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. 2021 Nov 1:175:80-94.
doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2021.08.235. Epub 2021 Aug 27.

Enhancing extracellular vesicles for therapeutic treatment of arthritic joints

Shani Austin-Williams  1 , Mohammed T Hussain  1 , Silvia Oggero  1 , Lucy V Norling  2
Affiliations

Enhancing extracellular vesicles for therapeutic treatment of arthritic joints

Shani Austin-Williams et al. Free Radic Biol Med. .

Abstract

Extracellular vesicles are small membrane-derived packages of information that are released from virtually all cell types. These nano-packages contain regulatory material including proteins, lipids, mRNA and microRNA and are a key mechanism of paracellular communication within a given microenvironment. Encompassed with a lipid bilayer, these organelles have been attributed numerous roles in regulating both physiological and pathological functions. Herein, we describe the role of EVs in the context of Rheumatoid and Osteoarthritis and explore how they could be harnessed to treat inflammatory and degenerative joint conditions. These structures offer a promising therapeutic strategy for treating musculoskeletal diseases due to their bioactive content, stability, small size and intrinsic ability to enter the avascular cartilage, a notoriously challenging tissue to target. We also discuss how EVs can be manipulated to load therapeutic cargo or present additional targeting moieties to enhance their beneficial actions and tissue regenerative properties.

Keywords: Extracellular vesicles; Osteoarthritis; Rheumatoid arthritis; Targeting; miRNA.

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