Tissue Distribution of Exosomes and Other Extracellular Vesicles

Abstract

Exosomes are lipid bilayer-enclosed, nano-sized extracellular vesicles (EVs) which contain fingerprints of the cells that produce them, e.g., nucleic acids, proteins and lipids. Based on the close relationship of EVs including exosomes to various physiological and pathogenic conditions, EVs are expected to be applied to a wide range of diseases as diagnostic or therapeutic tools. Since EVs are known to exhibit diverse tissue distribution depending on their cell of origin and their subtypes, it is quite important to understand the tissue distribution properties of individual EVs. Therefore, researchers have been trying to elucidate the tissue distribution of EVs and to control it to increase the therapeutic potential of EVs as well as to expand their application as delivery vehicles for various pharmaceuticals, including low molecular weight compounds, proteins, and nucleic acids. In this review, we focus on small EVs with a diameter of about 100 nm, which include exosomes, and discuss about their tissue distribution, including their labeling methods, and approaches and technologies how to control it.