Circulating exosomes in ophthalmic disease: novel carriers of biological information circulating exosomes in ophthalmic disease

J.-X. You, S.-N. Qi, J.-L. Fu, C.-G. Wang, G.-F. Su

Department of Ophthalmology of the Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China. sgf@jlu.edu.cn

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• Ophthalmology

Exosomes, small membrane vesicles with a diameter of 30-100 nm, transport lipids, proteins, DNA, and RNA. Exosomes originate from endocytic vessels and are processed and released through exocytosis. They can be taken up by target cells and mediate intercellular communication. Initially, exosomes were thought to be waste products excreted by cells. However, with more research, they have been found to play important roles in physiological and pathological processes. Therefore, they are promising biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of disease conditions, including fundus diseases, ocular surface diseases, retinal diseases, tumors, ocular trauma, and light damage. In this review, we discuss the history, biogenesis, release, isolation, characterization, and biological functions of exosomes, as well as their future application prospects in ophthalmic diseases.

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