Extracellular Vesicles (EV) are bilayer membrane fragments released by different cell types upon activation or death. Two major types of EVs are usually distinguished: exosomes, formed from the endosomal cell compartment, and microvesicles, produced by the direct extrusion from the cell plasma membrane. Since EVs contain proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids signals, they have the potential to activate complementary, pro-regenerative signalling pathways in the same responder cells, and to stimulate multiple target populations. This property could make them an efficient therapeutic vehicle for bone and cartilage regenerative medicine. Despite an increasing interest, further studies are necessary before considering EVs potential valuable therapeutic systems in the field of bone and cartilage repair and regeneration.
This Research Topic seeks to bring together a collection of manuscripts that address outstanding questions in the development and use of extracellular vesicles for bone and cartilage repair and regeneration.
Below are some still open questions and themes that should be addressed:
- The need for the development of strategies to obtain sufficient amounts of EVs.
- The need to better identify and characterize the optimal cell source of EVs for obtaining bone and / or cartilage regeneration.
- The need to develop ideal scaffolds to be used as depots for controlled release of EVs.
- The need to better understand the mechanisms underlying bone/cartilage formation after EV treatment.
To this end, we particularly encourage the submission of Original Research articles and papers detailing novel methodologies.
Extracellular Vesicles (EV) are bilayer membrane fragments released by different cell types upon activation or death. Two major types of EVs are usually distinguished: exosomes, formed from the endosomal cell compartment, and microvesicles, produced by the direct extrusion from the cell plasma membrane. Since EVs contain proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids signals, they have the potential to activate complementary, pro-regenerative signalling pathways in the same responder cells, and to stimulate multiple target populations. This property could make them an efficient therapeutic vehicle for bone and cartilage regenerative medicine. Despite an increasing interest, further studies are necessary before considering EVs potential valuable therapeutic systems in the field of bone and cartilage repair and regeneration.
This Research Topic seeks to bring together a collection of manuscripts that address outstanding questions in the development and use of extracellular vesicles for bone and cartilage repair and regeneration.
Below are some still open questions and themes that should be addressed:
- The need for the development of strategies to obtain sufficient amounts of EVs.
- The need to better identify and characterize the optimal cell source of EVs for obtaining bone and / or cartilage regeneration.
- The need to develop ideal scaffolds to be used as depots for controlled release of EVs.
- The need to better understand the mechanisms underlying bone/cartilage formation after EV treatment.
To this end, we particularly encourage the submission of Original Research articles and papers detailing novel methodologies.
