Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Mar 19, 2025; 15(3): 102643
Published online Mar 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i3.102643
Update on the roles and applications of extracellular vesicles in depression
Jing Wu, Jian Lu, Ming-Zhi Pan, Xiao-Chu Gu, Lu Dai, Yun Wang, Bin Shen, Xiao-Bin Zhang
Jing Wu, Ming-Zhi Pan, Xiao-Chu Gu, Lu Dai, Yun Wang, Bin Shen, Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215137, Jiangsu Province, China
Jian Lu, Laboratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215000, Jiangsu Province, China
Xiao-Bin Zhang, Department of Psychiatry, Suzhou Psychiatric Hospital, Institute of Mental Health, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215137, Jiangsu Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Jing Wu and Xiao-Bin Zhang.
Author contributions: Wu J, Lu J and Zhang XB proposed and designed the review; Pan MZ, Gu XC and Dai L collected the depression-related literature; Wang Y and Shen B collected the EVs-related literature. Wu J and Zhang XB prepared the first draft of the manuscript. All the authors have read and approved the final manuscript. Both Wu J and Zhang XB have played important and indispensable roles in the review design and manuscript preparation as the co-corresponding authors. Wu J, Lu J and Zhang XB applied for and obtained the funds for this research project. Wu J searched the literature, revised and submitted the early version of the manuscript; Zhang XB was responsible for figure plotting, comprehensive literature search, preparation and submission of the current version of the manuscript. This collaboration between Wu J and Zhang XB is crucial for the publication of this manuscript and other manuscripts still in preparation.
Supported by Gusu Talent program, No. (2023)105; Suzhou Science and Technology Development Plan Program, No. SKY2023228; Project of Medical Research Fund of Jiangsu Provincial Health Commission, No. Z2023043; Suzhou Clinical Medical Center for Mood Disorders, No. Szlcyxzx202109; and Suzhou Clinical Key Disciplines for Geriatric Psychiatry, No. SZXK202116.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
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: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jing Wu, PhD, Laboratory Medicine, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow University, No. 11 Guangqian Road, Xiangcheng District, Suzhou 215137, Jiangsu Province, China. 1156746344@qq.com
Received: October 25, 2024
Revised: December 23, 2024
Accepted: January 22, 2025
Published online: March 19, 2025
Processing time: 124 Days and 23.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Depression is a prevalent mental disorder that affects numerous individuals, manifesting as persistent anhedonia, sadness, and hopelessness. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are phospholipid membrane-enclosed structures that exhibit diversity in size, origin, activity, composition, and function. They encapsulate a myriad of biomolecules, including proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, and metabolites, contributing significantly to intercellular communication across various physiological and pathological progress. We herein summarize an overview of the latest research on EVs from different sources and their roles and potential applications in depression.