Exosomes: roles, applications, and challenges in pharmaceutical industry

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58342/MJ.V.3.I.1.3

Keywords:

Exosomes, Drug delivery, Cancer therapy, Extracellular vesicles, Clinical applications, Nano-formulations, Biogenesis

Abstract

Background and Objective: Exosomes, as nano-vesicles with the ability to transport molecules, have gained increasing importance in pharmaceutical sciences. The aim of this study is to investigate their structure, functions, applications, and clinical challenges.

Method: A systematic review of scientific literature was conducted. Recent valid articles published in databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar were searched and selected. Studies related to the structure, biogenesis, biological functions, diagnostic and therapeutic applications of exosomes, as well as methods of isolation, characterization, and their clinical challenges, were analyzed. In addition, existing reports on exosome-based formulations and clinical studies were reviewed, and the findings were summarized descriptively.

Findings: Exosomes demonstrated strong potential in targeted drug delivery, ability to cross biological barriers, and applications in diagnosis, cancer therapy, and vaccine development.

Conclusion: The findings indicate that exosomes, as natural nanocarriers, possess significant potential for drug delivery and clinical applications; however, addressing challenges related to production, stability, and standardization is essential for their broader use in medical practice.

Author Biographies

Azimullah Wafa, Associated Prof. Kabul University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kabul, Afghanistan

Associated Prof. Kabul University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kabul, Afghanistan

Ziarmal Teerzai , Assistant Prof. Kandahar University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kandahar, Afghanistan

Assistant Prof. Kandahar University, Faculty of Pharmacy, Kandahar, Afghanistan

References

Raposo, G., & Stoorvogel, W. (2013). Extracellular vesicles: exosomes, microvesicles, and friends. Journal of cell biology, 200(4), 373-383.https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201211138.

Skotland T, Sandvig K, Llorente A. Lipids in exosomes: Current knowledge and the way forward. Progress in lipid research. 2017 Apr 1;66:30-41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plipres.2017.03.001

Valadi H, Ekström K, Bossios A, Sjöstrand M, Lee JJ, Lötvall JO. Exosome-mediated transfer of mRNAs and microRNAs is a novel mechanism of genetic exchange between cells. Nature cell biology. 2007 Jun;9(6):654-9. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncb1596

Kowal J, Tkach M, Théry C. Biogenesis and secretion of exosomes. Current opinion in cell biology. 2014 Aug 1;29:116-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceb.2014.05.004

Mathieu, M., Martin-Jaular, L., Lavieu, G., & Théry, C. (2019). Specificities of secretion and uptake of exosomes and other extracellular vesicles for cell-to-cell communication. Nature cell biology, 21(1), 9-17. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-018-0250-9.

Vella, L. J., Hill, A. F., & Cheng, L. (2016). Focus on extracellular vesicles: exosomes and their role in protein trafficking and biomarker potential in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. International journal of molecular sciences, 17(2), 173. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms17020173.

Raposo, G., & Stoorvogel, W. (2013). Extracellular vesicles: exosomes, microvesicles, and friends. Journal of cell biology, 200(4), 373-383.https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201211138.

Johnsen, K. B., Gudbergsson, J. M., Skov, M. N., Pilgaard, L., Moos, T., & Duroux, M. (2014). A comprehensive overview of exosomes as drug delivery vehicles—endogenous nanocarriers for targeted cancer therapy. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Reviews on Cancer, 1846(1), 75-87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbcan.2014.04.005.

Yang, T., Martin, P., Fogarty, B., Brown, A., Schurman, K., Phipps, R., ... & Bai, S. (2015). Exosome delivered anticancer drugs across the blood-brain barrier for brain cancer therapy in Danio rerio. Pharmaceutical research, 32(6), 2003. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11095-014-1593-y.

Zhang, Y., Liu, Y., Liu, H., & Tang, W. H. (2019). Exosomes: biogenesis, biologic function and clinical potential. Cell & bioscience, 9(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13578-019-0282-2

Melo, S. A., Luecke, L. B., Kahlert, C., Fernandez, A. F., Gammon, S. T., Kaye, J. & Kalluri, R. (2015). Glypican-1 identifies cancer exosomes and detects early pancreatic cancer. Nature, 523(7559), 177-182. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature14581.

Cheng L, Sharples RA, Scicluna BJ, Hill AF. Exosomes provide a protective and enriched source of miRNA for biomarker profiling compared to intracellular and cell-free blood. Journal of Extracellular Vesicles. 2014;3(1):23743. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3402/jev.v3.23743.

Théry, C., Amigorena, S., Raposo, G., & Clayton, A. (2006). Isolation and characterization of exosomes from cell culture supernatants and biological fluids. Current protocols in cell biology, 30(1), 3-22. https://doi.org/10.1002/0471143030.cb0322s30.

Lener, T., Gimona, M., Aigner, L., Börger, V., Buzas, E., Camussi, G., ... & Giebel, B. (2015). Applying extracellular vesicles based therapeutics in clinical trials–an ISEV position paper. Journal of extracellular vesicles, 4(1), 30087. https://doi.org/10.3402/jev.v4.30087.

Chen YF, Luh F, Ho YS, Yen Y. Exosomes: A review of biologic function, diagnostic and targeted therapy applications, and clinical trials. Journal of biomedical science. 2024 Jul 11;31(1):67. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12929-024-01055-0

Kalluri, R., & LeBleu, V. S. (2020). The biology, function, and biomedical applications of exosomes. Science, 367(6478), eaau6977. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau6977.

Kamerkar, S., LeBleu, V. S., Sugimoto, H., Yang, S., Ruivo, C. F., Melo, S. A., … Kalluri, R. (2017). Exosomes facilitate therapeutic targeting of oncogenic KRAS in pancreatic cancer. Nature, 546 (7659), 498–503. https://www.nature.com/articles/nature22341

Théry, C., Witwer, K. W., Aikawa, E., Alcaraz, M. J., Anderson, J. D., Andriantsitohaina, R., ... & Jovanovic‐Talisman, T. (2018). Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018): a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines. Journal of extracellular vesicles, 7(1), 1535750. https://doi.org/10.1080/20013078.2018.1535750.

Published

2026-03-21

How to Cite

1.
Wafa A, Teerzai Z. Exosomes: roles, applications, and challenges in pharmaceutical industry. مجلۀ علوم طبی غالب [Internet]. 2026 Mar. 21 [cited 2026 Mar. 24];3(1):33-44. Available from: https://www.mj.ghalib.edu.af/index.php/mj/article/view/77