MSC-Derived Exosomes for Tissue Engineering and Disease Intervention

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), also known as mesenchymal stromal cells or medicinal signaling cells or multipotent stem cells, are heterogeneous cell populations with unique immunomodulatory feature and hematopoietic-supporting capacity. MSCs function through a variety of approaches including paracrine and autocrine, direct- or trans-differentiation, bidirectional immunomodulation, and serving as constitutive microenvironment. Of them, exosomes and microvesicles function as the pivotal vehicle for mediating the ameliorative and therapeutic effect of MSCs toward various recurrent and refractory diseases, such as xerophthalmia, radioactive nasal mucosa injury, acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF), dermal chronic ulcers, and intrauterine adhesions. State-of-the-art renewal has also highlighted the promising prospective of MSC-derived exosomes (MSC-exo) and diverse biomaterial composites in regenerative medicine. In this book chapter, we mainly focus on the concept, biological phenotypes, preclinical research, and clinical practice of MSC-derived exosomes (MSC-Exos) and/or biomaterials, which will collectively supply overwhelming new references for the further development of MSC-Exos-based biotherapy and disease diagnosis in future.