Exosomes in Ischemic Stroke

Abstract

Ischemic stroke, a leading cause of mortality, results in severe neurological outcomes in the patients. Effective stroke therapies may significantly decrease the extent of injury. For this purpose, novel and efficient drug delivery strategies need to be developed. Among a myriad of therapeutic and drug delivery techniques, exosomes have shown promising results in ischemic stroke either by their intrinsic therapeutic characteristics, which can result in angiogenesis and neurogenesis or by acting as competent, biocompatible drug delivery vehicles to transport neurotherapeutic agents into the brain. In this review, we have discussed different methods of exosome isolation and cargo loading techniques, advantages and disadvantages of using exosomes as a drug delivery carrier and the therapeutic applications of exosomes with a focus on ischemic stroke therapy.

Keywords: Ischemic stroke; angiogenesis; brain drug delivery; exosomes; neurogenesis; stem cells.