Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Mar 26, 2020; 12(3): 178-187
Published online Mar 26, 2020. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v12.i3.178
Mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles as a new therapeutic strategy for ocular diseases
Bo Yu, Xiao-Rong Li, Xiao-Min Zhang
Bo Yu, Xiao-Rong Li, Xiao-Min Zhang, Tianjin International Joint Research and Development Center of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Retinal Functions and Diseases, Eye Institute and School of Optometry, Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital, Tianjin 300384, China
Author contributions: All authors equally contributed to this manuscript.
Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81800825, No. 81870651 and No. 81870675.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts to declare.
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: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiao-Min Zhang, MD, PhD, Chief Doctor, Professor, Tianjin International Joint Research and Development Center of Ophthalmology and Vision Science, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Retinal Functions and Diseases, Eye Institute and School of Optometry, Tianjin Medical University Eye Hospital, No. 251, Fukang Road, Tianjin 300384, China. xzhang08@tmu.edu.cn
Received: December 27, 2019
Peer-review started: December 27, 2019
First decision: February 20, 2020
Revised: February 22, 2020
Accepted: March 22, 2020
Article in press: March 22, 2020
Published online: March 26, 2020
Core Tip

Core tip: The therapeutic potential of Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) has been widely studied in various diseases. In the current review, we summarize all the studies about the use of MSC-derived EVs in different ocular disorders, such as corneal injury, glaucoma, uveitis and retinal diseases. We also discuss the history and properties of MSC-derived EVs, the advantages of their use in treating eye diseases and their drug delivery potential. This review also provides future directions for enhancing the therapeutic effect of MSC-derived EVs in treating ocular diseases.