Small extracellular vesicles and liver diseases: From diagnosis to therapy

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs), especially small EVs (sEVs) derived from liver cells, have been the focus of much attention in the normal physiology and pathogenesis of various diseases affecting the liver. sEVs are approximately 100 nm in size, enclosed within lipid bilayers, and are very stable. The lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, including miRNAs, contained within these vesicles are known to play important roles in intercellular communication. This mini-review summarizes the application of sEVs. First, liver diseases and the related diagnostic markers are described, and the current active status of miRNA research in diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is reported. Second, the biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of sEVs are described, and the liver is highlighted as the organ with the highest accumulation of sEVs. Third, the relationship between sEVs and the pathogenesis of liver disorders is described with emphesis on the current active status of miRNA research in HCC recurrence and survival. Finally, the possibility of future therapy using sEVs from mesenchymal stem (stromal) cells for cirrhosis and other diseases is described.

Inflammatory macrophage to hepatocyte signals can be prevented by extracellular vesicle reprogramming

“…In diseased states, they exacerbate injury by initiating numerous inflammatory signaling cascades. The latter is particularly true in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) where an increase in the number of circulating EVs correlates to disease progression ( Kakazu et al, 2016 ; Tsuchiya et al, 2022 ). However, the mechanism by which inflammation alters the biogenesis and disease-associated changes in exosomal cargoes is not fully known.…”

An Insight into the Arising Role of MicroRNAs in Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Future Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approaches

“…Focusing on their functional role in HCC, it is reported that there is a great production of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) (30–130 nm) from malignant hepatocytes, allowing cross-talk communication between HCC cells, in order to enhance cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, as well as metastatic dissemination [ 119 ]. There are several exosomal miRNAs that can be potentially isolated from serum, plasma, and urine, which can be utilized as diagnostic tools and prognostic or predictive biomarkers for HCC [ 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 ].…”