effects.