Research progression of exosome in cardiovascular disease / 中华检验医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Exosomes are nanosized lipid vesicles released from cells .They are believed to contain proteins, lipids and nucleic acid cargos , and are capable of deliver their cargos to recipient cells , which in turn alter the expression of genes in neighboring cells .An increasing body of evidence indicates that they play a pivotal role in cell-to-cell communication , which is hijacked during various physiological and pathological conditions , such as myocardial damage , angiogenesis , cardiac remodeling and atherogenesis plaque formation .Further research of intercellular communication mediated by exosomes may potentially aid in the possible application of exosomes for biomarker discovery , curative effects , as well as prognosis of cardiovascular diseases , even the use of exosomes as a therapeutic drug delivery system on the basis of the exosome′s ability to target specific cells , and transfer genetic materials.