Extracellular vesicles and asthma: A review of the literature

Abstract

Asthma is a chronic, recurrent and incurable allergy‐related respiratory disease characterized by inflammation, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and narrowing of the airways. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a universal feature of cellular function and can be detected in different bodily fluids. Recent evidence has shown the possibility of using EVs in understanding the pathogenesis of asthma, including their potential as diagnostic and therapeutic tools. Studies have reported that EVs released from key cells involved in asthma can induce priming and activation of other asthma‐associated cells. A literature review was conducted on all current research regarding the role and function of EVs in the pathogenesis of asthma via the PRISMA statement method. An electronic search was performed using EMBASE and PubMed through to November 2018. The EMBASE search returned 76 papers, while the PubMed search returned 211 papers. Following duplicate removal, titles and abstracts were screened for eligibility with a total of 34 studies included in the final qualitative analysis. The review found evidence of association between the presence of EVs and physiological changes characteristic of asthma, suggesting that EVs are involved in the pathogenesis, with the weight of evidence presently favouring deleterious effects of EVs in asthma. Numerous studies highlighted differences in exosomal contents between EVs of healthy and asthmatic individuals, which could be employed as potential diagnostic markers. In some circumstances, EVs were also found to be suppressive to disease, but more often promote inflammation and airway remodelling. In conclusion, EVs hold immense potential in understanding the pathophysiology of asthma, and as diagnostic and therapeutic markers. While more research is needed for definitive conclusions and their application in medical practice, the literature presented in this review should encourage further research and discovery within the field of EVs and asthma.

The Shape and Function of Solid Fascias Depend on the Presence of Liquid Fascias

“…The human body contains different fluids or liquid fascia with different tasks; all fluids can come into contact with each other [7]. The same cannot be said for muscles or bones or solid fascia.…”

Anti-Contractile and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Diacerein on Isolated Mouse Airways Smooth Muscle and Mouse Asthma Model

“…Airway smooth muscle contractility is one of the unique symptoms of asthma (Hocking, 2002;Aghasafari et al, 2019;Sangaphunchai et al, 2020). The relaxant characteristic of rhein, an active metabolite of diacerein has been identified on rat intestinal muscle (Odenthal and Ziegler, 1988).…”

The Therapeutic Effect of Extracellular Vesicles on Asthma in Pre-clinical Models: A Systematic Review Protocol

“…Asthma is the most common pediatric chronic disease and affects 12.5% of children in industrialized countries 1 . Both allergic and non-allergic insults can trigger asthma symptoms, which is mainly characterized by paroxysmal episodes of breathing difficulty, and chronic airway inflammation associated with narrowing of the airways, and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) 2,3,4,5,6 . Mild-tomoderate asthma is associated with T-helper cell type 2 (Th2) lymphocyte activation, which involves eosinophilic airway inflammation, mucus hypersecretion, and AHR 7,8 .…”

“…More recently, a growing body of exciting research indicates that EVs can mitigate a variety of pathological conditions such as cancer 32 , cardiovascular 33 , haematological 34 , and respiratory diseases such as asthma 35 . The role of EVs in the pathogenesis of asthma has been discussed in previous reviews, including a recent systematic review 4 on original research conducted up to November 2018. Here, the authors evaluated both the pro-and anti-inflammatory roles of EVs and their causative or protective effect on airway remodelling in asthma 4 .…”

“…The role of EVs in the pathogenesis of asthma has been discussed in previous reviews, including a recent systematic review 4 on original research conducted up to November 2018. Here, the authors evaluated both the pro-and anti-inflammatory roles of EVs and their causative or protective effect on airway remodelling in asthma 4 . However, a specific investigation into the therapeutic effects of EVs, isolated according to MISEV guidelines 24 , and their role in mitigating asthma has not been conducted.…”