Exosomes, a New Star for Targeted Delivery

Abstract

Exosomes are cell-secreted nanoparticles (generally with a size of 30–150 nm) bearing numerous biological molecules including nucleic acids, proteins and lipids, which are thought to play important roles in intercellular communication. As carriers, exosomes hold promise as advanced platforms for targeted drug/gene delivery, owing to their unique properties, such as innate stability, low immunogenicity and excellent tissue/cell penetration capacity. However, their practical applications can be limited due to insufficient targeting ability or low efficacy in some cases. In order to overcome these existing challenges, various approaches have been applied to engineer cell-derived exosomes for a higher selectivity and effectiveness. This review presents the state-of-the-art designs and applications of advanced exosome-based systems for targeted cargo delivery. By discussing experts’ opinions, we hope this review will inspire the researchers in this field to develop more practical exosomal delivery systems for clinical applications.

News about Therapies of Alzheimer’s Disease: Extracellular Vesicles from Stem Cells Exhibit Advantages Compared to Other Treatments

“…In conclusion, the relevance of the results obtained by MSC-EVs is highly significant. An independent advantage is their engineering at the surface and within the lumen, assuring preloading of drugs followed by binding and fusion to appropriate target cells [ 93 , 94 , 95 ].…”

“…A very important concept dealing with human MSC-EVs therapies is based on vesicle engineering developed from conditioned media [ 93 , 94 ]. In these cases, the engineering depends on the good manufacturing practice (GMP), relevant in the selection of materials, the manufacturing, and the quality assays employed.…”

“…In these cases, the engineering depends on the good manufacturing practice (GMP), relevant in the selection of materials, the manufacturing, and the quality assays employed. The cells/vesicles are engineered by insertion of changes, both at the surface and within the lumen, and by assuring preloading of drugs followed by binding and fusion to appropriate target cells, with discharge of drugs within their cytoplasm [ 93 , 94 , 95 ]. Despite the efforts made during the last decades, the use of these approaches to diseases has been limited.…”

The Potential of Exosomes in Allergy Immunotherapy

“…Other advantages include their non-toxicity, their wide distribution in biological fluids, the ability to induce functional responses in specific target cells, their variability in cargo as well as their ability to easily cross biological barriers. The fact that exosome function is dysregulated in a variety of diseases makes their direct therapeutic potential even more intriguing [30]. It is established that exosomes play a major role during various steps of cancer growth and metastasis [31].…”

New insights into Epstein‑Barr virus‑associated tumors: Exosomes (Review)

“…Moreover, these exosomes can enter circulating body fluids and be transported throughout the body ( 10 ). Exosome separation technology is gradually advancing, and exosomes have been used as new drug delivery carriers in molecular targeted tumor therapy ( 18 ). EBV + exosomes are expected to become a new biomarker or therapeutic target for EBV-associated tumors.…”