Illuminating the Molecular Intricacies of Exosomes and ncRNAs in Cardiovascular Diseases: Prospective Therapeutic and Biomarker Potential

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Accumulating evidences have highlighted the importance of exosomes and non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in cardiac physiology and pathology. It is in general consensus that exosomes and ncRNAs play a crucial role in the maintenance of normal cellular function; and interestingly it is envisaged that their potential as prospective therapeutic candidates and biomarkers are increasing rapidly. Considering all these aspects, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the recent understanding of exosomes and ncRNAs in CVDs. We provide a great deal of discussion regarding their role in the cardiovascular system, together with providing a glimpse of ideas regarding strategies exploited to harness their potential as a therapeutic intervention and prospective biomarker against CVDs. Thus, it could be envisaged that a thorough understanding of the intricacies related to exosomes and ncRNA would seemingly allow their full exploration and may lead clinical settings to become a reality in near future.

Keywords: cardiovascular disease; circRNA; exosomes; lncRNA; miRNA; ncRNA.

Figure 1

Representative figure highlighting the biogenesis of exosomes (A) and the typical structure of exosomes (B). Basically, exosome biogenesis starts with the inward vagination of the cellular membrane to form early endosomes. Thereafter, the intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) are formed, and the endosomes mature to multivesicular bodies (MVBs). MVBs fuse with the cellular membrane to release ILVs into the extracellular space, where thereafter they are denoted as exosomes. On the other hand, these MVBs can fuse with lysosomes of the cell, resulting in the degradation of ILVs (A). Exosomes contain various molecular entities, including nucleic acids (DNA and/or RNA), membrane anchored-proteins, cytosolic proteins, and lipids (B). The figures are prepared with the BioRender Software (biorender.com).

Figure 2

Representative figure highlighting the procedures for generation of engineered/modified exosomes for specific targeting of the therapeutic molecules to desired tissue (A) along with the workflow of differential ultracentrifugation for exosome isolation (B). The figures are prepared with the BioRender Software (biorender.com).