Targeting Tissues with Extracellular Vesicles

Much of cellular communication takes the form of secretion and uptake of extracellular vesicles, tiny membrane-wrapped packages of molecules. The use of these vesicles as a basis for therapy is spreading. Since first generation stem cell therapies appear to produce their benefits via the signals generated by transplanted stem cells, why not use vesicles harvested from stem cells instead the cells themselves? The logistics are far less challenging, the costs lower. Further, vesicles can be engineered to contain novel contents, or given different surface features. Researchers here discuss the degree to which vesicles can be targeted to specific tissues via natural or artificial surface features. This is never an all or nothing proposition, but rather the case that one tissue may take up half as many or twice as vesicles of one type versus another. This is a big enough effect to be of great interest in the development of more effective therapies, however, enabling treatments with fewer side-effects. Great strides have been made in advancing extracellular vesicles (EVs) to clinical testing. By late 2020, approximately 250 trials that utilize EVs in some way had been registered. Diagnostic, prognostic, and monitoring uses of EVs are evident in these registrations as well as applications of EVs in therapeutics. Interest in EVs stems in part from their biology. They are involved in natural processes of communication in the body and have a perceived safety profile tha...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs