Advances in the role of extracellular vesicles in intervertebral disc degeneration

Abstract

To review the mechanism of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in treating intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). The literature about EVs was reviewed and the biological characteristics and mechanism of EVs in the treatment of IVDD were summarized. EVs are a kind of nano-sized vesicles with a double-layered lipid membrane structure secreted by many types of cells. EVs contain many bioactive molecules and participate in the exchange of information between cells, thus they play important roles in inflammation, oxidative stress, senescence, apoptosis, and autophagy. Moreover, EVs are found to slow down the process of IVDD by delaying the pathological progression of the nucleus pulposus, cartilage endplates, and annulus fibrosus. EVs is expected to become a new strategy for the treatment of IVDD, but the specific mechanism remains to be further studied.