The bidirectional communication between the oocyte and the companion somatic cells in the follicular environment is known to be mediated by either a direct communication via gap junction or transzonal projections or indirectly through endocrine, paracrine and autocrine signaling factors. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), which are found in various biological fluids, including follicular fluid (FF) are known to play important roles in mediating the communication between the oocyte and the surrounding somatic cells through shuttling bioactive molecules to facilitate follicular growth and oocyte maturation. As vesicles in the extracellular space are known to reflect the physiological status of the donor or the releasing cells, molecules carried by the EVs in the follicular environment could be markers of the internal and external stressors. EVs exhibit greater degree of heterogeneity in their size, biogenesis and the bioactive molecule they carry. The process of biogenesis of EVs is known to be regulated by several proteins associated with the endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) proteins. The type of EVs and surface proteins markers vary according to the type of protein involved in their biogenesis. EVs are recently reported to play indispensable role in promoting cell-to-cell communication during follicular growth. Recent advancements in EV research opened the possibilities to load EVs with specific molecules like miRNA, siRNA, CRISPR-cas9 complex and protein, which showed a new horizon for their application in therapeutics. The present review explores the biogenesis, the role and the future prospects of EVs with a special emphasis given to follicular growth and oocyte maturation.
Keywords: Environmental stress; Extracellular vesicles; Folliculogenesis; Metabolic stress; Oocyte maturation.
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