Exosomemediated

Exosome-mediated processes refer to biological mechanisms in which exosomes act as vehicles for intercellular communication, transferring molecular cargo from donor to recipient cells and thereby influencing physiological and pathological outcomes.

Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles, typically about 30–150 nanometers in diameter, released when multivesicular bodies fuse with the plasma membrane. Their cargo includes membrane and cytosolic proteins (such as tetraspanins CD63, CD9, and CD81), lipids, mRNAs, microRNAs, and sometimes DNA fragments. Sorting of cargo occurs through ESCRT-dependent pathways as well as ESCRT-independent mechanisms, and content often reflects the state of the parent cell.

Recipient cells can take up exosomes by endocytosis, phagocytosis, macropinocytosis, or direct fusion with the plasma membrane. Once inside, the cargo can modulate gene expression, signaling cascades, immune responses, and metabolism, influencing processes such as development, tissue repair, tumor progression, or neurodegeneration.

Applications and challenges: Exosome-mediated communication is studied for biomarker discovery in cancer and other diseases because exosomes circulate in body fluids and carry cell-type–specific cargo. They are also explored as therapeutic delivery vehicles and for ex vivo engineering. However, a lack of standardized isolation, purification, and characterization methods, heterogeneity of vesicle populations, and potential safety issues pose barriers to clinical translation.

Research continues to define targeting mechanisms, cargo sorting, and functional outcomes across systems, with growing interest in diagnostic tools and precision therapeutics that leverage exosome-mediated signaling.