Therapeutic angiogenesis of exosomes for ischemic stroke

Angiogenesis is the process through which new blood vessels are formed, while therapeutic angiogenesis aims to promote and control the angiogenic response. Ischemia results from the lack of blood flow with oxygen and nutrients. Therapeutic angiogenesis is crucial in preserving brain tissue and bodily functions after ischemic stroke. Various approaches have been proposed to promote angiogenesis in ischemic diseases. Traditional protein/gene and subsequent stem/progenitor cell approaches have not shown consistent efficacy for ischemic diseases in clinical trials. Exosomes are microparticles secreted from cells and conduct cell-cell communication including stem cell or cancer cell induced pro-angiogenesis. Utilization of exogenous exosomes for the treatment of ischemic diseases is an emerging approach which may prevent certain disadvantages such as easy degradation and tumor formation happened in other strategies. This review highlights recent reports on the use of exosomes as a therapeutic agent to promote angiogenesis in ischemic stroke.