Cano Amanda, Muñoz-Morales Álvaro, Sánchez-López Elena, Ettcheto Miren, Souto Eliana B, Camins Antonio, Boada Mercè, Ruíz Agustín
Ace Alzheimer Center Barcelona-International University of Catalunya (UIC), 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
Biomedical Research Networking Centre in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), 28029 Madrid, Spain.
Pharmaceutics. 2023 Jan 16;15(1):298. doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics15010298.
Neurodegenerative diseases constitute a group of pathologies whose etiology remains unknown in many cases, and there are no treatments that stop the progression of such diseases. Moreover, the existence of the blood-brain barrier is an impediment to the penetration of exogenous molecules, including those found in many drugs. Exosomes are extracellular vesicles secreted by a wide variety of cells, and their primary functions include intercellular communication, immune responses, human reproduction, and synaptic plasticity. Due to their natural origin and molecular similarities with most cell types, exosomes have emerged as promising therapeutic tools for numerous diseases. Specifically, neurodegenerative diseases have shown to be a potential target for this nanomedicine strategy due to the difficult access to the brain and the strategy's pathophysiological complexity. In this regard, this review explores the most important biological-origin drug delivery systems, innovative isolation methods of exosomes, their physicochemical characterization, drug loading, cutting-edge functionalization strategies to target them within the brain, the latest research studies in neurodegenerative diseases, and the future challenges of exosomes as nanomedicine-based therapeutic tools.
神经退行性疾病是一组在许多情况下病因仍不明的病症，并且没有能够阻止此类疾病进展的治疗方法。此外，血脑屏障的存在阻碍了外源性分子的渗透，包括许多药物中的分子。外泌体是由多种细胞分泌的细胞外囊泡，其主要功能包括细胞间通讯、免疫反应、人类生殖和突触可塑性。由于其天然来源以及与大多数细胞类型的分子相似性，外泌体已成为治疗多种疾病的有前景的治疗工具。具体而言，由于难以进入大脑以及该策略的病理生理复杂性，神经退行性疾病已被证明是这种纳米医学策略的潜在靶点。在这方面，本综述探讨了最重要的生物源药物递送系统、外泌体的创新分离方法、其物理化学表征、药物负载、在脑内靶向它们的前沿功能化策略、神经退行性疾病的最新研究以及外泌体作为基于纳米医学的治疗工具的未来挑战。
