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Review
. 2021 Mar 5;11(3):388.
doi: 10.3390/biom11030388.

Circulating Extracellular Vesicles As Biomarkers and Drug Delivery Vehicles in Cardiovascular Diseases

Renata Caroline Costa de Freitas  1   2 , Rosario Dominguez Crespo Hirata  2 , Mario Hiroyuki Hirata  2 , Elena Aikawa  1   3   4
Affiliations
Review

Circulating Extracellular Vesicles As Biomarkers and Drug Delivery Vehicles in Cardiovascular Diseases

Renata Caroline Costa de Freitas et al. Biomolecules. .

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are composed of a lipid bilayer containing transmembrane and soluble proteins. Subtypes of EVs include ectosomes (microparticles/microvesicles), exosomes, and apoptotic bodies that can be released by various tissues into biological fluids. EV cargo can modulate physiological and pathological processes in recipient cells through near- and long-distance intercellular communication. Recent studies have shown that origin, amount, and internal cargos (nucleic acids, proteins, and lipids) of EVs are variable under different pathological conditions, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The early detection and management of CVD reduce premature morbidity and mortality. Circulating EVs have attracted great interest as a potential biomarker for diagnostics and follow-up of CVD. This review highlights the role of circulating EVs as biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic follow-up of CVD, and also for drug delivery. Despite the great potential of EVs as a tool to study the pathophysiology of CVD, further studies are needed to increase the spectrum of EV-associated applications.

Keywords: RNA; biomarkers; cardiovascular disease; ectosomes; exosomes; extracellular vesicles; lipids; proteins.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Circulating extracellular vesicles as biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, therapeutic follow-up, and drug delivery vehicles in cardiovascular diseases. Figure created using Servier Medical Art images (http://smart.servier.com, accessed on 30 December 2020).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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