Regulatory roles of extracellular vesicles in adverse pregnancy outcomes exposed with environmental toxicants

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from parental cells could communicate with neighboring or distant recipient cells. The components in EVs, especially non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circular RNAs, could regulate the functions of the recipient cells. Meanwhile, EVs could also be used as valuable biomarkers and drug delivery carriers. Moreover, environmental toxicants may alter EVs components and regulate EVs-mediated pathogenesis of various diseases. In this review, we mainly summarized the roles of EV-derived non-coding RNAs in the regulation of cell dysfunctions in various adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as preeclampsia (PE), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and miscarriage. Moreover, the effects of environmental toxicants on the components and functions of EVs, as well as on their regulatory roles in these diseases, were also discussed.