Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 May;12(5):1047-1079.
doi: 10.1007/s13346-021-01026-0. Epub 2021 Aug 7.

Exosomes as cell-derivative carriers in the diagnosis and treatment of central nervous system diseases

Gayatri Gopal Shetgaonkar  1 , Shirleen Miriam Marques  1 , Cleona E M DCruz  2 , R J A Vibhavari  3 , Lalit Kumar  4 , Rupesh Kalidas Shirodkar  2
Affiliations
Review

Exosomes as cell-derivative carriers in the diagnosis and treatment of central nervous system diseases

Gayatri Gopal Shetgaonkar et al. Drug Deliv Transl Res. 2022 May.

Abstract

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles with the diameter ranging from 50 to 100 nm and are found in different body fluids such as blood, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), urine and saliva. Like in case of various diseases, based on the parent cells, the content of exosomes (protein, mRNA, miRNA, DNA, lipids and metabolites) varies and thus can be utilized as potential biomarker for diagnosis and prognosis of the brain diseases. Furthermore, utilizing the natural potential exosomes to cross the blood-brain barrier and by specifically decorating it with the ligand as per the desired brain sites therapeutics can be delivered to brain parenchyma. This review article conveys the importance of exosomes and their use in the treatment and diagnosis of brain/central nervous system diseases.

Keywords: Blood–brain barrier; CNS diseases; Diagnosis; Exosomes; Targeted delivery.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Exosome trafficking between cells
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Various brain diseases treated using exosomes. A Glioma, B Parkinson’s, C brain stroke, D Alzheimer’s diseases, E brain ischemia, F brain haemorrhage
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Various cargo-loaded exosomes for treatment of CNS diseases and surface modification of same with ligands for brain targeting
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
A Origin of exosome in neurodegenerative diseases. B Release of exosomes from various neuronal cells enables diseases-carrying exosome to neighbouring cells, thereby contributing to the further aggravation of diseases
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
A Role of exosome in healthy brain. B Release of exosomes in neuroinflammatory state
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. GBD. Neurology Collaborators 2019. Global, regional, and national burden of neurological disorders, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet Neurol. 2016;18(5):459–480. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dang XTT, Kavishka JM, Zhang DX, Pirisinu M, Le MTN. Extracellular vesicles as an efficient and versatile system for drug delivery. Cells. 2020;9(10):2191. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rousseau M, Belleannee C, Duchez AC, Cloutier N, Levesque T, Jacques F, et al. Detection and quantification of microparticles from different cellular lineages using flow cytometry. Evaluation of the impact of secreted phospholipase A2 on microparticle assessment. PLOS ONE. 2015;10(1):e0116812. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Meldolesi J. Exosomes and ectosomes in intercellular communication. Curr Biol. 2018;28(8):R435–R444. - PubMed
    1. Vlaeminck-Guillem V. Extracellular vesicles in prostate cancer carcinogenesis, diagnosis, and management. Front Oncol. 2018;8:1–22. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types