Abstract
Extracellular vesicles are a heterogeneous population of microparticles released by virtually all living cells which have been recently widely investigated in different biological fields. They are typically composed of two primary types (exosomes and microvesicles) and are recently commanding increasing attention as mediators of cellular signaling. Indeed, these vesicles can affect recipient cells by carrying and delivering complex cargos of biomolecules (including proteins, lipids and nucleic acids), protected from enzymatic degradation in the environment. Their importance has been demonstrated in the pathophysiology of several organs, in particular in kidney, where different cell types secrete extracellular vesicles that mediate their communication with downstream urinary tract cells. Over the past few years, evidence has been shown that vesicles participate in kidney development and normal physiology. Moreover, EVs are widely demonstrated to be implicated in cellular signaling during renal regenerative and pathological processes. Although many EV mechanisms are still poorly understood, in particular in kidney, the discovery of their role could help to shed light on renal biological processes which are so far elusive. Lastly, extracellular vesicles secreted by renal cells gather in urine, thus becoming a great resource for disease or recovery markers and a promising non-invasive diagnostic instrument for renal disease. In the present review, we discuss the most recent findings on the role of extracellular vesicles in renal physiopathology and their potential implication in diagnosis and therapy.
Highlights
Cell-to-cell communication is a very complex and finely regulated system which ensures proper signaling among different cell types in tissues
It has been widely proven that extracellular vesicles (EVs) confer stability to enclosed proteins and nucleic acids, by protecting them from enzymatic degradation, and mediate the entry into specific recipient cell types (Bobrie et al, 2011; Chaput and Théry, 2011; Lee et al, 2012; Ratajczak et al, 2012; Hoshino et al, 2015)
The reports summarized in this review point out the increasingly recognized relevance of EVs in renal physiopathology
Summary
Cell-to-cell communication is a very complex and finely regulated system which ensures proper signaling among different cell types in tissues. It has been widely proven that EVs confer stability to enclosed proteins and nucleic acids, by protecting them from enzymatic degradation, and mediate the entry into specific recipient cell types (Bobrie et al, 2011; Chaput and Théry, 2011; Lee et al, 2012; Ratajczak et al, 2012; Hoshino et al, 2015) Since their discovery roughly 30 years ago (Trams et al, 1981; Pan and Johnstone, 1983; Harding et al, 1984), EVs were purified from most mammalian cell types and body fluids, and from lower eukaryotes, prokaryotes, and plants (Yáñez-Mó et al, 2015). Evidence showed EVs’ involvement in pathophysiology of several liver diseases (Maji et al, 2017) and autoimmune diseases like Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Multiple Sclerosis (Ulivieri and Baldari, 2017)
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