Extracellular Vesicles from Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Potential as Therapeutics in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD)
Extracellular Vesicles from Mesenchymal Stem Cells: Potential as Therapeutics in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD)
Blog Article
Background/Objectives: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is characterized by the accumulation of triglycerides within hepatocytes, which can progress to more severe conditions, such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), which may include progressive fibrosis, leading to cirrhosis, cancer, and death.This goal of this review is to highlight recent research showing the potential of mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) in reducing the key pathogenic pathways of MASLD or MASH.Methods: Relevant published studies were identified using PubMed with one or more of the following search terms: MASLD, MASH, NAFLD, NASH, exosome, extracellular vesicle (EV), therapy, and/or mesenchymal stem cells (MSC).
The primary literature were subsequently downloaded and summarized.Results: knowall.blog Using in vitro or in vivo models, MSC-EVs have been found to counteract oxidative tourettebrewing.com stress, a significant contributor to liver injury in MASH, and to suppress disease progression, including steatosis, inflammation, and, in a few instances, fibrosis.Some of these outcomes have been attributed to specific EV cargo components including microRNAs and proteins.
Thus, MSC-EVs enriched with these types of molecules may have improved the therapeutic efficacy for MASLD/MASH and represent a novel approach to potentially halt or reverse the disease process.Conclusions: MSC-EVs are attractive therapeutic agents for treating MASLD/MASH.Further studies are necessary to validate the clinical applicability and efficacy of MSC-EVs in human MASH patients, focusing on optimizing delivery strategies and identifying the pathogenic pathways that are targeted by specific EV components.