Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Aug 26, 2020; 12(8): 814-840
Published online Aug 26, 2020. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v12.i8.814
Mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes: Toward cell-free therapeutic strategies in regenerative medicine
Zhan-Jun Ma, Jing-Jing Yang, Yu-Bao Lu, Zhao-Yang Liu, Xue-Xi Wang
Zhan-Jun Ma, Jing-Jing Yang, Yu-Bao Lu, The Second Clinical Medical College, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China
Zhao-Yang Liu, Department of Medical Imaging, Shanxi Medical University, Jinzhong 030600, Shaanxi Province, China
Xue-Xi Wang, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China
Author contributions: Ma ZJ wrote the manuscript; Yang JJ, Lu YB, and Liu ZY collected the literature; Wang XX revised the manuscript for important intellectual content.
Supported by the Chinese Medicine Administration Research Project of Gansu Province, No. GZK-2019-46; and the Cuiying Technology Innovation Project of Lanzhou University Second Hospital, No. CY2019-MS10.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors of this manuscript have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xue-Xi Wang, MD, Professor, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Lanzhou University, 205 South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China. wangxuexi@lzu.edu.cn
Received: March 15, 2020
Peer-review started: March 15, 2020
First decision: April 7, 2020
Revised: April 23, 2020
Accepted: June 27, 2020
Article in press: June 27, 2020
Published online: August 26, 2020
Processing time: 163 Days and 20 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes (MSC-Exos) contain a variety of functional proteins, mRNAs, microRNAs, and signaling lipids. MSC-Exos are more stable than their parent cells and do not have the safety issues of living cells, such as tumorigenesis and occlusion of the microvasculature. MSC-Exos represent an alternative to MSC-based therapies for regenerative medicine. In this review, we summarize the characteristics of MSC-Exos and highlight their functions and therapeutic potential for tissue/organ regeneration and for kidney, liver, cardiovascular, neurological, and musculoskeletal diseases, as well as cutaneous wound healing.