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World J Stem Cells. May 26, 2022; 14(5): 318-329
Published online May 26, 2022. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v14.i5.318
Mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes: A novel and potential remedy for cutaneous wound healing and regeneration
Jia-Chen Hu, Chen-Xi Zheng, Bing-Dong Sui, Wen-Jia Liu, Yan Jin
Jia-Chen Hu, Chen-Xi Zheng, Bing-Dong Sui, Yan Jin, State Key Laboratory of Military Stomatology and National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases and Shaanxi International Joint Research Center for Oral Diseases, Center for Tissue Engineering, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an 710032, Shaanxi Province, China
Wen-Jia Liu, National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Biodiagnosis and Biotherapy, Precision Medicine Institute, Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710032, Shaanxi Province, China
Author contributions: All authors actively reviewed and revised the manuscript and approved the finally submitted manuscript; Hu JC and Zheng CX contributed equally to this work.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 32000974, No. 82170988, and No. 81930025.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yan Jin, DDS, PhD, Professor, State Key Laboratory of Military Stomatology and National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases and Shaanxi International Joint Research Center for Oral Diseases, Center for Tissue Engineering, School of Stomatology, The Fourth Military Medical University, No. 145 West Changle Road, Xi’an 710032, Shaanxi Province, China. yanjin@fmmu.edu.cn
Received: December 31, 2021
Peer-review started: December 31, 2021
First decision: March 13, 2022
Revised: April 11, 2022
Accepted: May 21, 2022
Article in press: May 21, 2022
Published online: May 26, 2022
Processing time: 146 Days and 3.2 Hours
Abstract

Poor healing of cutaneous wounds is a common medical problem in the field of traumatology. Due to the intricate pathophysiological processes of wound healing, the use of conventional treatment methods, such as chemical molecule drugs and traditional dressings, have been unable to achieve satisfactory outcomes. Within recent years, explicit evidence suggests that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have great therapeutic potentials on skin wound healing and regeneration. However, the direct application of MSCs still faces many challenges and difficulties. Intriguingly, exosomes as cell-secreted granular vesicles with a lipid bilayer membrane structure and containing specific components from the source cells may emerge to be excellent substitutes for MSCs. Exosomes derived from MSCs (MSC-exosomes) have been demonstrated to be beneficial for cutaneous wound healing and accelerate the process through a variety of mechanisms. These mechanisms include alleviating inflammation, promoting vascularization, and promoting proliferation and migration of epithelial cells and fibroblasts. Therefore, the application of MSC-exosomes may be a promising alternative to cell therapy in the treatment of cutaneous wounds and could promote wound healing through multiple mechanisms simultaneously. This review will provide an overview of the role and the mechanisms of MSC-derived exosomes in cutaneous wound healing, and elaborate the potentials and future perspectives of MSC-exosomes application in clinical practice.

Keywords: Mesenchymal stem cells; Extracellular vesicles; Exosomes; Wound healing; Skin regeneration

Core Tip: The promotion of wound healing is an important obstacle in the treatment of trauma in clinic. Exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) may provide a novel remedy with advantages and prospects. Herein, we discuss the role and the underlying mechanisms via which MSC-derived exosomes improve cutaneous wound healing, and elaborate the potentials and future perspectives of MSC-exosome application in clinical practice.