Therapeutic Strategies and Enhanced Production of Stem Cell-Derived Exosomes for Tissue Regeneration

Exosomes are nanovesicles surrounded by a plasma membrane and carry bioactive molecules (e.g., proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids) of the origin cell type. The bioactive molecules delivered by exosomes to the recipient cells have attracted considerable attention, as they play an important role in intercellular communication. Moreover, exosomes have unique properties, including the ability to penetrate the biological barrier with minimal immunogenicity and side effects, which can influence various physiological and pathological processes. Thus, exosomes are a promising therapeutic platform for various diseases (e.g., malignancies and allergies), as well as for the regeneration of damaged tissues. However, challenges of obtaining exosomes, such as complex extraction procedures, low yield, and difficulty in quantification are yet to be overcome, which limits the use of exosomes in clinical settings. In this review, we describe the state-of-the-art engineering techniques and strategies for highly efficient mass production of exosomes. Moreover, we discuss the functional aspects and potential therapeutic applications of stem cell-derived exosomes, and deliberate upon various engineering techniques and platform combinations for improved tissue regeneration by exosomes. Exosomes have been actively studied during the last 10 years, focusing on the development of new biological nanoplatforms as promising therapeutic agents that can regulate cell-to-cell communication and immunity via the functional proteins and genetic information carried by them. However, securing exosomes in high-quality and sufficient quantity for the broad-scale commercialization of effective exosome-based therapeutics remains great challenging. In this review, we highlight effective exosome production techniques based on state-of-the-art engineering as well as discuss biomedical applications of exosomes as nanotherapeutic agents focused on the enhanced various tissue regeneration.