Therapeutic applications of extracellular vesicles

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles, secreted spontaneously or in response to stress by all cell types, are proposed as alternative biotherapies to cellular therapies and to synthetic nanomedicines. Their logistical advantages (storage, stability, availability, tolerance), their ability to cross biological barriers, to deliver their contents (proteins, lipids and nucleic acids) in order to modify their target cells, as well as their immunomodulatory and regenerative activities, are of growing interest for a very wide spectrum of diseases. Here we review the challenges to bring these biotherapies to the clinic and discuss some promising applications in cancer and regenerative medicine.