Mesenchymal stromal cell derived extracellular vesicles as a therapeutic tool: immune regulation, MSC priming, and applications to SLE

Front Immunol. 2024 Feb 8:15:1355845. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1355845. eCollection 2024.

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by a dysfunction of the immune system. Mesenchymal stromal cell (MSCs) derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) are nanometer-sized particles carrying a diverse range of bioactive molecules, such as proteins, miRNAs, and lipids. Despite the methodological disparities, recent works on MSC-EVs have highlighted their broad immunosuppressive effect, thus driving forwards the potential of MSC-EVs in the treatment of chronic diseases. Nonetheless, their mechanism of action is still unclear, and better understanding is needed for clinical application. Therefore, we describe in this review the diverse range of bioactive molecules mediating their immunomodulatory effect, the techniques and possibilities for enhancing their immune activity, and finally the potential application to SLE.

Keywords: extracellular vesicles; immune regulation; mesenchymal stromal cell; priming; secretome; systemic lupus erythematosus.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Extracellular Vesicles* / metabolism
  • Humans
  • Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* / metabolism
  • Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* / therapy
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells* / metabolism
  • MicroRNAs* / genetics
  • MicroRNAs* / metabolism

Substances

  • MicroRNAs

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. CW is a student from the FIRE PhD program funded by the Bettencourt Schueller foundation and the EURIP graduate program (ANR-17-EURE-0012). IS is a student from the MTCI PhD program, and this work was supported by the Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale, grant number ECO202306017404.