Abstract
The field of extracellular vesicle (EV) research has developed rapidly over the last decade from the study of fundamental biology to a subject of significant clinical relevance. The potential of harnessing EVs in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases — including cancer and neurological and cardiovascular disorders — is now being recognized. Accordingly, the applications of EVs as therapeutic targets, biomarkers, novel drug delivery agents and standalone therapeutics are being actively explored. This Review provides a brief overview of the characteristics and physiological functions of the various classes of EV, focusing on their association with disease and emerging strategies for their therapeutic exploitation.
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Acknowledgements
Research in the Hill lab is supported by grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (to A.F.H. GNT1041413; GNT1132604), and the Australian Research Council (to A.F.H. DP170102312; DP190101655).
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Glossary
- Extracellular vesicles
-
(EVs). Membranous particles secreted by mammalian and bacteria cells into the extracellular space.
- Endosomal pathways
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The uptake or internalization of proteins through the endocytic pathway, which largely involves the early/sorting endosome, late endosomes and multivesicular bodies.
- Non-endosomal pathways
-
The uptake or internalization of proteins through the process of recruiting cargo into developing pits and subsequently forming vesicles.
- Apoptotic bodies
-
A type of extracellular vesicles formed by cells undergoing apoptosis.
- Microvesicles
-
Extracellular vesicles formed by outward blebbing of the plasma membrane of the cell.
- Exosomes
-
A type of extracellular vesicles formed through an endocytic process and released through the multivesicular body.
- Neurodegenerative diseases
-
A collective term for neurological diseases normally associated with ageing.
- Endosomal sorting complex required for transport
-
(ESCRT). A family of proteins involved in the endocytic formation of small extracellular vesicles such as exosomes.
- Multivesicular body
-
A cellular structure in which endosomally derived extracellular vesicles are formed and from which they are released.
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Cheng, L., Hill, A.F. Therapeutically harnessing extracellular vesicles. Nat Rev Drug Discov 21, 379–399 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-022-00410-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41573-022-00410-w
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