The Biochemical Pharmacology Discussion Group
The New York Academy of Sciences
eBriefing 
Extracellular Vesicles in Health and Disease
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Posted April 23, 2019
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Overview
Released by nearly all cell types in the human body, Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) are small lipid-encapsulated vesicles that contain molecular cargo such as proteins, lipids, miRNAs, and DNA. Though previously reduced to simple carriers of cellular debris, EVs have emerged as critical players in cell signaling and biomarker discovery. The ease of isolating EVs through non-invasive liquid biopsies has made them a promising tool for diagnostics throughout disease progression. They have also gained traction as therapeutics due to their tissue-specific targeting and ability to deliver therapeutic proteins undetected by the immune system.
Find out more about the latest in diagnostic and therapeutic applications of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in this summary of our February 19, 2019, symposium on the topic.
Symposium Highlights
- EVs play an important role in signaling cancer metastasis and proliferation.
- Exosomes extracted from stem cells contain therapeutic cargo that protects against cardiovascular disease.
- Individual differences in protein expression and tissue targeting of EVs can be used to identify different types of cancer and signal disease progression.
- Macrophage-extracted EVs can be loaded with therapeutic proteins and delivered to the brain by crossing the blood-brain barrier undetected.
Session 1: The Role of Exosome Biology in Pathway Regulation
Session 3: Exosomes as Biomarkers and Therapeutics