Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy (Oct 2023)

Engineered extracellular vesicles in female reproductive disorders

  • Mengxue Zhang,
  • Jie Xing,
  • Shijie Zhao,
  • Hui Chen,
  • Xinming Yin,
  • Xiaolan Zhu

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 166
p. 115284

Abstract

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Biologically active and nanoscale extracellular vesicles (EVs) participate in a variety of cellular physiological and pathological processes in a cell-free manner. Unlike cells, EVs not only do not cause acute immune rejection, but are much smaller and have a low risk of tumorigenicity or embolization. Because of their unique advantages, EVs show promise in applications in the diagnosis and treatment of reproductive disorders. As research broadens, engineering strategies for EVs have been developed, and engineering strategies for EVs have substantially improved their application potential while circumventing the defects of natural EVs, driving EVs toward clinical applications. In this paper, we will review the engineering strategies of EVs, as well as their regulatory effects and mechanisms on reproductive disorders (including premature ovarian insufficiency (POI), polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA), intrauterine adhesion (IUA), and endometriosis (EMS)) and their application prospects. This work provides new ideas for the treatment of female reproductive disorders by engineering EVs.

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