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Review
. 2020 Dec 4;21(23):9264.
doi: 10.3390/ijms21239264.

Exosomes: Emerging Diagnostic and Therapeutic Targets in Cutaneous Diseases

Abdul Q Khan  1 , Sabah Akhtar  2 , Kirti S Prabhu  1 , Lubna Zarif  2 , Rehan Khan  3 , Majid Alam  1   4   5 , Joerg Buddenkotte  1   4   5 , Aamir Ahmad  6 , Martin Steinhoff  1   4   5   7   8   9 , Shahab Uddin  1   4   5
Affiliations
Review

Exosomes: Emerging Diagnostic and Therapeutic Targets in Cutaneous Diseases

Abdul Q Khan et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Skin is the largest human organ and is continuously exposed to various exogenous and endogenous trigger factors affecting body homeostasis. A number of mechanisms, including genetic, inflammatory and autoimmune ones, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cutaneous diseases. Recently, there has been considerable interest in the role that extracellular vesicles, particularly exosomes, play in human diseases, through their modulation of multiple signaling pathways. Exosomes are nano-sized vesicles secreted by all cell types. They function as cargo carriers shuttling proteins, nucleic acids, lipids etc., thus impacting the cell-cell communications and transfer of vital information/moieties critical for skin homeostasis and disease pathogenesis. This review summarizes the available knowledge on how exosomes affect pathogenesis of cutaneous diseases, and highlights their potential as future targets for the therapy of various skin diseases.

Keywords: cancer; exosomes; extracellular vesicles; inflammation; skin.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Biogenesis of exosomes: This process initiates with endocytosis. Subsequently, endocytic vesicles get formed and delivered to early endosomes which later fuse with each other forming late endosomes/multivesicular bodies (MVBs). MVBs release exosomes either by fusing with the cell membrane or subject their content to lysosomal degradation. The Trans-Golgi network (TGN) and Endosomal Sorting Complex Responsible for Transport (ESCRT) are also involved in exosome biogenesis and secretion into the extracellular space.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Functions of exosomes. Exosomes are involved in various functions such as tumor growth, drug resistance, angiogenesis, modulation of immune functions, cell to cell interaction and apoptosis. MVB: multivesicular bodies.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic representation of melanosome biogenesis in melanocytes. Immature melanosomes stage I is derived from early endosomes. Stage II (immature melanosomes—iMel) is formation of non-pigmented melanosomes containing PMEL fibrils (indicated in green dotted lines). At stage III, melanogenesis begins with translocation of tyrosinase related proteins (TYR—indicated in red dotted lines) from tubular elements of early endosomes. Stage IV marks the maturation of melanosomes (mMel) facilitating melanin deposition. Adaptor protein-3 (AP-3) and Adaptor protein-1 (AP-1) are adaptors for sorting TYR to melanosomes. BLOC-1 and BLOC-2 are regulators of endosome-to-melanosome transport. Rab32/38 are tissue specific proteins which play essential roles in pigmentation.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Therapeutic role of EVs (exosomes) in cutaneous diseases. Exosomes with specific cargo can attenuate deregulated changes associated with pathogenesis of different skin diseases such as wound healing, hair problems, cell proliferation, pigmentation and cancer development.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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