Exosomes: A Novel Therapeutic Paradigm for Treatment of Depression.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) of endocytic origin are known as exosomes. These vesicles are released by cells and are accessible in biofluids, such as saliva, urine, and plasma. These vesicles are made up of small RNA, DNA, proteins and play a vital role in many physiological processes. In central nervous system (CNS), they participate in various physiological processes such as stress of nerve cells, communication between the cells, synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis. The role of exosomes in depression needs to be explored further. It is known that exosomes can cross blood brain barrier (BBB), which is made up of glial cells astrocytes. One of the advantages of these vescicles is that they are able to transfer macromolecules like DNA, protein, mRNAs and miRNAs to recipient cells. This review focuses on the potential role of exosomes in de-pression and their utilization as atreatmentoption or diagnostic tool of depression.