Exosomal proteins

Exosomal proteins encompass the wide variety of protein cargo and membrane-bound proteins associated with exosomes, which are small extracellular vesicles (EVs) ranging from 30 to 150 nm in diameter (Kalluri & LeBleu, 2020). These proteins are essential for the biological function of exosomes as mediators of intercellular communication, facilitating the transfer of functional proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids between donor and recipient cells (Théry et al., 2018). Common exosomal proteins include tetraspanins (e.g., CD9, CD63, CD81), which are often used as markers, as well as proteins involved in vesicle trafficking (e.g., Rab GTPases) and biogenesis (e.g., ALIX, TSG101) (Pegtel & Gould, 2019). In pathological conditions, exosomal proteins can facilitate the spread of oncogenic signals, promote pre-metastatic niche formation in cancer, and aid the transmission of misfolded proteins in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's (Zhang et al., 2019). Although "exosomal proteins" as a collective group is not a single therapeutic target, individual proteins within this category are being explored as diagnostic biomarkers and potential targets for therapeutic intervention to block disease-related signaling (Kalluri & LeBleu, 2020). Research compounds such as GW4869 are used to inhibit the secretion of these proteins by targeting neutral sphingomyelinase, though clinical applications remain a challenge due to the ubiquity of exosomes in normal physiology (Catalano & O'Driscoll, 2020).

Other names

Exosome-associated proteinsExtracellular vesicle proteinsEV proteins

Inhibition of exosome biogenesis, secretion, or specific cargo loading to prevent the spread of pathogenic signals (Catalano & O'Driscoll, 2020).