Bioprinting of exosomes: Prospects and challenges for clinical applications

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

• Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
• Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
• Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
• Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
• Emerging · Emerging topic under active research

Abstract (original English)

453Three-dimensional bioprinting (3DBP) is an additive manufacturing technique that has emerged as a promising strategy for the fabrication of scaffolds, which can successfully recapitulate the architectural, biochemical, and physical cues of target tissues. More importantly, 3DBP offers fine spatiotemporal control and high submicron scale resolution, which can be leveraged for the incorporation and directional gradient release of single or multiple biomimetic cues, including cell-derived exosomes (EXOs). EXOs are extracellular vesicles that originate from the endosomal compartment of various cell types, with sizes ranging from 30 to120 nm. They act as cell mediators and contain discrete cell constituents, including growth factors, cytokines, lipid moieties, nucleic acids, metabolites, and cell surface markers, depending on the cell type. Essentially, owing to their therapeutic potential, EXOs derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been recently investigated in several clinical trials for the treatment of various conditions, including cancer, diabetes, dry eyes, periodontitis, and acute ischemic stroke. The 3DBP strategy of EXOs is especially useful in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine applications, as tissues can be biofabricated to closely mimic the complex microarchitecture and developmental profiles of native heterogeneous tissues for restoring biologica

Evidence level

Several human studies show positive signals, while research methods and sample sizes continue to develop.

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