Things You May Want to Know about Exosomes

Exosomes are small membranous vesicles that are released outside the cell after intracellular multivesicular bodies are fused with the cell membrane, and are the carrier of signal transmission between cells.

In 2013, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to three scientists in recognition of their outstanding contributions in the field of intercellular vesicle transport regulation mechanisms, which pushed the enthusiasm of exosomes research to a climax.

Formation of exosomes

Exosomes can be generated by extracellular stimuli, microbial attack, and induction of other stress conditions, among others. At present, it is generally believed that unlike common microvesicles, which are directly generated by cell budding and detachment, the formation of exosomes begins with cell invagination to form early endosomes, followed by the regulation of endosomal transport complexes and some related proteins, early endosomal budding to form MVBs composed of multiple intraluminal vesicles, which finally fuse with the cell membrane to the external secretory cavity vesicles under the regulation of RAB enzymes in the GTPase family, that is, exosomes.

Function of exosomes

In recent years, more and more studies have shown that exosomes play an extremely important role in tumor diagnosis, migration and growth, tissue damage repair, immune antigen presentation and neurodegenerative diseases. Belov et al. immobilized known tumor surface markers on the chip and detected cell and plasma exosome markers by antibody chip, respectively, and about 40% of cancer cell surface markers were reflected on the vesicle surface, indicating that antibody chip detection of exosome surface proteins is expected to be applied in tumor diagnosis. It has been found that the cell surface proteoglycan phosphatidylinositol glycan-1 is abundant in the blood exosomes of individuals with pancreatic cancer. With the study of functional proteins, mRNAs and miRNAs contained in exosomes, the role of exosomes in signal transduction in vivo has also been gradually recognized, and they play an extremely important role in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, nervous system diseases and tumors. At the same time, the study of exosomes as carriers of drug delivery for disease treatment is also evolving.

How are exosomes used in drug development?

Exosomes involved in the development of the intervening disease

Exosomes can mediate the pathological process of a variety of diseases, and regulating disease-related exosomes can play a role in alleviating or treating diseases. This can be achieved by intervening in the production, release, uptake and functional content of related exosomes.

Therapeutic exosomes as drugs

Since exosomes are rich in bioactive substances, they themselves have some therapeutic potential. For example, stem cell-derived exosomes have the functions of promoting angiogenesis, inhibiting apoptosis, promoting cell proliferation, and releasing immunomodulatory substances, which have certain application value in the field of regenerative medicine.

Exosomes as delivery vehicles

Exosomes can carry signaling molecules such as RNA, DNA, and proteins, so they can be used as drug delivery vehicles for therapeutic biomacromolecules. For example, exosomes can be used as drug delivery vehicles for therapeutic nucleic acid drugs to deliver mRNAs, miRNAs, etc. to target cells, thereby regulating the expression of target genes to play a therapeutic role. Compared with the previous non-viral drug delivery vectors, exosomes as drug delivery carriers have higher biocompatibility and lower immunogenicity, can be obtained by autologous cell culture from patients, and can cross the blood-brain barrier.

Exosome Technology Company and its products

Lifeasible provides custom one-stop exosome analysis services. From exosome isolation, characterization to exosome engineering, Lifeasible is able to deliver efficient and cost-effective solutions for its customers.

As a biotechnology company, Lifeasible is specialized in agricultural science, offering a wide variety of agro-related services and products for environmental and energy solutions.