Perspective Insights and Application of Exosomes as a Novel Tool against Neurodegenerative Disorders: An Expository Appraisal

Abstract Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are the key substances that play a pivotal role in cell to cell communication. Among the highly researched EVs are “Exosomes”. These are one of the potential types of extracellular vesicle with a size range of 40-100 nm for which they are also coined as “Nanoparticles of endogenous origin”. The small size and endogenous nature offer distinct advantage to exosomes over other synthetic counterparts. They have also been implied as cargo in various neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) as therapeutics. The current therapeutic regimen in NDs is limited by nonspecific drug targeting to various regions of brain also, BBB drug permeation is another issue which limits the clinical translation of various bioactive molecules as therapeutics. Considering the modern life style and increasing environmental pollution the burden of NDs is only going to increase in the near future. So, it becomes of utmost importance to find newer therapeutic drug delivery system which can overcome the limitations associated with the conventional system. In the near sight, Exosomes seems to offer an exciting modern approach to overcome the problems associated with conventional therapies. Due to their endogenous nature, they are low immunogenic. Moreover, they are more target specific and their specificity can be further increased by modern surface engineering techniques. The present review discusses the therapeutic and drug delivery potential of EVs especially exosomes in NDs like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Spino-Cerebellar Ataxia, Batten disease and HIV associated neuro-cognitive decline (HAND). Moreover, a comprehensive insight of exosome isolation, loading and evaluation techniques along with advantages and disadvantages of each technique has also been discussed and elaborated.