Hernandez Belinda J, Robertson Danielle M
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Curr Eye Res. 2025 Feb 12:1-9. doi: 10.1080/02713683.2025.2459335.
The cornea is a transparent avascular tissue that serves as the first line of defense against opportunistic pathogens and provides a smooth refractive surface for vision. Due to its external location, the cornea is vulnerable to stress from the outer environment. This can lead to corneal epithelial breakdown and subsequent corneal disease. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nano-sized vesicles enclosed within a lipid bilayer that are secreted by all cells in the body and play a key role in cell-to-cell communication. Within the cornea field, EVs and exosomes, the latter of which represents a subpopulation of small EVs, have emerged as potential therapies for treating corneal diseases and have increased our understanding of the mechanisms by which EVs, and more specifically, exosomes released by stressed or unhealthy cells, leads to corneal dysfunction and disease.
We conducted a literature search using PubMed and Google Scholar using keywords relevant to exosomes, extracellular vesicles, and cornea. We reviewed the literature focusing on EV studies on corneal wound healing and therapy.
This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of exosome biology as it relates to corneal disease and wound healing. Studies to date provide compelling data indicating that EVs and exosomes may play an integral role in the maintenance of corneal homeostasis. EVs and exosomes also have exciting potential as therapeutics in corneal wound healing and disease; and their presence in tear fluid may serve as potential diagnostic biomarkers for ocular and systemic diseases.
While corneal exosome biology is still in its infancy state, continued progress in this area will improve our understanding of the functional capacity of these small vesicles in the human cornea and may lead to the development of novel regenerative therapies.
角膜是一种透明的无血管组织，是抵御机会性病原体的第一道防线，并为视力提供光滑的屈光表面。由于其位于体表，角膜易受外部环境压力的影响。这可能导致角膜上皮破损及随后的角膜疾病。细胞外囊泡（EVs）是包裹在脂质双层内的纳米级囊泡，由体内所有细胞分泌，在细胞间通讯中起关键作用。在角膜领域，EVs和外泌体（后者是小EVs的一个亚群）已成为治疗角膜疾病的潜在疗法，并增进了我们对EVs，更具体地说是应激或不健康细胞释放的外泌体导致角膜功能障碍和疾病的机制的理解。
我们使用PubMed和谷歌学术，以与外泌体、细胞外囊泡和角膜相关的关键词进行文献检索。我们回顾了聚焦于EVs在角膜伤口愈合和治疗方面研究的文献。
本综述全面概述了与角膜疾病和伤口愈合相关的外泌体生物学的当前状态。迄今为止的研究提供了令人信服的数据，表明EVs和外泌体可能在维持角膜稳态中发挥不可或缺的作用。EVs和外泌体在角膜伤口愈合和疾病治疗方面也具有令人兴奋的潜力；它们在泪液中的存在可能作为眼部和全身性疾病的潜在诊断生物标志物。
虽然角膜外泌体生物学仍处于起步阶段，但该领域的持续进展将增进我们对这些小囊泡在人角膜中的功能能力的理解，并可能导致新型再生疗法的开发。
