Extracellular Vesicles for Therapeutic Nucleic Acid Delivery: Loading Strategies and Challenges
Anastasiya Oshchepkova, Marina A. Zenkova, Valentin V. Vlassov
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membrane vesicles released into the extracellular milieu by cells of various origins. They contain different biological cargoes, protecting them from degradation by environmental factors. There is an opinion that EVs have a number of advantages over synthetic carriers, creating new opportunities for drug delivery. In this review, we discuss the ability of EVs to function as carriers for therapeutic nucleic acids (tNAs), challenges associated with the use of such carriers in vivo, and various strategies for tNA loading into EVs.
Topics & Concepts
Extracellular vesiclesNucleic acidExtracellularFunction (biology)Drug deliveryExtracellular vesicleCell biologyMicrovesiclesVesicleIn vivoDrug carrierChemistryBiologyBiochemistryBiotechnologyMembranemicroRNAOrganic chemistryGeneExtracellular vesicles in diseaseMicroRNA in disease regulationRNA Interference and Gene Delivery