Harnessing the Potential of Exosomes in Therapeutic Interventions for Brain Disorders
Bai Lu, Leijie Yu, Mengqiong Ran, Xing Zhong, Meng Sun, Minhao Xu, Yu Wang, Xinlei Yan, Robert J. Lee, Yaqin Tang, Jing Xie
Abstract
Exosomes, which are nano-sized natural vesicles secreted by cells, are crucial for intercellular communication and interactions, playing a significant role in various physiological and pathological processes. Their characteristics, such as low toxicity and immunogenicity, high biocompatibility, and remarkable drug delivery capabilities-particularly their capacity to traverse the blood-brain barrier-make exosomes highly promising vehicles for drug administration in the treatment of brain disorders. This review provides a comprehensive overview of exosome biogenesis and isolation techniques, strategies for the drug loading and functionalization of exosomes, and exosome-mediated blood-brain barrier penetration mechanisms, with a particular emphasis on recent advances in exosome-based drug delivery for brain disorders. Finally, we address the opportunities and challenges associated with utilizing exosomes as a drug delivery system for the brain, summarizing the barriers to clinical translation and proposing future research directions.