Emerging Roles of Exosomes in Normal and Pathological Conditions: New Insights for Diagnosis and Therapeutic Applications

From the time when they were first described in the 1970s by the group of Johnstone and Stahl, exosomes are a target of constant research. Exosomes belong to the family of nanovesicles which are of great interest for their many functions and potential for diagnosis and therapy in multiples diseases. Exosomes originate from the intraluminal vesicles of late endosomal compartments named multivesicular bodies and the fusion of these late endosomes with the cell membrane result in the release of the vesicles into the extracellular compartment. Moreover, their generation can be induced by many factors including extracellular stimuli, such as microbial attack and other stress conditions. The primary role attributed…