Minimally Invasive Exosome Spray

Heart injury is a serious disease. Although modern surgical techniques, diagnosis and drugs have greatly improved the early survival rate of these events, there are still varying degrees of permanent tissue damage to the heart.

In the past period of time, scientists have explored the use of stem cell therapy as a new method of tissue regeneration after a heart attack. However, injecting stem cells directly into the heart may be risky and may trigger the body's immune response.

In order to solve the above problems, researchers turned their attention to exosomes derived from stem cells. Exosomes are membrane vesicles of components such as proteins, lipids and nucleic acids secreted by stem cells. Previous studies have used mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes to treat rat models of ischemic heart disease. The results show that the effect of stem cell exosomes in the repair of heart damage has been confirmed by many studies.

Scientists think that after a bruise occurs in daily life, they can use a spray of medicine to spray on the wound. They also imagine whether the exosomes can be made into a spray and sprayed on the damaged heart to achieve direct repair of the damaged part.

Dr. Zhou Yafeng of Soochow University Medical Center and his colleagues designed, manufactured and tested an exosomal extract (EXOS) with exosomes and fibrinogen. In the auxiliary mini-drive mouse model, EXOS improved the damaged heart function and reduced fibrosis, and promoted the scattered endogenous myogenesis after injury. At the same time, they further tested the feasibility and safety of EXOS in the pig model.

In recent years, stem cell exosomes have gradually attracted attention due to their low immunogenicity, non-tumorigenicity and other advantages, and their disease treatment effects are no less than that of intact stem cells themselves. In the past, stem cells have been proven to have great potential in the repair of heart injury, but more and more evidence shows that the role of stem cells in repairing is through the secretion of a variety of factors and molecules, including exosomes, growth factors, antioxidants, and proteases. Wait. In the future, with more in-depth exploration of the mechanism of stem cell treatment of heart damage, it is expected to realize innovative therapies for heart damage repair and benefit more patients.