Extracellular vesciles derived from Mesenchymal stem cells: a potential alternative for cell therapy?
The therapeutic benefits of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) transplantation have been reported to be primarily attributed to their secreted factors, such as extracellular vesicles (EVs). The potential for employing the EVs from MSCs as an alternative acellular approach to cell therapy is attracting an increasing number of researches in immunomodulation and regenerative medicine. What are extracellular vesciles? Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are released into extracellular microenvironment by all cell types. They are delimited by a lipid-bilayer membrane and enclose cytoplasmic components from the originating cells. EVs are generally categorized based on their biogenesis and size. Exosomes, the best characterized EV subtypes, with a size range of 50-150 nm in diameter can form first as intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) in multivesicular compartments (generally of endocytic nature) and be secreted upon fusion of these compartments with the plas...