How Can Extracellular Vesicles Be the Key for Next Generation Treatments and Therapies?

During the mid-20th century, the existence of Extracellular Vesicles and their function was discovered. The term Extracellular Vesicles was first used in a manuscript in 1971. Only in the 1990s, the involvement of EVs in immune responses became clear. Later, in the beginning of 2006, it is reported that the EVs contain nucleic acid and also have the power to transfer from cell to cell. In the early 200s, there was rapid growth in the EV research community. Therefore, the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles(ISEV) was created. 

Extracellular vesicles(EVs) are considered lipid bilayer delimited particles that are naturally released from a cell but it cannot replicate. It can be found in most body fluids and are classified into three major categories such as exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies. These are simply considered cell dust with no biological significance but studies say that EVs might play an important role in the regulation of normal physiological processes and in the pathology underlying diseases. EVs have been linked to inflammation, fibrosis, immune suppression, and adhesion in kidneys. For therapies such as inhibiting EV assembly and release and blocking their dissemination and uptake, targeting EVs to inhibit their effects can be used as a strategy. The stem cell-derived EVs contain proteins, lipids, and genetic material to promote tissue repair. It is suggested to use them as therapeutic agents in renal regenerative medicine. 

Evs have been believed to help with next generation treatments and therapies. EVs has the capability to act as a drug career like “Trojan horse”. Many studies show that they can perform as powerful carriers of chemotherapeutic drugs. 

• Extracellular Vesicles that are derived from stem cells have been shown to have intrinsic therapeutic potential. EVs have also been reported that liver stem cells-derived EPs exhibited an anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic role in aristolochic acid-induced kidney fibrosis. Also, the EVs obtained from umbilical cord MSCs, urine derived MSCs, and kidney MSCS have been shown to benefit kidney diseases. Its benefit depends on the transfer of genetic materials such as mRNA and MiRNA. 
• EVs derived stem cells have been shown to help heart cells in the process of recovering from a heart attack. Extracellular vesicles have the healing power and the capacity to revive cells after a heart attack. Researchers reveal the potential mechanism of extracellular vesicles in human tissue using a chip on the heart. This involved censors that tracked the contractions of the tissue continuously. These Extracellular vesicles that travel between the cells are considered tools for the future generation therapies. Heart attack usually occurs when blood flow to the heart is blocked. Restoring the blood flow is one of the best ways to treat heart attack. (Read this, if you want to know the top 5 warning signs of heart attack) But during this process, it may cause damage to the heart cells. When blood supply returns to tissue after a period of lack of oxygen, it can lead to reoxygenation injury. This involves multiple mechanisms including, calcium and proton overload and mitochondrial dysfunction. Developing powerful therapies to address each problem might be complicated. This is when we make use of endothelial-derived EVs. 

From these studies, it is indicated that EEVc have the potential to protect cardiac tissue from reoxygenation injury. And it can also be used to enable targeted drug delivery with efficiency. It is important that the intrinsic contents and biological properties of EVs must be utilized while developing Ev-based therapeutics for kidney diseases.