Extracellular vesicles as a potential therapeutic for age-related macular degeneration.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Chow, Lorraine L. C. Mead, Ben
Copyright Year	2023
Abstract	AbstractAge-related macular degeneration is a major global cause of central visual impairment and severe vision loss. With an aging population, the already immense economic burden of costly anti-vascular endothelial growth factor treatment is likely to increase. In addition, current conventional treatment is only available for the late neovascular stage of age-related macular degeneration, and injections can come with potentially devastating complications, introducing the need for more economical and risk-free treatment. In recent years, exosomes, which are nano-sized extracellular vesicles of an endocytic origin, have shown immense potential as diagnostic biomarkers and in the therapeutic application, as they are bestowed with characteristics including an expansive cargo that closely resembles their parent cell and exceptional ability of intercellular communication and targeting neighboring cells. Exosomes are currently undergoing clinical trials for various conditions such as type 1 diabetes and autoimmune diseases; however, exosomes as a potential therapy for several retinal diseases have just begun to undergo scrutinizing investigation with little literature on age-related macular degeneration specifically. This article will focus on the limited literature available on exosome transplantation treatment in age-related macular degeneration animal models and in vitro cell cultures, as well as briefly identify future research directions. Current literature on exosome therapy using age-related macular degeneration rodent models includes laser retinal injury, N-methyl-N-nitrosourea, and royal college of surgeon models, which mimic inflammatory and degenerative aspects of age-related macular degeneration. These have shown promising results in preserving retinal function and morphology, as well as protecting photoreceptors from apoptosis. Exosomes from their respective cellular origins may also act by regulating the expression of various inflammatory cytokines, mRNAs, and proteins involved in photoreceptor degeneration pathways to exert a therapeutic effect. Various findings have also opened exciting prospects for the involvement of cargo components in remedial effects on the damaged macula or retina.
ISSN	16735374
Volume Number	18
PubMed Central reference number	PMC10233781
Issue Number	9
PubMed reference number	36926702
Journal	Neural Regeneration Research [Neural Regen Res]
e-ISSN	18767958
DOI	10.4103/1673-5374.367835
Language	English
Publisher	Wolters Kluwer - Medknow
Publisher Date	2023-09-01
Publisher Place	India
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This is an open access journal, and articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms. Copyright: © 2023 Neural Regeneration Research
Subject Keyword	age-related macular degeneration exosomes extracellular vesicles miRNA neuroprotection photoreceptors retina retinal pigment epithelium
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Developmental Neuroscience Neuroscience