Re-Engineering Extracellular Vesicles as Smart Nanoscale Therapeutics

In the past decade, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as a key cell-free strategy for the treatment of a range of pathologies, including cancer, myocardial infarction, and inflammatory diseases. Indeed, the field is rapidly transitioning from promising in vitro reports toward in vivo animal models and early clinical studies. These investigations exploit the high physicochemical stability and biocompatibility of EVs as well as their innate capacity to communicate with cells via signal transduction and membrane fusion. This review focuses on methods in which EVs can be chemically or biologically modified to broaden, alter, or enhance their therapeutic capability. We examine two broad strategies, which…

• AR
  Arthritis Research UK

  Award: 21138
• H2
  Horizon 2020 Framework Programme

  Award: 626766
• MR
  Medical Research Council

  Awards: MR/K026682/1, MR/K026682/1
• EA
  Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
• BA
  Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council