scholarly journals Exosome in Cardiovascular Diseases: A Complex World Full of Hope

Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gloria Bellin ◽  
Chiara Gardin ◽  
Letizia Ferroni ◽  
Juan Chachques ◽  
Massimo Rogante ◽  
...  

Exosomes are a subgroup of extracellular vesicles containing a huge number of bioactive molecules. They represent an important means of cell communication, mostly between different cell populations, with the purpose of maintaining tissue homeostasis and coordinating the adaptive response to stress. This type of intercellular communication is important in the cardiovascular field, mainly due to the fact that the heart is a complex multicellular system. Given the growing interest in the role of exosomes in cardiovascular diseases and the numerous studies published in the last few decades, we focused on the most relevant results about exosomes in the cardiovascular filed starting from their characterization, passing through the study of their function, and ending with perspectives for their use in cardiovascular therapies.

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (40) ◽  
pp. 6815-6824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Jiang ◽  
Chuanshan Xu ◽  
Wingnang Leung ◽  
Mei Lin ◽  
Xiaowen Cai ◽  
...  

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is a promising alternative treatment for malignancies based on photochemical reaction induced by Photosensitizers (PS) under light irradiation. Recent studies show that PDT caused the abundant release of exosomes from tumor tissues. It is well-known that exosomes as carriers play an important role in cell-cell communication through transporting many kinds of bioactive molecules (e.g. lipids, proteins, mRNA, miRNA and lncRNA). Therefore, to explore the role of exosomes in photodynamic anticancer therapy has been attracting significant attention. In the present paper, we will briefly introduce the basic principle of PDT and exosomes, and focus on discussing the role of exosomes in photodynamic anticancer therapy, to further enrich and boost the development of PDT.


Diagnostics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 269
Author(s):  
Øystein Røsand ◽  
Morten Andre Høydal

Ischemic heart disease (IHD) is the primary cause of death globally. IHD is associated with the disruption of blood supply to the heart muscles, which often results in myocardial infarction (MI) that further may progress to heart failure (HF). Exosomes are a subgroup of extracellular vesicles that can be secreted by virtually all types of cells, including cardiomyocytes, cardiac fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and stem and progenitor cells. Exosomes represent an important means of cell–cell communication through the transport of proteins, coding and non-coding RNA, and other bioactive molecules. Several studies show that exosomes play an important role in the progression of IHD, including endothelial dysfunction, the development of arterial atherosclerosis, ischemic reperfusion injury, and HF development. Recently, promising data have been shown that designates exosomes as carriers of cardioprotective molecules that enhance the survival of recipient cells undergoing ischemia. In this review, we summarize the functional involvement of exosomes regarding IHD. We also highlight the cardioprotective effects of native and bioengineered exosomes to IHD, as well as the possibility of using exosomes as natural biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases. Lastly, we discuss the opportunities and challenges that need to be addressed before exosomes can be used in clinical applications.


1989 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miriam Gilbert

Student bashing has become all the rage. Allan Bloom has decried today's youth as “spiritually unclad, unconnected, isolated, and no inherited or unconditional connection with anything or anyone,” creating a storm of controversy. E. D. Hirsch has declared students to be culturally illiterate and the National Geographic Society now tells us they are geographically illiterate, as well.Admittedly, statistics can be powerfully persuasive and the results of the recent National Geographic Society report should shake us up. One in seven Americans surveyed could not find the United States on a world map, let alone name the country in which “apartheid” is official government policy. Obviously, something larger than map skills is at stake here. As the survey demonstrated, a huge number of Americans know virtually nothing about world affairs. In a country whose influence is global, millions of people display indifference to, and ignorance of events, beyond our borders.Surveys deocumenting the educational shortcomings of U.S. students indeed have become a dime a dozen. Yet whether or not we agree with these assessments, we have been undeniably offered a grim evaluation of both our students and the job we have done with them. I question, however, whether Bloom's “back to basics” prescription or the acquisition of Hirsch's data base of 5,000 key facts will really make our students smarter, more aware of the complex world they live in. Can “great books” alone (and who will choose them?) or arbitrary concepts devoid of context prepare our students for an interdependent world in which nothing—including the role of the United States— is really certain? Nonetheless, we are compelled to take a good, hard look at ourselves, to reexamine and clarify our role as educators, and to reaffirm education as a potential and potent vehicle for change.


Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 2316
Author(s):  
Lucia Catani ◽  
Michele Cavo ◽  
Francesca Palandri

Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (MPN) are acquired clonal disorders of the hematopoietic stem cells and include Essential Thrombocythemia, Polycythemia Vera and Myelofibrosis. MPN are characterized by mutations in three driver genes (JAK2, CALR and MPL) and by a state of chronic inflammation. Notably, MPN patients experience increased risk of thrombosis, disease progression, second neoplasia and evolution to acute leukemia. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are a heterogeneous population of microparticles with a role in cell-cell communication. The EV-mediated cross-talk occurs via the trafficking of bioactive molecules such as nucleic acids, proteins, metabolites and lipids. Growing interest is focused on EVs and their potential impact on the regulation of blood cancers. Overall, EVs have been suggested to orchestrate the complex interplay between tumor cells and the microenvironment with a pivotal role in “education” and “crafting” of the microenvironment by regulating angiogenesis, coagulation, immune escape and drug resistance of tumors. This review is focused on the role of EVs in MPN. Specifically, we will provide an overview of recent findings on the involvement of EVs in MPN pathogenesis and discuss opportunities for their potential application as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Chen ◽  
Ying-Jian Gu ◽  
Ming-Yuan Zhou ◽  
Lin Cheng ◽  
Yun Wang

Background: Pulmonary arterial hypertension is one of the chronic diseases that affect the human health. Microvesicles participate in the communication between cells by fusing with the recipient cells to transfer the bioactive molecules, such as lipids, proteins, RNA, etc., to the target cells. Microvesicles are involved in various biological processes, and have the functions of regulating immunity, promoting angiogenesis and so on. Microvesicles derived from various cells may become diagnostic biomarkers or therapeutic targets to the diseases. Therefore, exploring the role of microvesicles-mediated cell communication has become a potential therapeutic target to pulmonary arterial hypertension. Objective: It is to clarify the classification, features and mechanism of microvesicles in cell communication, and to discuss the potential important roles of microvesicles-mediated cell communication in pulmonary arterial hypertension. Results: Inflammation is an important the pathogenesis of pulmonary arterial hypertension. Many studies have shown that microvesicles from different cells can participate in the pathological process of PAH by transferring the inflammatory factors contained in them. Conclusion: Microvesicles-mediated cell communication may become the therapeutic target to pulmonary arterial hypertension.


2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Akhil Srivastava ◽  
Shipra Rathore ◽  
Anupama Munshi ◽  
Rajagopal Ramesh

AbstractExosomes are involved in cell-to-cell communication and play a crucial role in cellular physiology. The role of exosomes in cancer has been widely explored. Tumor cells have evolved and adapted to evade the immune response. The study of the immune system’s modulations in favor of rogue tumor cells led to the development of a novel immunotherapeutic strategy targeting the immune checkpoint proteins (ICPs). In clinical settings, the response to ICP therapy has been inconsistent and is difficult to predict. Quantitating the targeted ICPs through immunohistochemistry is one approach, but is not pragmatic in a clinical setting and is often not sensitive. Examining the molecules present in bodily fluids to determine ICP treatment response, “liquid biopsy” is a convenient alternative. The term “liquid biopsy” refers to circulating tumor cells (CTCs), extracellular vesicles (EVs), non-coding (nc) RNA, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), circulating free DNA (cfDNA), etc. EVs includes exosomes, microvesicles, and oncosomes. Herein, we focus on exosomes isolated from bodily fluids and their use in liquid biopsy. Due to their unique ability to transfer bioactive molecules and perturb the physiology of recipient cells, exosomes have garnered attention for their immune modulation role and as a resource to identify molecules associated with liquid biopsy–based diagnostic methods. In this review, we examine the putative role of exosomes and their cargo in influencing the immune system. We discuss the immune and tumor cells present in the tumor microenvironment (TME), and the exosomes derived from these cells to understand how they participate in creating the immune-suppressive TME. Additionally, use of exosomes in liquid biopsy–based methods to measure the treatment response elicited by immunotherapy is discussed. Finally, we describe how exosomes have been used to develop immune therapies, especially cell-free vaccines, for cancer treatment.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra M. Leech ◽  
Mackenzie J. Flynn ◽  
Heather E. Arsenault ◽  
Jianhong Ou ◽  
Haibo Liu ◽  
...  

SummaryUpon exposure to environmental stressors, cells transiently arrest the cell cycle while they adapt and restore homeostasis. A challenge for all cells is to distinguish between diverse stress signals and coordinate the appropriate adaptive response with cell cycle arrest. Here we investigate the role of the stress-activated phosphatase calcineurin (CN) in this process and show that CN utilizes multiple pathways to control the cell cycle. Upon activation, CN inhibits transcription factors (TFs) that regulate the G1/S transition through activation of the stress-activated MAPK Hog1. In contrast, CN inactivates G2/M TFs through a combination of Hog1-dependent and -independent mechanisms. These findings demonstrate that CN and Hog1 act in a coordinated manner at multiple nodes of the cell cycle-regulatory network to rewire gene expression and arrest cells in response to stress. Our results suggest that crosstalk between CN and stress-activated MAPKs helps cells tailor their adaptive responses to specific stressors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (21) ◽  
pp. 8133
Author(s):  
Martin Marônek ◽  
René Link ◽  
Giovanni Monteleone ◽  
Roman Gardlík ◽  
Carmine Stolfi

The human virome, which is a collection of all the viruses that are present in the human body, is increasingly being recognized as an essential part of the human microbiota. The human gastrointestinal tract and related organs (e.g., liver, pancreas, and gallbladder)—composing the gastrointestinal (or digestive) system—contain a huge number of viral particles which contribute to maintaining tissue homeostasis and keeping our body healthy. However, perturbations of the virome steady-state may, both directly and indirectly, ignite/sustain oncogenic mechanisms contributing to the initiation of a dysplastic process and/or cancer progression. In this review, we summarize and discuss the available evidence on the association and role of viruses in the development of cancers of the digestive system.


Pharmaceutics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 849 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kamil Elkhoury ◽  
Polen Koçak ◽  
Alex Kang ◽  
Elmira Arab-Tehrany ◽  
Jennifer Ellis Ward ◽  
...  

Smart engineered and naturally derived nanovesicles, capable of targeting specific tissues and cells and delivering bioactive molecules and drugs into them, are becoming important drug delivery systems. Liposomes stand out among different types of self-assembled nanovesicles, because of their amphiphilicity and non-toxic nature. By modifying their surfaces, liposomes can become stimulus-responsive, releasing their cargo on demand. Recently, the recognized role of exosomes in cell-cell communication and their ability to diffuse through tissues to find target cells have led to an increase in their usage as smart delivery systems. Moreover, engineering “smarter” delivery systems can be done by creating hybrid exosome-liposome nanocarriers via membrane fusion. These systems can be loaded in naturally derived hydrogels to achieve sustained and controlled drug delivery. Here, the focus is on evaluating the smart behavior of liposomes and exosomes, the fabrication of hybrid exosome-liposome nanovesicles, and the controlled delivery and routes of administration of a hydrogel matrix for drug delivery systems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junli Zou ◽  
Huiyong Peng ◽  
Yingzhao Liu

Exosomes are extracellular microvesicles (30-150 nm) released from cells that contain proteins, lipids, RNA and DNA. They can deliver bioactive molecules and serve as carriers facilitating cell-cell communication, such as antigen presentation, inflammatory activation, autoimmune diseases (AIDs) and tumor metastasis. Recently, much attention has been attracted to the biology and functions of exosomes in immune regulation and AIDs, including autoimmune thyroid diseases (AITDs). Some studies have shown that exosomes are involved in the occurrence and development of AITDs, but they are still in the preliminary stage of exploration. This review mainly introduces the association of exosomes with immune regulation and emphasizes the potential role of exosomes in AITDs, aiming to provide new research strategies and directions for the pathogenesis and early diagnosis of AITDs.


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