Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Auckland, 1023, Auckland, New Zealand.
Hub for Extracellular Vesicle Investigations (HEVI), University of Auckland, 1023, Auckland, New Zealand.
Clin Sci (Lond). 2023 Mar 15;137(5):385-399. doi: 10.1042/CS20220301.
Human pregnancy is a highly orchestrated process requiring extensive cross-talk between the mother and the fetus. Extracellular vesicles released by the fetal tissue, particularly the placenta, are recognized as important mediators of this process. More recently, the importance of placental extracellular vesicle biodistribution studies in animal models has received increasing attention as identifying the organs to which extracellular vesicles are targeted to helps us understand more about this communication system. Placental extracellular vesicles are categorized based on their size into macro-, large-, and small-extracellular vesicles, and their biodistribution is dependent on the extracellular vesicle's particle size, the direction of blood flow, the recirculation of blood, as well as the retention capacity in organs. Macro-extracellular vesicles are exclusively localized to the lungs, while large- and small-extracellular vesicles show high levels of distribution to the lungs and liver, while there is inconsistency in the reporting of distribution to the spleen and kidneys. This inconsistency may be due to the differences in the methodologies employed between studies and their limitations. Future studies should incorporate analysis of placental extracellular vesicle biodistribution at the macroscopic level on whole animals and organs/tissues, as well as the microscopic cellular level.
人类妊娠是一个高度协调的过程，需要母体和胎儿之间的广泛交流。胎儿组织，特别是胎盘释放的细胞外囊泡被认为是这一过程的重要介质。最近，动物模型中胎盘细胞外囊泡生物分布研究的重要性受到越来越多的关注，因为确定细胞外囊泡的靶向器官有助于我们更多地了解这种通讯系统。胎盘细胞外囊泡根据其大小分为大囊泡、大囊泡和小囊泡，其生物分布取决于细胞外囊泡的颗粒大小、血流方向、血液再循环以及在器官中的滞留能力。大囊泡仅定位于肺部，而大囊泡和小囊泡则显示出对肺部和肝脏的高分布水平，而对脾脏和肾脏的分布则不一致。这种不一致可能是由于研究之间采用的方法学不同及其局限性所致。未来的研究应包括在整个动物和器官/组织的宏观水平以及微观细胞水平上分析胎盘细胞外囊泡的生物分布。
