Exosome: An Emerging Participant in the Development of Liver Disease

Abstract

Context: An exosome is a type of extracellular vesicle with a diameter of 30 -100 nm and a density of 1.13 -1.19 g/m. Exosomes exist in almost all body fluids and can be secreted and absorbed by most cells. They deliver information and molecules that participate in intracellular communication, thus contributing to the progression of various diseases, such as liver diseases. Evidence Acquisition: In this study we collected and summarized the most important and new data available on the role of exosome in liver diseases by the PubMed search. The study data were collected through searching the related keywords then classified and summarized. Results: In this review, we summarize the research findings regarding the roles of exosomes in liver physiology and pathology, mainly focusing on liver diseases such as viral hepatitis, liver cancer (mostly hepatocellular carcinoma [HCC]), and liver injury caused by other pathogenic factors (alcohol, drugs, hepatotoxins, high-fat diets, parasites, etc.). Conclusions: These studies revealed the involvement of exosomes in various aspects of liver physiology and pathology and in the progress of liver diseases. More importantly, it offers a promising new direction for disease diagnosis and treatment.

Liver-Derived Exosomes and Their Implications in Liver Pathobiology

“…Exosomes are considered to be important mediators of cell-cell communication by delivering the information that they carry to neighboring cells [3]. In liver pathophysiology, multiple interactions or methods of cross-talk between both identical cell types or between different cell types is an inevitable process through exosomes or other mechanisms [40]. Therefore, knowledge of how liver cells communicate via exosomes and the functions of cell-type specific exosomes from each cell type will facilitate studies of liver disease.…”

DHFR silence alleviated the development of liver fibrosis by affecting the crosstalk between hepatic stellate cells and macrophages

“…Exosomes involve in various aspects of liver physiology and pathology and in the progress of liver diseases, like HSCs activation and participating in liver fibrosis. 12 Exosomes derived from qHSCs or aHSCs possess anti-fibrotic and pro-fibrotic properties respectively. 13 Exosomes derived from natural killer cells can inhibit HSCs activation and liver fibrosis.…”