Concise review: Extracellular vesicles from mesenchymal stem cells as cellular therapy

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are microvesicles produced from cells throughout their life. From research over recent years, there has been greater understanding about EVs, including their physiological characteristics and the role they play in cell targets. Indeed, EVs carry information (in the form of RNA, DNA and protein) to cell targets. Some of their main biological properties include angiogenesis and immune-modulation. Therefore, these properties can be exploited to treat various diseases, including bone disorders, spinal cord injury and diabetes mellitus. Recently, new methods have been developed to isolate and enrich EVs with high performance and low-toxicity. Thus, EVs have emerged as the new generation of stem cell therapy. This concise review aims to highlight some recent achievements of EVs in preclinical and clinical applications.