The Therapeutic Role of Extracellular Vesicles in COVID-19: Therapeutic and Preventive Mechanism

A special issue of Cells (ISSN 2073-4409). This special issue belongs to the section "Cell Microenvironment".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2023) | Viewed by 9052

Special Issue Editor

Department of Biotechnology, CHA University, CHABioComplex, 335, Pangyo-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
Interests: neuroscience; Alzhimer's diseases; Parkinson's diseases; senescence; cell biology; stem cells; extracellular vesicles; biomarker bioinformatics; statistics
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since 2019, SARS-CoV-2 infection and the associated disease COVID-19 has become an urgent global health concern due to the long incubation time and high prevalence. Consequently, many studies are being actively conducted for the rapid and accurate diagnosis and treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among the numerous methods for the early detection and treatment of this infectious disease, several approaches using extracellular vesicles (EVs) are emerging.

EVs released from various types of cells have been known to participate in several pathological conditions via the delivery of bioactive proteins and lipids, RNA, and microRNA to recipient cells. Regarding SARS-CoV-2 infection, it has recently been reported that EVs derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSC-EVs) have antiviral activities mediated by miRNA against SARS-CoV-2, and MSC-EVs-based therapies are now being intensively studied for the treatment of COVID-19.

As SARS-CoV-2-infected cells release EVs which might play a role in disease progression, many studies have been conducted to better understand the role of EVs in SARS-CoV-2 infectivity, disease progression, and transmission. Additionally, due to their biocompatibility and functional ability to deliver biomolecules, drugs, and immunological agents to specific cells, EVs have been considered as a new attractive approach for the development of a treatment or vaccine system against COVID-19. However, the mechanisms of the roles of EVs in COVID-19 are only partially understood.

This Special Issue will focus on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for preventive and therapeutic roles of EVs against COVID-19.

We look forward to your contributions.

Dr. Jisook Moon
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • extracellular vesicles
  • severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
  • EV-associated COVID-19 pathogenesis
  • therapeutic intervention
  • treatment

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 3055 KiB  
Article
Generation of Spike-Extracellular Vesicles (S-EVs) as a Tool to Mimic SARS-CoV-2 Interaction with Host Cells
by Roberta Verta, Cristina Grange, Renata Skovronova, Adele Tanzi, Licia Peruzzi, Maria Chiara Deregibus, Giovanni Camussi and Benedetta Bussolati
Cells 2022, 11(1), 146; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11010146 - 03 Jan 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3939
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) and viruses share common features: size, structure, biogenesis and uptake. In order to generate EVs expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein on their surface (S-EVs), we collected EVs from SARS-CoV-2 spike expressing human embryonic kidney (HEK-293T) cells by stable transfection with [...] Read more.
Extracellular vesicles (EVs) and viruses share common features: size, structure, biogenesis and uptake. In order to generate EVs expressing the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein on their surface (S-EVs), we collected EVs from SARS-CoV-2 spike expressing human embryonic kidney (HEK-293T) cells by stable transfection with a vector coding for the S1 and S2 subunits. S-EVs were characterized using nanoparticle tracking analysis, ExoView and super-resolution microscopy. We obtained a population of EVs of 50 to 200 nm in size. Spike expressing EVs represented around 40% of the total EV population and co-expressed spike protein with tetraspanins on the surfaces of EVs. We subsequently used ACE2-positive endothelial and bronchial epithelial cells for assessing the internalization of labeled S-EVs using a cytofluorimetric analysis. Internalization of S-EVs was higher than that of control EVs from non-transfected cells. Moreover, S-EV uptake was significantly decreased by anti-ACE2 antibody pre-treatment. Furthermore, colchicine, a drug currently used in clinical trials, significantly reduced S-EV entry into the cells. S-EVs represent a simple, safe, and scalable model to study host-virus interactions and the mechanisms of novel therapeutic drugs. Full article
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Review

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33 pages, 1499 KiB  
Review
Facing the Challenges in the COVID-19 Pandemic Era: From Standard Treatments to the Umbilical Cord-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells as a New Therapeutic Strategy
by Eleonora Russo, Simona Corrao, Francesca Di Gaudio, Giusi Alberti, Martin Caprnda, Peter Kubatka, Peter Kruzliak, Vitale Miceli, Pier Giulio Conaldi, Cesario Venturina Borlongan and Giampiero La Rocca
Cells 2023, 12(12), 1664; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12121664 - 19 Jun 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1750
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which counts more than 650 million cases and more than 6.6 million of deaths worldwide, affects the respiratory system with typical symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, [...] Read more.
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which counts more than 650 million cases and more than 6.6 million of deaths worldwide, affects the respiratory system with typical symptoms such as fever, cough, sore throat, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and fatigue. Other nonpulmonary manifestations are related with abnormal inflammatory response, the “cytokine storm”, that could lead to a multiorgan disease and to death. Evolution of effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 provided multiple options to prevent the infection, but the treatment of the severe forms remains difficult to manage. The cytokine storm is usually counteracted with standard medical care and anti-inflammatory drugs, but researchers moved forward their studies on new strategies based on cell therapy approaches. The perinatal tissues, such as placental membranes, amniotic fluid, and umbilical cord derivatives, are enriched in mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) that exert a well-known anti-inflammatory role, immune response modulation, and tissue repair. In this review, we focused on umbilical-cord-derived MSCs (UC-MSCs) used in in vitro and in vivo studies in order to evaluate the weakening of the severe symptoms, and on recent clinical trials from different databases, supporting the favorable potential of UC-MSCs as therapeutic strategy. Full article
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16 pages, 2710 KiB  
Review
Small Extracellular Vesicles and COVID19—Using the “Trojan Horse” to Tackle the Giant
by Blanka Maria Borowiec, Ana Angelova Volponi, Paul Mozdziak, Bartosz Kempisty and Marta Dyszkiewicz-Konwińska
Cells 2021, 10(12), 3383; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10123383 - 01 Dec 2021
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2930
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge, demanding researchers address different approaches in relation to prevention, diagnostics and therapeutics. Amongst the many tactics of tackling these therapeutic challenges, small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) or exosomes are emerging as a new frontier in the field [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge, demanding researchers address different approaches in relation to prevention, diagnostics and therapeutics. Amongst the many tactics of tackling these therapeutic challenges, small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) or exosomes are emerging as a new frontier in the field of ameliorating viral infections. Exosomes are part of extracellular vesicles (EVs)—spherical biological structures with a lipid bilayer of a diameter of up to 5000 nm, which are released into the intercellular space by most types of eukaryotic cells, both in physiological and pathological states. EVs share structural similarities to viruses, such as small size, common mechanisms of biogenesis and mechanisms for cell entry. The role of EVs in promoting the viral spread by evading the immune response of the host, which is exhibited by retroviruses, indicates the potential for further investigation and possible manipulation of these processes when tackling the spread and treatment of COVID-19. The following paper introduces the topic of the use of exosomes in the treatment of viral infections, and presents the future prospects for the use of these EVs. Full article
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