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REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Autoimmune and Autoinflammatory Disorders : Autoimmune Disorders
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1499929

Extracellular vesicles: immunomodulation, diagnosis, and promising therapeutic roles for rheumatoid arthritis

Provisionally accepted
Desalegn Abebaw Desalegn Abebaw 1*Yibeltal Akelew Yibeltal Akelew 1,2Adane Adugna Adane Adugna 1Zigale Hibstu Teffera Zigale Hibstu Teffera 1Bantayehu Addis Tegegne Bantayehu Addis Tegegne 3Abebe Fenta Abebe Fenta 1Bantegize Selabat Bantegize Selabat 1Gashaw Azanaw Gashaw Azanaw 1Mamaru Getinet Mamaru Getinet 4Mohammed Jemal Mohammed Jemal 4Temesgen Baylie Temesgen Baylie 4Aytenew Atnaf Aytenew Atnaf 1
  • 1 Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debremarkos, Ethiopia
  • 2 Department of Medicine, Centre for Inflammatory Diseases, Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3168, Melbourne, Australia
  • 3 Department of Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debremarkos, Ethiopia
  • 4 Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debremarkos, Ethiopia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Extracellular vesicles (EV) can be produced as part of pathology and physiology with increased amounts in pathological conditions. EVs can carry and transfer cargo such as proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids to target cells and mediate intercellular communication resulting in modulation of gene expression, signaling pathways, and phenotype of recipient cells. EVs greatly influence the extracellular environment and the immune response. Their immunomodulatory properties are crucial in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a condition marked by dysregulated immune response. EVs can modulate the functions of innate and adaptive immune cells in RA pathogenesis. Differentially expressed EV-associated molecules in RA, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), long-noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and proteins are promising markers to diagnose the disease. miRNA, lncRNA, and circular RNA (circRNA) cargos in EV regulate inflammation and the pathogenic functions of RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RA-FLS). Downregulated molecules in RA tissue and drugs can be encapsulated in EVs for RA therapy. This review provides an updated overview of EVs' immunomodulatory, diagnostic, and therapeutic roles, particularly emphasizing mesenchymal stem cell-derived EVs (MSC-EVs).

    Keywords: extracellular vesicles, Immunomodulation, Rheumatoid arthritis, Therapeutic roles, Diagnostic Markers

    Received: 22 Sep 2024; Accepted: 30 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Abebaw, Akelew, Adugna, Teffera, Tegegne, Fenta, Selabat, Azanaw, Getinet, Jemal, Baylie and Atnaf. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Desalegn Abebaw, Department of Medical Laboratory Science, College of Health Sciences, Debre Markos University, Debremarkos, Ethiopia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.