Extracellular Vesicles—Oral Therapeutics of the Future

Abstract

Considered an artifact just after discovery, the possibility of oral delivery of extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their functional cargos has recently gained much research attention. EVs from various sources, including edible plants, milk, bacteria and mammalian cells, have emerged as a platform for miRNA and drug delivery that seem to induce the expected immune effects locally and in distant tissues after oral administration. Such a possibility greatly expands the clinical applicabil-ity of EVs. The present review summarizes research findings that either support or deny the biolog-ical/therapeutical activity of orally administered EVs and their role in cross-species and cross-king-dom signaling.