Recent Progress of Extracellular Vesicle Engineering

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanoscale phospholipid bilayer membrane vesicles which contain varied active biomolecules. As natural carriers, EVs can deliver endogenous cargos to target tissues safely and effectively. However, the applications of natural released EVs are limited by their low yield and heterogeneity. Engineering EVs can endow them with more functions and better performances to address these issues. EVs can be modified and engineered to improve the yield, targeting efficiency, and content of beneficial cargos. Herein, the strategies of engineering EVs through genetic modification of EVs are introduced; the molecular modification of the EV membrane and the loading of nucleic acids are summarized; the building of EV mimetic nanovesicles are reviewed. Overall, we anticipate that readers will gain a better understanding of the progress of EV engineering, which will help to promote the development of the technologies and applications in this field.

Keywords: extracellular vesicles; nanobiotechnology; nanocarriers; nanomaterials.