Extracellular Vesicles as Potential Therapeutics for Inflammatory Diseases

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EV) deliver cargoes such as nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids between cells and serve as an intercellular communicator. As it is revealed that most of the functions associated to EVs are closely related to the immune response, the important role of EVs in inflammatory diseases is emerging. EVs can be functionalized through EV surface engineering and endow targeting moiety that allows for the target specificity for therapeutic applications in inflammatory diseases. Moreover, engineered EVs are considered as promising nanoparticles to develop personalized therapeutic carriers. In this review, we highlight the role of EVs in various inflammatory diseases, the application of EV as anti-inflammatory therapeutics, and the current state of the art in EV engineering techniques.

Exosomes and Other Extracellular Vesicles with High Therapeutic Potential: Their Applications in Oncology, Neurology, and Dermatology

“…Shao et al observe that in addition to their native bioactivity, EVs can be engineered to deliver a wide range of different proteins, nucleic acids, and/or chemicals or drugs [146,147]. Moreover, their surface can also be re-engineered, thus allowing high target specificity [148]. It is predicted that their utilization as biomarkers and cell-free therapeutic drugs will increase significantly over the next decade.…”

An Updated View of the Importance of Vesicular Trafficking and Transport and Their Role in Immune-Mediated Diseases: Potential Therapeutic Interventions

“…Similar mechanisms have been described in other autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, type 1 diabetes, psoriasis, vitiligo, or preeclampsia, as well as in respiratory or neuroinflammatory disorders, which supports the importance of these EVs in pathological activation. of the IS [17,107]. As a whole, the accumulated evidence suggests the enormous potential of numerous therapeutic strategies based on intra-and intercellular vesicular traffic and transport as a treatment for IMIDs, which is reviewed below.…”

“…These strategies can be directed to the cell surface before the release of the EVs (by protein fusion or genetic engineering) or by chemical modifications of the EVs. Some of the molecules used to modulate the IS include different groups of peptides, small molecules, and antibodies [17]. In this context, one of the challenges faced by the use of EVs in the treatment of different inflammatory pathologies is the rapid elimination of them by the IS.…”

“…Other recent studies evaluating the potential use of EVs as carriers of different antiinflammatory components are detailed by Hwang et al [17].…”

“…In turn, cellular trafficking and EVs are crucial for the subsequent immune response, and an alteration of cell traffic can lead to the appearance of various pathologies of the immune system, including autoimmune diseases or immunodeficiencies [13][14][15]. Because of that, a growing body of evidence supports the relevance of targeting and influencing cell trafficking and EVs in a wide variety of pathologies in which the IS is involved, including the so-called immune-mediated diseases (IMIDS) [16][17][18].…”