细胞间信息交流的新载体——外泌体

外泌体(exosomes)是细胞分泌的纳米级别膜性小泡,在20世纪80年代初就已经被发现,但其在细胞间所起到的信息交流作用,直至最近才开始为人们所认知．应用大规模分析技术使得exosomes中的复杂成分不断被确定,因为其中的脂质、蛋白质和RNA成分在脂质膜的保护下具有充分的生物学活性,可有效发挥对受体细胞的调节作用,引起科学界的极大兴趣,逐渐成为研究热点之一．我们综述了近几年关于exosomes的研究成果,总结了其参与细胞间信息交流的三种主要方式,包括膜表面信号分子的直接作用、膜融合时内容物的胞内调节以及生物活性成分的释放调节．Exosomes的发现使得细胞间的信息交流更加精细和全面,尤其重要的是,它的发现揭示了存在于机体自身的RNA胞间转移途径．我们还进一步综述了exosomes的三种作用方式在神经系统及肿瘤发生发展中的作用,探讨了exosomes在疾病监测、自身免疫性疾病与缺血性疾病治疗中的临床应用价值．在基因治疗领域,由于具有安全有效的靶向运输能力,exosomes将有望成为理想的基因治疗载体．     

外泌体载体治疗在中枢神经系统疾病中的研究进展

中枢神经系统疾病包括脑血管疾病、神经退行性疾病和脑肿瘤等。血脑屏障(blood-brain barrier,BBB)阻碍了大多数通过血液循环系统输送到大脑来治疗和预防中枢神经系统疾病的药物。外泌体在细胞间物质运输和信号交流中发挥重要作用,由于其具有较小的体积、高递送效率、低免疫原性和良好的生物相容性等特点,可以通过正常的内吞作用和转胞吞作用进入脑内皮细胞,进而穿过血脑屏障转运内容物。为提高外泌体靶向性,对其膜进行工程改造,从而产生具有靶向能力的囊泡是今后外泌体载体研究的重要方向。该文就外泌体的生物学特征、工程化修饰及其作为治疗载体在中枢神经系统疾病中的研究进行综述。     

外泌体miRNA的生物学功能及其在肺纤维化疾病中的调控作用

外泌体是一种微型纳米级细胞外囊泡,由于能够直接参与细胞间信息的传递和物质的运输,被认为是细胞间通讯、免疫调节、疾病诊断和预后循环生物学标志物的重要载体,其携带的核酸和蛋白质等内含物能够影响受体细胞的生理状态.作为一种内源性非编码微小RNA,microRNA (miRNA)对疾病诊断和治疗有着重要的研究价值,有大量证据表明该类分子对肺部疾病的发病进程起着控制调节作用.本文聚焦于近年来细胞外泌体来源miRNA的生物学特性和功能领域,综述了近年来生物医学研究中的热点分子外泌体miRNA在肺部疾病尤其是肺纤维化中调控功能和机制的研究,因此不仅能为肺纤维化疾病的诊断提供新的标志物分子,并且还能够为肺纤维化的外泌体干预治疗建议新的干预策略.     

细胞外囊泡研究进展

由细胞释放到细胞外环境中的来源于内体和细胞膜的多样化的膜性囊泡,统称为细胞外囊泡。这些细胞外囊泡作为细胞间转运膜和可溶性蛋白、脂质、RNA的载体,代表一种重要的细胞间通讯方式。虽然很多报道证明,多种细胞释放细胞外囊泡,并且具有一定的生理意义,但是我们目前缺乏对细胞外囊泡分子机制的深入理解,在细胞外囊泡研究的方法学以及人为调控细胞外囊泡的释放等方面也存在局限性,因此使得我们对它们在体内的生理学功能和细胞外囊泡作为疾病靶标的转化医学的研究进程缓慢。在这篇综述中,该文主要从细胞外囊泡的分类、分子细胞生物学研究、生理及病生理功能、细胞外囊泡的研究方法几个方面回顾当前细胞外囊泡领域的研究进展。     

神经系统中一种新型的潜在治疗工具——外泌体

外泌体(exosomes)是一种由细胞分泌到胞外空间的纳米囊泡(nanovesicles),在神经系统中参与许多生理病理过程。大量研究表明,在神经系统中,外泌体可以作为细胞通讯的信使,参与复杂的细胞间信息交流。同时,外泌体也可作为诊断疾病的生物标志物及小分子物质传递载体,在治疗神经系统疾病中发挥着至关重要的作用。因此,exosomes有望成为治疗神经系统疾病的重要工具。该综述首先阐述了外泌体的基本特性,包括合成、存储、分离等;其次,讨论了间充质干细胞(mesenchymal stem cells,MSCs)分泌的外泌体在神经退行性疾病的诊断和治疗中的作用;最后,讨论了外泌体作为治疗神经系统疾病的新型工具将面临的挑战。该综述阐明了外泌体这一快速进展领域及其在神经系统疾病中的作用,特别是其治疗应用的最新进展。     

外泌体环状RNA在泌尿系统肿瘤中的研究进展

外泌体是一种包含了复杂RNA和蛋白质的膜性囊泡，其主要来源于细胞内溶酶体微粒内陷形成的多囊泡体，经多囊泡体外膜与细胞膜融合后释放到胞外基质中。外泌体在肿瘤微环境中介导细胞间通讯，其功能取决于来源的细胞类型。环状RNA是一类由前体mRNA反向剪接生成的非编码RNA，在外泌体中富集且稳定表达。外泌体环状RNA在疾病中发挥了重要的调控作用，其作为肿瘤标志物和治疗靶点的临床应用前景与价值现已成为研究热点。本文就外泌体环状RNA在泌尿系统肿瘤中的研究进展作一综述。     

树突状细胞来源的Exosomes的免疫调节作用

Exosomes是多种细胞经晚期内体形成的一种膜性小囊泡。最初认为其功能仅为降解内吞物质,但研究发现exosomes的特异功能与其来源细胞相关,尤其是抗原提呈细胞(APCs)——树突状细胞来源的exosomes(dendritic cell-derived exosomes,DEXs)集MHC-I/MHC-II、共刺激分子、黏附分子、热休克蛋白于一身,在体内外免疫调节中起非常重要的作用。现对DEXs诱导抗肿瘤免疫应答和诱导免疫耐受两方面的功能及可能的免疫调节机制进行综述。     

神经干细胞的研究现状及运用前景

近年来的研究表明胚胎期和成年期动物的神经组织及人脑中可以分离出神经干细胞.神经干细胞能不断增殖并且具有分化成神经元、星型胶质细胞和少突胶质细胞的能力.神经干细胞的这种特性为中枢神经系统退行性病变和损伤的治疗打下了基础.对神经干细胞的分布、生物学特性、鉴定、增殖与分化及其治疗中枢神经系统疾病中的应用前景进行了综述.     

基于经血源性子宫内膜干细胞的中枢神经系统疾病治疗的研究进展

干细胞研究已成为当今生命科学领域中的前沿和热点问题,该研究为探讨胚胎发生、组织细胞分化以及基因表达调控等生物学问题提供了理想的模型,同时也为临床组织缺陷性疾病和遗传性疾病的细胞治疗和基因治疗开辟了新的手段。其中,经血源性子宫内膜干细胞(Menstrual blood-derived stem cells,MenSCs)来源丰富,具有多向分化潜能和较低的免疫排斥的特性,可以实现个体化治疗,是临床最具有应用优势的干细胞。脑与脊髓作为中枢神经系统,其损伤极为常见,致死率和致残率居各类创伤之首。与周围神经系统损伤相比,中枢神经受损后恢复较为困难,其治疗仍缺乏突破。而MenSCs的治疗有希望解决此难题,故结合近年来国内外对MenSCs的生物学特性及其对中枢神经系统疾病治疗的研究作一综述,从而为中枢神经系统疾病的治疗提供参考。     

膜穿透肽的应用与穿膜机制研究

膜穿透肽(membrane penetrating peptide,MPP)能引导大分子物质穿透细胞膜.应用MPP为载体,引导神经营养分子通透血脑屏障进入神经元,能有效治疗中枢神经系统疾病;在基因治疗方面, MPP引导干扰小RNA进行基因治疗,避免了使用病毒载体等一些传统基因治疗方法的毒副作用.穿膜机制研究证实 MPP通透细胞膜的过程分为三个阶段:与细胞表面结合;细胞巨胞饮摄取 MPP;MPP从胞饮体中逃逸入胞质,其中最后阶段是限速步骤.随着对多肽片段的深入研究和穿膜机制的逐渐明晰,MPP的应用将会更为深入和广泛.     

Mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes: Toward cell-free therapeutic strategies in regenerative medicine

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells with marked potential for regenerative medicine because of their strong immunosuppressive and regenerative abilities. The therapeutic effects of MSCs are based in part on their secretion of biologically active factors in extracellular vesicles known as exosomes. Exosomes have a diameter of 30-100 nm and mediate intercellular communication and material exchange. MSC-derived exosomes (MSC-Exos) have potential for cell-free therapy for diseases of, for instance, the kidney, liver, heart, nervous system, and musculoskeletal system. Hence, MSC-Exos are an alternative to MSC-based therapy for regenerative medicine. We review MSC-Exos and their therapeutic potential for a variety of diseases and injuries.     

Extracellular vesicles as modulators of cell-to-cell communication in the healthy and diseased brain

Homeostasis relies heavily on effective cell-to-cell communication. In the central nervous system (CNS), probably more so than in other organs, such communication is crucial to support and protect neurons especially during ageing, as well as to control inflammation, remove debris and infectious agents. Emerging evidence indicates that extracellular vesicles (EVs) including endosome-derived exosomes and fragments of the cellular plasma membrane play a key role in intercellular communication by transporting messenger RNA, microRNA (miRNA) and proteins. In neurodegenerative diseases, secreted vesicles not only remove misfolded proteins, but also transfer aggregated proteins and prions and are thus thought to perpetuate diseases by ‘infecting’ neighbouring cells with these pathogenic proteins. Conversely, in other CNS disorders signals from stressed cells may help control inflammation and inhibit degeneration. EVs may also reflect the status of the CNS and are present in the cerebrospinal fluid indicating that exosomes may act as biomarkers of disease. That extracellular RNA and in particular miRNA, can be transferred by EV also indicates that these vesicles could be used as carriers to specifically target the CNS to deliver immune modulatory drugs, neuroprotective agents and anti-cancer drugs. Here, we discuss the recent evidence indicating the potential role of exosomes in neurological disorders and how knowledge of their biology may enable a Trojan-horse approach to deliver drugs into the CNS and treat neurodegenerative and other disorders of the CNS.     

中枢神经系统疾病治疗性抗体药物应用进展

单克隆抗体药物是一种新兴的治疗药物,具有高选择性,被用于多种疾病的治疗,如肿瘤、免疫疾病等,也可以用于中枢神经系统疾病,如阿尔茨海默病、帕金森病、中风和脑肿瘤等。然而,因为血脑屏障低通透性,限制了抗体药物在中枢神经系统疾病治疗中的应用,在很多神经系统疾病临床试验中,抗体药物并没有取得预期效果。如今,人们利用血脑屏障上内源性转运蛋白介导,设计了可以通过血脑屏障的抗体药物。对通过血脑屏障治疗性抗体药物研发进展及其应用前景进行了综述。     

Application of mesenchymal stem cell exosomes and their drug‐loading systems in acute liver failure

Stem cell exosomes are nanoscale membrane vesicles released from stem cells of various origins that can regulate signal transduction pathways between liver cells, and their functions in intercellular communication have been recognized. Due to their natural substance transport properties and excellent biocompatibility, exosomes can also be used as drug carriers to release a variety of substances, which has great prospects in the treatment of critical and incurable diseases. Different types of stem cell exosomes have been used to study liver diseases. Due to current difficulties in the treatment of acute liver failure (ALF), this review will outline the potential of stem cell exosomes for ALF treatment. Specifically, we reviewed the pathogenesis of acute liver failure and the latest progress in the use of stem cell exosomes in the treatment of ALF, including the role of exosomes in inhibiting the ALF inflammatory response and regulating signal transduction pathways, the advantages of stem cell exosomes and their use as a drug‐loading system, and their pre‐clinical application in the treatment of ALF. Finally, the clinical research status of stem cell therapy for ALF and the current challenges of exosome clinical transformation are summarized.     

Retrovirus infection strongly enhances scrapie infectivity release in cell culture

Prion diseases are neurodegenerative disorders associated in most cases with the accumulation in the central nervous system of PrPSc (conformationally altered isoform of cellular prion protein (PrPC); Sc for scrapie), a partially protease-resistant isoform of the PrPC. PrPSc is thought to be the causative agent of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. The mechanisms involved in the intercellular transfer of PrPSc are still enigmatic. Recently, small cellular vesicles of endosomal origin called exosomes have been proposed to contribute to the spread of prions in cell culture models. Retroviruses such as murine leukemia virus (MuLV) or human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) have been shown to assemble and bud into detergent-resistant microdomains and into intracellular compartments such as late endosomes/multivesicular bodies. Here we report that moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMuLV) infection strongly enhances the release of scrapie infectivity in the supernatant of coinfected cells. Under these conditions, we found that PrPC, PrPSc and scrapie infectivity are recruited by both MuLV virions and exosomes. We propose that retroviruses can be important cofactors involved in the spread of the pathological prion agent.     

缺氧条件下中枢神经系统外泌体作用机制

外泌体是来源于细胞内吞噬作用的细胞外囊泡(extracellular vesicles,EVs),其含有特定的蛋白质、脂质、RNA和DNA,能将信号传递给受体细胞,从而介导细胞通讯过程.缺氧作为一种严重的细胞应激,是脑部疾病的重要特征,可以诱导外泌体的释放并影响其内容物.越来越多的证据显示,外泌体携带的生物活性物质可以...     

SHH信号通路在海马神经可塑性及相关神经系统疾病中的作用

音猬因子（sonic hedgehog,SHH）是一种分泌蛋白质,可在发育过程中控制神经祖细胞、神经元和神经胶质细胞的形成。研究发现,海马是学习和记忆中至关重要的大脑区域,SHH在海马神经元回路的形成和可塑性中发挥重要作用,可介导海马神经的发生和突触的可塑性调节。海马神经元树突中SHH受体的激活是跨神经元信号通路的组成部分,该信号通路可加速轴突的生长并增强谷氨酸从突触前末端的释放。SHH信号通路转导受损可导致中枢神经系统损伤和相关疾病（如自闭症、抑郁症和神经退行性疾病等）发生。因此,控制SHH信号通路转导,如使用SHH通路抑制剂或激动剂可能有助于相关疾病的治疗。综述了SHH信号通路的海马神经可塑性及其在中枢神经系统发育和相关疾病中的影响,以期为阐明SHH信号转导受损导致的海马神经受损和中枢神经系统相关疾病的机制奠定一定的理论依据。     

Up-regulation of interferon-stimulated gene 15 and its conjugation machinery,UbE1L and UbcH8 expression by tumor necrosis factor-α through p38 MAPK and JNK signaling pathways in human lung carcinoma

Exosomes are nanometer-sized vesicles involved in intercellular communication, and they are released by various cell types. To learn about exosomes produced by Schwann cells (SCs) and to explore their potential function in repairing the central nervous system (CNS), we isolated exosomes from supernatants of SCs by ultracentrifugation, characterized them by electron microscopy and immunoblotting and determined their protein profile using proteomic analysis. The results demonstrated that Schwann cell-derived exosomes (SCDEs) were, on average, 106.5 nm in diameter, round, and had cup-like concavity and expressed exosome markers CD9 and Alix but not tumor susceptibility gene (TSG) 101. We identified a total of 433 proteins, among which 398 proteins overlapped with the ExoCarta database. According to their specific functions, we identified 12 proteins that are closely related to CNS repair and classified them by different potential mechanisms, such as axon regeneration and inflammation inhibition. Gene Oncology analysis indicated that SCDEs are mainly involved in signal transduction and cell communication. Biological pathway analysis showed that pathways are mostly involved in exosome biogenesis, formation, uptake and axon regeneration. Among the pathways, the neurotrophin, PI3K-Akt and cAMP signaling pathways played important roles in CNS repair. Our study isolated SCDEs, unveiled their contents, presented potential neurorestorative proteins and pathways and provided a rich proteomics data resource that will be valuable for future studies of the functions of individual proteins in neurodegenerative diseases.

     

Exosomes: A New Weapon to Treat the Central Nervous System

The potential of exosomes to treat central nervous system (CNS) pathologies has been recently demonstrated. These studies make way for a complete new field that aims to exploit the natural characteristics of these vesicles, considered for a long time as side products of physiological cellular pathways. Recently, however, the biological significance of exosomes has been evaluated and exosomes can now be viewed upon as new relevant functional entities for development of novel therapeutic strategies. In this review, we aim to summarize the state-of-the-art role of exosomes in the CNS and to speculate about possible future therapeutic applications of exosomes. In particular, we will speculate about the use of these vesicles as a substitute of cell-based therapies for the treatment of brain damage and review the potential of exosomes as drug delivery vehicles for the CNS.