Adipose-Derived Extracellular Vesicles in Lipid Crosstalk: Current Evidence from Mammalian Models and Research Perspectives for Livestock Meat Quality

Adipose-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) have attracted increasing attention as regulators of intercellular communication and lipid metabolism. These nanoscale vesicles transport diverse cargo, including proteins, lipids, mRNAs, lncRNAs, and miRNAs. Through this cargo, adipose tissue communicates with distant organs and influences metabolic homeostasis. Here, we review the biological features and functional roles of adipose-derived EVs, focusing on their involvement in adipogenesis, insulin signaling, inflammation, and metabolic disorders such as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and atherosclerosis. We consider evidence from human and rodent studies alongside the limited bovine data currently available. Importantly, most mechanistic evidence discussed here is derived from non-bovine models, and we therefore treat applications to livestock production and meat quality as a research perspective rather than an established function. In particular, we examine the hypothesis that EV-mediated signaling may regulate intramuscular fat deposition and meat quality traits, and we outline key challenges and research directions for bovine-specific work. A better understanding of these communication pathways could, in the long term, inform research directions relevant to meat quality, but direct functional validation in cattle is required.