Exosomes in disease and regeneration: biological functions, diagnostics, and beneficial effects

Abstract

Exosomes are a subtype of extracellular vesicles. They range from 30 to 150 nm in diameter and originate from intraluminal vesicles. Exosomes were first identified as the mechanism for releasing unnecessary molecules from reticulocytes, as they matured to red blood cells. Since then, exosomes have been shown to be secreted by a broad spectrum of cells and play an important role in the cardiovascular system. Different stimuli are associated with increased exosome release and result in different exosome content. The release of harmful DNA and other molecules via exosomes has been proposed as a mechanism to maintain cellular homeostasis. Because exosomes contain parent cell specific proteins on the membrane and in the cargo that is delivered to recipient cells, exosomes are potential diagnostic biomarkers of various types of diseases, including cardiovascular disease. As exosomes are readily taken up by other cells, stem cell derived exosomes have been recognized as a potential cell-free regenerative therapy to repair not only the injured heart, but other tissues as well. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the biological functions of exosomes in heart disease and tissue regeneration. Therefore, state-of-the-art methods for exosome isolation and characterization, as well as approaches to assess exosome functional properties are reviewed. Investigation of exosomes provides a new approach to the study of disease and biologic processes. Exosomes provide a potential "liquid biopsy", as they are present in most, if not all, biologic fluids that are released by a wide range of cell types.

Standardized Methodologies to Utilize Exosome Treatment as Potential Nano Substances in Hearing Loss

“…Next, the presence of DNA molecules in EVs has been widely reported [50,51]. Mitochondria and genomic DNA were found in EVs derived from double-stranded DNA, and those isolated from cell culture media and biological fluids (human and mouse) were found inside EVs (Figure 1d(ii)).…”

Engineering of Extracellular Vesicles Based on Payload Changes for Tissue Regeneration

“…Studies on the use of stem cell-derived exosomes in regenerative medicine have been reported in all major organs and tissues [61,63,65]. Unlike cell therapy, noncell therapy has no side effects, and the field of EV study improves originality by communication between parental and recipient cells [19,37,45].…”

“…Therefore, recently, several strategies for improving cardiac function have led to cellular and non-cellular therapies. Tissue engineering technology using the latest EV as a diagnostic test technology is used to develop a targeted drug delivery system that recognizes disease markers or delivers a target ability of the EV surface [61][62][63]. In an experiment using a mouse model, it was confirmed that after MI, administration of EVs derived from murine heart bulbs rich in miR-451 inhibited myocardial cell apoptosis [64].…”

Traditional and Emerging Biomarkers in Asymptomatic Left Ventricular Dysfunction—Promising Non-Coding RNAs and Exosomes as Biomarkers in Early Phases of Cardiac Damage

“…Exosomes are present in different biological fluids and are stable in various conditions of temperature and pH [ 76 , 88 , 89 ]. Therefore, they seem suitable for maintaining their characteristics unchanged until sample preparation and analysis.…”