Affiliation:
1. Hangzhou Institute of Medicine (HIM) Chinese Academy of Sciences Hangzhou Zhejiang 310022 China
2. Molecular Science and Biomedicine Laboratory (MBL) State Key Laboratory of Chemo/ Biosensing and Chemometrics College of Biology College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Aptamer Engineering Center of Hunan Province Hunan University Changsha Hunan 410082 China
3. School of Molecular Medicine Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Hangzhou Zhejiang 310024 China
4. Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM), Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, and College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240 China
Abstract
AbstractAs information messengers for cell‐to‐cell communication, exosomes, typically small membrane vesicles (30–150 nm), play an imperative role in the physiological and pathological processes of living systems. Accumulating studies have demonstrated that exosomes are potential biological candidates for theranostics, including liquid biopsy‐based diagnosis and drug delivery. However, their clinical applications are hindered by several issues, especially their unspecific detection and insufficient targeting ability. How to upgrade the accuracy of exosome‐based theranostics is being widely explored. Aptamers, benefitting from their admirable characteristics, are used as excellent molecular recognition elements to empower exosomes for precision theranostics. With high affinity against targets and easy site‐specific modification, aptamers can be incorporated with platforms for the specific detection of exosomes, thus providing opportunities for advancing disease diagnostics. Furthermore, aptamers can be tailored and functionalized on exosomes to enable targeted therapeutics. Herein, this review emphasizes the empowering of exosomes by aptamers for precision theranostics. A brief introduction of exosomes and aptamers is provided, followed by a discussion of recent progress in aptamer‐based exosome detection for disease diagnosis, and the emerging applications of aptamer‐functionalized exosomes for targeted therapeutics. Finally, current challenges and opportunities in this research field are presented.
Funder
National Key Research and Development Program of China
National Natural Science Foundation of China
Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province
Taishan Scholar Foundation of Shandong Province