Exosomes: Mediators Regulating the Phenotypic Transition of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in Atherosclerosis

Overview

Journal Cell Commun Signal

Publisher Biomed Central

Specialties Biochemistry
Cell Biology

Date 2022 Oct 11

PMID 36221105

Authors

Jiali Yao

Linqian Cai

Yingrui Chen

Jie Zhang

Wenwen Zhuang

Jingyan Liang

Hongliang Li

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of human mortality worldwide, mainly due to atherosclerosis (AS), and the phenotypic transition of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) is a key event in the development of AS. Exosomes contain a variety of specific nucleic acids and proteins that mediate intercellular communication. The role of exosomes in AS has attracted attention. This review uses the VSMC phenotypic transition in AS as the entry point, introduces the effect of exosomes on AS from different perspectives, and discusses the status quo, deficiencies, and potential future directions in this field to provide new ideas for clinical research and treatment of AS. Video Abstract.

Citing Articles

Exosome miR-199a-5p modulated vascular remodeling and inflammatory infiltration of Takayasu's arteritis.

Guo S, Li J, Pang S, Li J, Tian X Arthritis Res Ther. 2025; 27(1):11.

PMID: 39833857 PMC: 11744942. DOI: 10.1186/s13075-025-03475-1.

The Physiological Functions and Therapeutic Potential of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor-1α in Vascular Calcification.

Zhang Z, Wang D, Xu R, Li X, Wang Z, Zhang Y Biomolecules. 2025; 14(12.

PMID: 39766299 PMC: 11674127. DOI: 10.3390/biom14121592.

Enhanced secretion of promyogenic exosomes by quiescent muscle cells.

Devan P, Ghosh A, Rao T P, Raychaudhuri S, Adicherla H, Devanshi H Front Cell Dev Biol. 2024; 12:1381357.

PMID: 39108837 PMC: 11301339. DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2024.1381357.

The Role of Macrophages in Atherosclerosis: Participants and Therapists.

Liu X, Pang S, Jiang Y, Wang L, Liu Y Cardiovasc Drugs Ther. 2023; .

PMID: 37864633 DOI: 10.1007/s10557-023-07513-5.

Removing the stumbling block of exosome applications in clinical and translational medicine: expand production and improve accuracy.

Han L, Zhao Z, He C, Li J, Li X, Lu M Stem Cell Res Ther. 2023; 14(1):57.

PMID: 37005658 PMC: 10068172. DOI: 10.1186/s13287-023-03288-6.

References

Chistiakov D, Orekhov A, Bobryshev Y . Vascular smooth muscle cell in atherosclerosis. Acta Physiol (Oxf). 2015; 214(1):33-50. DOI: 10.1111/apha.12466. View

Kibria G, Ramos E, Wan Y, Gius D, Liu H . Exosomes as a Drug Delivery System in Cancer Therapy: Potential and Challenges. Mol Pharm. 2018; 15(9):3625-3633. PMC: 6546090. DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.8b00277. View

Wu C, Huang C . MicroRNA-147 inhibits myocardial inflammation and apoptosis following myocardial infarction via targeting HIPK2. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2020; 24(11):6279-6287. DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_202006_21526. View

Zhang Z, Yi D, Zhou J, Zheng Y, Gao Z, Hu X . Exosomal LINC01005 derived from oxidized low-density lipoprotein-treated endothelial cells regulates vascular smooth muscle cell phenotypic switch. Biofactors. 2020; 46(5):743-753. DOI: 10.1002/biof.1665. View

Qu C, Liu X, Guo Y, Fo Y, Chen X, Zhou J . MiR-128-3p inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration by repressing FOXO4/MMP9 signaling pathway. Mol Med. 2020; 26(1):116. PMC: 7687681. DOI: 10.1186/s10020-020-00242-7. View

Li F, Zhang C, Luo X, Peng J, Yang T . Involvement of the MiR-181b-5p/HMGB1 Pathway in Ang II-induced Phenotypic Transformation of Smooth Muscle Cells in Hypertension. Aging Dis. 2019; 10(2):231-248. PMC: 6457049. DOI: 10.14336/AD.2018.0510. View

Heindryckx F, Binet F, Ponticos M, Rombouts K, Lau J, Kreuger J . Endoplasmic reticulum stress enhances fibrosis through IRE1α-mediated degradation of miR-150 and XBP-1 splicing. EMBO Mol Med. 2016; 8(7):729-44. PMC: 4931288. DOI: 10.15252/emmm.201505925. View

Shao M, Yu M, Zhao J, Mei J, Pan Y, Zhang J . miR-21-3p regulates AGE/RAGE signalling and improves diabetic atherosclerosis. Cell Biochem Funct. 2020; 38(7):965-975. DOI: 10.1002/cbf.3523. View

Zhu L, Gong X, Gong J, Xuan Y, Fu T, Ni S . Notoginsenoside R1 upregulates miR-221-3p expression to alleviate ox-LDL-induced apoptosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress by inhibiting the TLR4/NF-κB pathway in HUVECs. Braz J Med Biol Res. 2020; 53(6):e9346. PMC: 7233198. DOI: 10.1590/1414-431x20209346. View

10.

Du X, Hu N, Yu H, Hong L, Ran F, Huang D . miR-150 regulates endothelial progenitor cell differentiation via Akt and promotes thrombus resolution. Stem Cell Res Ther. 2020; 11(1):354. PMC: 7425584. DOI: 10.1186/s13287-020-01871-9. View

11.

Alexander M, Owens G . Epigenetic control of smooth muscle cell differentiation and phenotypic switching in vascular development and disease. Annu Rev Physiol. 2011; 74:13-40. DOI: 10.1146/annurev-physiol-012110-142315. View

12.

Nanbo A, Kawanishi E, Yoshida R, Yoshiyama H . Exosomes derived from Epstein-Barr virus-infected cells are internalized via caveola-dependent endocytosis and promote phenotypic modulation in target cells. J Virol. 2013; 87(18):10334-47. PMC: 3753980. DOI: 10.1128/JVI.01310-13. View

13.

Toro R, Perez-Serra A, Mangas A, Campuzano O, Sarquella-Brugada G, Quezada-Feijoo M . miR-16-5p Suppression Protects Human Cardiomyocytes against Endoplasmic Reticulum and Oxidative Stress-Induced Injury. Int J Mol Sci. 2022; 23(3). PMC: 8834785. DOI: 10.3390/ijms23031036. View

14.

Anakor E, Le Gall L, Dumonceaux J, Duddy W, Duguez S . Exosomes in Ageing and Motor Neurone Disease: Biogenesis, Uptake Mechanisms, Modifications in Disease and Uses in the Development of Biomarkers and Therapeutics. Cells. 2021; 10(11). PMC: 8616058. DOI: 10.3390/cells10112930. View

15.

Wang Y, Ma W, Zhu Y, Han X, Liu N . Exosomes Derived From Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Pretreated With Advanced Glycation End Product-Bovine Serum Albumin Inhibit Calcification of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2018; 9:524. PMC: 6160580. DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2018.00524. View

16.

Barile L, Vassalli G . Exosomes: Therapy delivery tools and biomarkers of diseases. Pharmacol Ther. 2017; 174:63-78. DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2017.02.020. View

17.

Wang H, Song T, Zhao Y, Zhao J, Wang X, Fu X . Long non-coding RNA LICPAR regulates atrial fibrosis via TGF-β/Smad pathway in atrial fibrillation. Tissue Cell. 2020; 67:101440. DOI: 10.1016/j.tice.2020.101440. View

18.

Torella D, Iaconetti C, Catalucci D, Ellison G, Leone A, Waring C . MicroRNA-133 controls vascular smooth muscle cell phenotypic switch in vitro and vascular remodeling in vivo. Circ Res. 2011; 109(8):880-93. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.111.240150. View

19.

Zhu Y, Zhao P, Sun L, Lu Y, Zhu W, Zhang J . Overexpression of circRNA SNRK targets miR-103-3p to reduce apoptosis and promote cardiac repair through GSK3β/β-catenin pathway in rats with myocardial infarction. Cell Death Discov. 2021; 7(1):84. PMC: 8055694. DOI: 10.1038/s41420-021-00467-3. View

20.

Yu F, Ko M, Ko G . MicroRNA-150 and its target ETS-domain transcription factor 1 contribute to inflammation in diabetic photoreceptors. J Cell Mol Med. 2021; 25(22):10724-10735. PMC: 8581325. DOI: 10.1111/jcmm.17012. View