Exosomes: from biology to clinics

Abstract

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles with the diameter of 30-120 nm, originating from early endosomes. Exosomes have been actively studied in the last decade, and a great amount of data has appeared on their nature and role in the intercellular transport and signaling both in the normal and pathological conditions. A particular interest to exosomes in the clinical practice emerged after the separation of their circulating fraction from the blood and the study of tumor genetic markers in them became possible (so called “liquid biopsy”). The objective of this review is to familiarize clinical specialists with the fundamentals of exosomes' biology and physiology and with the main achievements on their practical application in the medicine, as a natural drug delivery system, as well as for high-precision, early non-invasive differential diagnostics of diseases.