Extracellular vesicle species differentially affect endothelial cell functions and differentially respond to exercise training in patients with chronic coronary syndromes

Extracellular Vesicles and Hydrogels: An Innovative Approach to Tissue Regeneration

Extracellular vesicles have emerged as promising tools in regenerative medicine due to their inherent ability to facilitate intercellular communication and modulate cellular functions. These nanosized vesicles transport bioactive molecules, such as proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, which can affect the behavior of recipient cells and promote tissue regeneration. However, the therapeutic application of these vesicles is frequently constrained by their rapid clearance from the body and inability to maintain a sustained presence at the injury site. In order to overcome these obstacles, hydrogels have been used as extracellular vesicle delivery vehicles, providing a localized and controlled release system that improves their therapeutic efficacy. This Review will examine the role of extracellular vesicle-loaded hydrogels in tissue regeneration, discussing potential applications, current challenges, and future directions. We will investigate the origins, composition, and characterization techniques of extracellular vesicles, focusing on recent advances in exosome profiling and the role of machine learning in this field. In addition, we will investigate the properties of hydrogels that make them ideal extracellular vesicle carriers. Recent studies utilizing this combination for tissue regeneration will be highlighted, providing a comprehensive overview of the current research landscape and potential future directions.

Exosomes as a delivery tool of exercise-induced beneficial factors for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Exercise-derived exosomes have been identified as novel players in mediating cell-to-cell communication in the beneficial effects of improving cardiovascular disease (CVD). This review aimed to systematically investigate exosomes as delivery tools for the benefits of exercise in the prevention and treatment of CVD and summarize these outcomes with an overview of their therapeutic implications. Among the 1417 articles obtained in nine database searches (PubMed, EBSCO, Embase, Web of Science, CENTRAL, Ovid, Science Direct, Scopus, and Wiley), 12 articles were included based on eligibility criteria. The results indicate that exercise increases the release of exosomes, increasing exosomal markers (TSG101, CD63, and CD81) and exosome-carried miRNAs (miR-125b-5p, miR-122-5p, miR-342-5p, miR-126, miR-130a, miR-138-5p, and miR-455). These miRNAs mainly regulate the expression of MAPK, NF-kB, VEGF, and Caspase to protect the cardiovascular system. Moreover, the outcome indicators of myocardial apoptosis and myocardial infarction volume are significantly reduced following exercise-induced exosome release, and angiogenesis, microvessel density and left ventricular ejection fraction are significantly increased, as well as alleviating myocardial fibrosis following exercise-induced exosome release. Collectively, these results further confirm that exercise-derived exosomes have a beneficial role in potentially preventing and treating CVD and support the use of exercise-derived exosomes in clinical settings.

Extracellular Vesicle Heterogeneity and Its Impact for Regenerative Medicine Applications

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are cell-derived membrane-enclosed particles that are involved in physiologic and pathologic processes. EVs are increasingly being studied for therapeutic applications in the field of regenerative medicine. Therapeutic application of stem cell-derived EVs has shown great potential to stimulate tissue repair. However, the exact mechanisms through which they induce this effect have not been fully clarified. This may to a large extent be attributed to a lack of knowledge on EV heterogeneity. Recent studies suggest that EVs represent a heterogeneous population of vesicles with distinct functions. The heterogeneity of EVs can be attributed to differences in their biogenesis, and as such, they can be classified into distinct populations that can then be further subcategorized into various subpopulations. A better understanding of EV heterogeneity is crucial for elucidating their mechanisms of action in tissue regeneration. This review provides an overview of the latest insights on EV heterogeneity related to tissue repair, including the different characteristics that contribute to such heterogeneity and the functional differences among EV subtypes. It also sheds light on the challenges that hinder clinical translation of EVs. Additionally, innovative EV isolation techniques for studying EV heterogeneity are discussed. Improved knowledge of active EV subtypes would promote the development of tailored EV therapies and aid researchers in the translation of EV-based therapeutics to the clinic. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Within this review we discuss the differences in regenerative properties of extracellular vesicle (EV) subpopulations and implications of EV heterogeneity for development of EV-based therapeutics. We aim to provide new insights into which aspects are leading to heterogeneity in EV preparations and stress the importance of EV heterogeneity studies for clinical applications.

Methods for the identification and characterization of extracellular vesicles in cardiovascular studies: from exosomes to microvesicles

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanosized vesicles with a lipid bilayer that are released from cells of the cardiovascular system, and are considered important mediators of intercellular and extracellular communications. Two types of EVs of particular interest are exosomes and microvesicles, which have been identified in all tissue and body fluids and carry a variety of molecules including RNAs, proteins, and lipids. EVs have potential for use in the diagnosis and prognosis of cardiovascular diseases and as new therapeutic agents, particularly in the setting of myocardial infarction and heart failure. Despite their promise, technical challenges related to their small size make it challenging to accurately identify and characterize them, and to study EV-mediated processes. Here, we aim to provide the reader with an overview of the techniques and technologies available for the separation and characterization of EVs from different sources. Methods for determining the protein, RNA, and lipid content of EVs are discussed. The aim of this document is to provide guidance on critical methodological issues and highlight key points for consideration for the investigation of EVs in cardiovascular studies.

Impact of acute moderate-intensity aerobic exercise on circulating extracellular vesicles in pregnant and non-pregnant women

Exercise improves cardiovascular and metabolic health in pregnancy and may represent a non-pharmacological approach to improving pregnancy outcomes. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are emerging biomarkers of endothelial dysfunction and offer the potential for evaluating vascular health non-invasively during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate changes in circulating EV levels after an acute bout of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise in healthy pregnant and non-pregnant women. We studied plasma samples from pregnant (N = 13, 13-28 weeks) and non-pregnant (N = 17) women. A pre-exercise blood sample was obtained followed by a 30 min bout of moderate-intensity treadmill-based exercise. Immediately following the exercise, a post-exercise blood draw was collected. Large EVs were isolated from plasma by differential centrifugation and characterized by Western blot and electron microscopy. We quantified circulating EVs by nanoscale flow cytometry. Endothelial EVs were identified as VE-Cadherin+, platelet EVs as CD41+, and leukocyte EVs as CD45+ events. Acute exercise was associated with a significant reduction in levels of circulating endothelial EVs in the non-pregnant group (p = 0.0232) but not in the pregnant group (p = 0.2734). A greater proportion of non-pregnant women (13/17, 76.47%) exhibited a reduction in endothelial EVs compared with their pregnant counterparts (4/13, 30.76%, p < 0.05). We also observed a positive association between measures of fitness (average speed) and baseline levels of platelet (r = 0.5816, p = 0.0159) and total EVs (r = 0.5325, p = 0.0296) in the non-pregnant group but not in pregnant individuals. Collectively, our study highlights that after a matched acute exercise, changes to circulating EV levels differ depending on pregnancy status.

Effects of Exercise on Circulating Extracellular Vesicles in Cardiovascular Disease

The evidence that physical exercise has multiple beneficial effects and is essential to a healthy lifestyle is widely accepted for a long-time. The functional and psychological changes promoted by exercise improve clinical outcomes and prognosis in several diseases, by decreasing mortality, disease severity, and hospital admissions. Nonetheless, the mechanisms that regulate the release, uptake, and communication of several factors in response to exercise are still not well defined. In the last years, extracellular vesicles have attracted significant interest in the scientific community due to their ability to carry and deliver proteins, lipids, and miRNA to distant organs in the body, promoting a very exciting crosstalk machinery. Moreover, increasing evidence suggests that exercise can modulate the release of those factors within EVs into the circulation, mediating its systemic adaptations.In this chapter, we summarize the effects of acute and chronic exercise on the extracellular vesicle dynamics in healthy subjects and patients with cardiovascular disease. The understanding of the changes in the cargo and kinetics of extracellular vesicles in response to exercise may open new possibilities of research and encourage the development of novel therapies that mimic the effects of exercise.

Extracellular Vesicle Derived From Mesenchymal Stem Cells Have Bidirectional Effects on the Development of Lung Cancer

Mesenchymal stem cell is a kind of pluripotent cells with the ability of self-renewal and multi-directional differentiation, which exist in bone marrow, umbilical cord blood, umbilical cord tissue, placenta tissue, adipose tissue and so on. Extracellular vesicles are membranous lipid vesicles secreted by a variety of cells and widely present in body fluids, which contain proteins, mRNA, microRNA and other substances, and are an important medium of intercellular communication. At present, more and more evidence shows that mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles play an important role in the development of lung cancer. Regulating the levels of proteins, RNAs and other substances in MSC-EVs and then transplanting them into patients may be a new way to alleviate the development of lung cancer. We mainly introduce the role of extracellular vesicles derived from human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and adipose mesenchymal stem cells in lung cancer, to provide new alternatives for the treatment of lung cancer.

Exploring New Kingdoms: The Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Oxi-Inflamm-Aging Related to Cardiorenal Syndrome

The incidence of age associated chronic diseases has increased in recent years. Although several diverse causes produce these phenomena, abundant evidence shows that oxidative stress plays a central role. In recent years, numerous studies have focused on elucidating the role of oxidative stress in the development and progression of both aging and chronic diseases, opening the door to the discovery of new underlying mechanisms and signaling pathways. Among them, senolytics and senomorphics, and extracellular vesicles offer new therapeutic strategies to slow the development of aging and its associated chronic diseases by decreasing oxidative stress. In this review, we aim to discuss the role of extracellular vesicles in human cardiorenal syndrome development and their possible role as biomarkers, targets, or vehicles of drugs to treat this syndrome.

Extracellular vesicles and cardiovascular system: Biomarkers and Cardioprotective Effectors

In the last few decades extracellular vesicles (EVs), which include exosomes and microvesicles, have attracted significant interest in cardiovascular pathophysiology due to their intrinsic properties. Indeed, EVs by transferring their cargo, which contains miRNA, DNA, proteins and lipids, were found effective in preventive and regenerative medicine and in protecting the heart against an array of pathological conditions, including myocardial infarction and arrhythmias. EVs can attenuate cellular senescence, inflammation and myocardial injury. Cardiovascular structures may be targeted by circulating EVs derived by extra-cardiac cells and platelets, as well by EVs locally released from all major cardiovascular cell types, including endothelial cells, cardiomyocytes, macrophages and fibroblasts. Yet, EVs of cardiovascular origin can be also transferred to distant tissues by circulation. Therefore, EVs have been proposed not only as promising diagnostic tools (early disease biomarkers), but also as therapeutics. This review focuses on the protective effects exerted by EVs, released by different cell types in the cardiovascular system. Physical exercise is considered as a natural mechanism of EV production involved in preventive medicine. Particular attention will be devoted to describe the impact of EVs in cardioprotection after ischemia/reperfusion injury.