Lessons Learned From Nature for Biomedicine and Bioengineering
Efficient communication is essential in all layers of the biological chain. Cells exchange information using a variety of signaling moieties, such as small molecules, proteins, and nucleic acids. Cells carefully package these messages into lipid complexes, collectively named extracellular vesicles (EVs).
“In this work, we discuss the nature of these cell carriers, categorize them by their origin, explore their role in the homeostasis of healthy tissues, and examine how they regulate the pathophysiology of several diseases. ”
Keywords
#cell communication, #extracellular vesicles, #biomimicry, #drug delivery, #biomedicine, #bioengineering
There are many open questions and challenges that need to be addressed before any substantial progress can be made in order to use EVs in clinical practice. Ongoing research has focused on developing the best EV platform for the target application by mimicking either the EV’s surface or morphology. To evade the immune system, leukocytes-mimetic have been developed by integrating leukocytes membrane protein into the EVs’ lipid bilayer. To achieve higher circulation time, RBCs and platelet EVs have been fabricated by either (a) engineering the EVs’ surface with RBCs and platelet membrane proteins or (b) by mimicking the unique morphology of either of these cells.
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