Potential roles of extracellular vesicles in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of autoimmune diseases

Abstract

Since extracellular vesicles (EVs) were discovered in 1983 in sheep reticulocytes samples, they have gradually attracted scientific attention and become a topic of great interest in the life sciences field. EVs are small membrane particles, released by virtually every cell that carries a variety of functional molecules. Their main function is to deliver messages to the surrounding area in both physiological and pathological conditions. Initially, they were thought to be either cell debris, signs of cell death, or unspecific structures. However, accumulating evidence support a theory that EVs are a universal mechanism of communication. Thanks to their biological characteristics and functions, EVs are likely to represent a promising strategy for obtaining pathogen information, identifying therapeutic targets and selecting specific biomarkers for a variety of diseases, such as autoimmune diseases. In this review, we provide a brief overview of recent progress in the study of the biology and functions of EVs. We also discuss their roles in diagnosis and therapy, with particular emphasis on autoimmune diseases.

Extracellular Vesicles as Signaling Mediators and Disease Biomarkers across Biological Barriers

“…At the same time, the EV content displaying dynamic disease-specific information has a high potential even in the development of new prognostic biomarkers. EVs have been already proposed as reliable diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers in many clinical settings, such as coronary artery disease [108], renal [109], liver [110], neurodegenerative [107], and autoimmune [111] diseases, as well as in systemic sclerosis [112], in urological [113], hepatobiliary [103], and hematological [114] malignances, and in breast [115], lung [116], and ovarian cancers [117], and in cancer care [118].…”

Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Autoimmune Pathogenesis

“…Indeed, EVs may be involved in the presentation of intracellular self-antigens to the immune system. Antigen-presenting cells (APCs) can undergo intracellular transfer and effective antigen delivery to autoantigen-specific T cells through EVs, which represents a highly efficient mechanism of antigen presentation ( 23 – 25 ). Additionally, many types of tissue- or humoral-derived EVs have been discovered to possess immunomodulatory or tolerogenic activities.…”

The Role and Impact of Extracellular Vesicles in the Modulation and Delivery of Cytokines during Autoimmunity

“…There is a great deal of evidence that implicates EVs in the regulation of homeostatic processes, which includes but is not limited to, roles in coagulation [ 64 ], stem cell renewal and expansion [ 65 ], and inflammation [ 66 ]. However, as with most mediators of cellular communications, the relationship between EVs and inflammation is also intimately linked with the pathogenic role of EVs during autoimmunity [ 67 ].…”