Harnessing exosomes as a drug delivery system for neurodegenerative diseases

Abstract

Exosomes are recently discovered bilayer containing membrane which are small-sized (30- 100mm) nanovesicles that are formed due to the fusion of multivesicular bodies with the plasma membrane. Exosomes are involved in a number of functions including cell to cell signaling, unwanted proteins removal and pathogen transfer between cells. Exosomes are involved in promoting pathways of neurodegenerative diseases such as in Alzheimer's disease (beta-amyloid peptide), in Parkinson's disease (alpha-synuclein) and so on. All the exosomes take part in such enervative neuropathology, one encouraging aspect of exosomes is the development of a methodology to use these as natural delivery vehicles for therapeutics. Established characteristics including the blood-brain barrier crossing ability, half-life span, and stability compel it as an effective drug delivery system. The main focus of this review is the impact of exosomes in neurodegenerative diseases and disclose their probable role as a therapeutic tool for delivering drugs.