Cancer Center, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan 430022, P. R. China.
Department of Breast and Thyroid Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan 430022, P. R. China.
Biomater Sci. 2016 May 24;4(6):910-21. doi: 10.1039/c5bm00583c.
Exosomes are small membrane vesicles secreted by most cell types, and appear ubiquitously in cell culture supernatants and body fluids. Increasing evidence supports that exosomes play important roles in intercellular communication, both locally and systemically, by transporting their contents such as proteins, lipids and RNAs between cells. Of particular interest for controlled drug delivery is that cell-derived exosomes offer the possibilities of overcoming biological barriers, thereby allowing the incorporated gene and drug to reach targeted tissue, which have been considerable challenges for synthetic carriers. Great research efforts have been dedicated to developing exosome-based drug delivery systems for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, degenerative disorders and cancer. In this review, we will describe the structural and functional properties of exosomes and emphasize current advances in the therapeutic applications of exosomes as drug delivery vehicles, followed by a discussion on current challenges and future perspectives.
外泌体是大多数细胞类型分泌的小膜囊泡，在细胞培养上清液和体液中普遍存在。越来越多的证据支持外泌体通过在细胞间运输其内容物（如蛋白质、脂质和 RNA）在局部和全身范围内发挥重要的细胞间通讯作用。特别值得关注的是，细胞来源的外泌体提供了克服生物屏障的可能性，从而使所包含的基因和药物能够到达靶向组织，这对合成载体来说是相当大的挑战。人们投入了大量的研究努力来开发基于外泌体的药物传递系统，以治疗炎症性疾病、退行性疾病和癌症。在这篇综述中，我们将描述外泌体的结构和功能特性，并强调外泌体作为药物传递载体在治疗应用方面的最新进展，随后讨论当前的挑战和未来的展望。
