MicroRNAs and Extracellular Vesicles for Diagnosis of ARDS: Can MicroRNAs and Extracellular Vesicles Be Helpful for Early Diagnosis or Risk Evaluation of ARDS?

Abstract

AbstractThe lungs are the organs which work for gas exchange. The basic structure of the lungs is an alveolus, which consists essentially of epithelial cells, endothelial cells, and mesenchymal cells. Moreover, in the alveoli, various types of bone marrow-derived cells, including alveolar macrophages, exist for various functions including host-defense and tissue repair. Therefore, because the lungs consist of various types of cells which have various functions, the communication between each type of cells should play important roles for maintaining the homeostasis as well as the pathogenesis of the diseases in the lungs. In the past decades, the researches have focused on cytokines or adhesion molecules to reveal the intercellular communication for understanding the homeostasis and the pathogenesis in the lungs. Recent investigations have revealed that an extracellular vesicle and its components, microRNAs can move from the cells to others for transferring substances including microRNAs in vesicles as an intercellular messenger. MicroRNAs and extracellular vesicles are therefore attracting increasing attentions from both translational and clinical researchers. In this chapter, I describe the microRNAs and extracellular vesicles in terms of the question, whether microRNAs and extracellular vesicles be helpful for early diagnosis or risk evaluation of ARDS.KeywordsExtracellular vesiclesMicroRNAsExosomeMicroparticleEctosome