Why the study?
Cardiac fibrosis complicates nearly all heart disease, and the pathophysiological relevance and therapeutic potential of exosomes in cell-to-cell communication are emerging.
Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Design
Review
Exosome-based anti-fibrotic strategies remain investigational in cardiac fibrosis; extends mechanistic understanding but requires prospective clinical validation.
Fibrosis is a significant global health problem associated with many inflammatory and degenerative diseases affecting multiple organs, individually or simultaneously. Fibrosis develops when extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling becomes excessive or uncontrolled and is associated with nearly all forms of heart disease. Cardiac fibroblasts and myofibroblasts are the main effectors of ECM deposition and scar formation. The heart is a complex multicellular organ, where the various resident cell types communicate between themselves and with cells of the blood and immune systems. Exosomes, which are small extracellular vesicles, (EVs), contribute to cell-to-cell communication and their pathophysiological relevance and therapeutic potential is emerging. Here, we will critically review the role of endogenous exosomes as possible fibrosis mediators and discuss the possibility of using stem cell-derived and/or engineered exosomes as anti-fibrotic agents.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Tikhomirov et al. (2020) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: