What role do extracellular vesicles play in developing physical frailty and sarcopenia? : Asystematic review.

Abstract

Frailty and sarcopenia are typical geriatric conditions with acomplex pathophysiology. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are key regulators of age-related diseases, but the mechanisms underlying physical frailty, sarcopenia, and EVs are not well understood. Asystematic literature review was conducted to examine the evidence supporting an association between EVs and physical frailty and/or sarcopenia by searching the electronic databases, including the Cochrane Library, PubMed, and Embase, from January 2000 to January 2021. Atotal of 216 cross-sectional studies were retrieved, and after the removal of 43duplicate records, the title and abstract of 167 articles were screened, identifying 6relevant articles for full-text review. Of the studies five met the inclusion criteria, and heterogeneity among studies was high. There is controversy regarding whether frailty and/or sarcopenia are related to circulating EV levels; however, the cargo of EVs has been associated with frailty and sarcopenia in various ways, such as microRNAs, mitochondrial-derived vesicles (MDVs), and protein cargoes. Recent studies, although limited, depicted that EVs could be one of the underlying mechanisms of frailty and/or sarcopenia. There is apossibility that physical frailty and sarcopenia may have specific EV concentrations and cargo profiles; however, further research is required to fully understand the mechanisms and identify potential biomarkers and early preventative strategies for physical frailty and sarcopenia.