A New Method of Targeting Exosomes in Precision Medicine

Listen to a blog summary of an editorial perspective published in Volume 13, entitled, "The future of bioorthogonal-chemistry for targeting of exosomes in precision medicine." ____________________________________________________________ Extracellular vesicles are membrane-bound vehicles released by cells into the extracellular environment. There are three known types of extracellular vesicles: microvesicles, apoptotic bodies and exosomes. Discovered in 1983, exosomes can be defined as packets of bio-nanoparticles released by cells containing bioactive molecules such as proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. Exosomes can deliver their payload to other cells and are now also recognized for their role in cell-to-cell communication. This makes exosomes attractive targets for precision medicine tactics. However, targeting exosomes is challenging due to their nano-size and reactive contents. Bioorthogonal-chemistry may provide a new approach for targeting exosomes in precision medicine. “Bioorthogonal is the name of a chemical reaction that can occur inside of living cells without interfering the naïve biological process [1, 2].” Bioorthogonal-chemistry allows for the attachment of bioactive molecules to the surface of exosomes without disturbing the native environment. Developed in the early 2000s, this strategy could potentially be used to deliver therapeutic drugs or bioactive molecules directly to the target site with high precision. Bioorthogonal-chemistry is still at an early stage of development, but it holds promise in precision medicine for the treatment of cancer and other illnesses. By providing a way to target exosomes with bioactive molecules, bioorthogonal-chemistry could help to significantly improve the efficacy of medical treatments. It could also reduce the side effects of current treatments and increase safety for patients. “The concept of bioorthogonal chemistry has inspired a generation of biologists to think about RNA editing and bioengineering of exosomes [3, 4].” Full blog - https://www.oncotarget.org/2022/12/20/a-new-method-of-targeting-exosomes-in-precision-medicine/ DOI - https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.28323 Correspondence to - Mujib Ullah - ullah@stanford.edu About Oncotarget Oncotarget is a primarily oncology-focused, peer-reviewed, open access journal. Papers are published continuously within yearly volumes in their final and complete form, and then quickly released to Pubmed. On September 15, 2022, Oncotarget was accepted again for indexing by MEDLINE. Oncotarget is now indexed by Medline/PubMed and PMC/PubMed. To learn more about Oncotarget, please visit https://www.oncotarget.com and connect with us: SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/oncotarget Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Oncotarget/ Twitter - https://twitter.com/oncotarget Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/oncotargetjrnl/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/OncotargetYouTube LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/oncotarget Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.com/oncotarget/ Reddit - https://www.reddit.com/user/Oncotarget/ For media inquiries, please contact: media@impactjournals.com