Red Blood Cell-Derived Exosomes as Mediators of Age-Related Neurodegeneration

Abstract

Age-associated neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, are marked by progressive degeneration of the nervous system. Current diagnostic approaches, such as neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, are invasive, costly, and lack early diagnostic reliability. Recent studies highlight the potential of extracellular vesicles, particularly exosomes, derived from erythrocytes or red blood cells (RBCs), as emerging indicators of aging and age-associated diseases. Exosomes carry noncoding RNA, lipid, and protein molecules, and modulate cellular pathways at distant sites, providing neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we isolated RBC-derived exosomes of young and old mice. MicroRNA sequencing analysis revealed differential expression of several miRNA species between young and old mice. We report an upregulation of miR-125a-5p and a downregulation of miR-302a-5p in old mice that are potentially linked to neurodegenerative pathways. This study underscores the potential of RBC-derived exosomes as noninvasive biomarkers for NDDs.