Therapeutic Uses of Exosomes

Zacharias E. Suntres; Milton G. Smith; Fatemeh Momen-Heravi; Jie Hu; Xin Zhang; Ying Wu; Hongguang Zhu; Jiping Wang; Jian Zhou; Winston Patrick Kuo

doi:10.33393/jcb.2013.2036

Authors

Zacharias E. Suntres Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
Milton G. Smith Borgess Hospital, Kalamazoo, MI, USA
Fatemeh Momen-Heravi Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
Jie Hu Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Xin Zhang Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Ying Wu Department of Pathology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Hongguang Zhu Department of Pathology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Jiping Wang Division of Surgical Oncology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA
Jian Zhou Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
Winston Patrick Kuo Department of Developmental Biology, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Cambridge, MA, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33393/jcb.2013.2036

Keywords:

Exosomes, Therapy, Delivery

Abstract

Exosomes are membrane vesicles with a diameter of 40–100 nm that are secreted by many cell types into the extracellular milieu. Exosomes are found in cell culture supernatants and in different biological fluids and are known to be secreted by most cell types under normal and pathological conditions. Considerable research is focusing on the exploitation of exosomes in biological fluids for biomarkers in the diagnosis of disease. More recently, exosomes are being exploited for their therapeutic potential. Exosomes derived from dendritic cells, tumor cells, and malignant effusions demonstrate immunomodulatory functions and are able to present antigens to T-cells and stimulate antigen-specific T-cell responses. Exosomes have also been examined for their therapeutic potential in the treatment of infections such as toxoplasmosis, diphtheria, tuberculosis and atypical severe acute respiratory syndrome as well as autoimmune diseases. Attempts to find practical applications for exosomes continue to expand with the role of exosomes as a drug delivery system for the treatment of autoimmune/inflammatory diseases and cancers.