The potential roles of stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles as a therapeutic tool

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are secreted by live cells and possess the same regenerative potential and immunomodulatory ability as their parental cells. Clinical applications of MSC-EVs could overcome the shortage of MSCs for treatment of cancer and other diseases and impact the field of regenerative medicine from cellular to acellular therapy. For use of MSC-EVs as a clinical agent, various engineered EVs have been manufactured and their therapeutic effects on various diseases demonstrated in preclinical studies and clinical trials. However, MSC-EVs are heterogeneous, and many of their characteristics are still unknown. Many barriers still need to be surmounted before MSC-EVs can be used as biomedical agents.