Neuroprotective properties of extracellular vesicles derived from mesenchymal stem cells.

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) provide a novel mechanism of intercellular communication via the transfer of proteins, lipids, and miRNAs between cells. It is now widely accepted that cargo content of EVs depends on cell type and its physiological state. Accordingly, EVs derived from healthy cells may have a comparable therapeutic potential as cells themselves. Indeed, several studies confirmed this notion and demonstrated therapeutic potential of EVs in different clinical settings. Exosomes represent a class of EVs, that can cross blood-brain barrier (Alvarez-Erviti et al., 2011), therefore they can be delivered into the CNS using intravenous, or intranasal routes avoiding the need for neurosurgical interventions. This property makes them particularly attractive as a new tool for the neuroregenerative therapies. However, new protocols require large amounts of EVs which can be obtained only from cells expanded in vitro. In this respect human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) represent one of the most promising cellular sources of EVs.