Topic: Regenerative Medicine and Extracellular Vesicles: Toward Precision Medicine

The therapeutic potential of cell therapy products, notably in the case of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), has been largely attributed to their secretome that recapitulates the main functions of parental cells. Many of the secreted biomolecules are contained within extracellular vesicles (EVs) that are sub-cellular entities delineated by a lipid bilayer and produced by virtually all cell types upon spontaneous release or after induction. Thanks to their multifaceted physiological properties, EVs exert therapeutic effects that have been validated in many preclinical studies and there is today a wide range of clinical applications for EVs with the ultimate goal of translating EV research into the clinics. Since their cargo is made of a complexity of bioactive molecules (proteins, miRNAs, mRNAs, lipids,…), naïve EVs are considered promising non-invasive vectors to efficiently deliver compounds as therapeutics. In addition, EVs can be engineered and loaded with therapeutic agents or targeting surface molecules to enhance their therapeutic function or design innovative personalized/precision medicine strategies.

This Special Issue will focus on the vectorization of nucleic acids for EV-based regenerative medicine approaches as well as more general strategies of vectorization therapy. We welcome submissions of original research articles/reviews/new opinions on the following topics:
● Vectorization of nucleic acids for EV-based therapeutic approaches;
● EV post-modification strategies to express diverse molecules for enhanced therapeutic functions;
● Unravelling the factors involved in the therapeutic functions of EVs;
● The application of naïve EVs as well as engineered EVs towards personalized regenerative medicine.

The Special Issue cover image is created with BioRender.com.

29 Feb 2024