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Exosomes: a new way of protecting and regenerating optic nerve after injury

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Abstract

As an important part of the central nervous system (CNS), the optic nerve usually cannot regenerate directly after injury. Therefore, treating the injury and restoring the function of the optic nerve are a historical problem in the medical field. Due to the special anatomical position of the optic nerve, the microenvironment needed for protection and regeneration after injury is lacking. Therefore, preventing the continued loss of neurons, protecting the functional nerves, and promoting the effective protection of nerves are the main ways to solve the problem. Exosomes are nano-sized vesicles with a diameter of 30–150 nm, composed of lipid bilayers, proteins, and genetic material. They have key functions in cell-to-cell communication, immune regulation, inflammation, and regeneration. More and more shreds of evidence show that exosomes not only play an important role in systemic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and brain diseases; they also play a key role in ophthalmological diseases. This article reviews the role of exosomes in the protection and regeneration of the optic nerve after optic nerve injury in related experimental studies and clinical treatment methods.

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Abbreviations

Ago2:

Argonaute 2

ATG3:

Autophagy-related 3

BNIP3:

Bcl-2-interacting protein 3

BTC:

Betacellulin

CNS:

Central nervous system

DAB2IP:

Disabled homolog 2-interacting protein

ESEs:

Early sorted inclusion bodies

EVs:

Extracellular vesicles

EXOPACAP38:

PACAP38 is loaded by exosomal anchoring peptide CP05

Frs2:

Fibroblast growth factor receptor substrate 2

GAP43:

Growth associated protein-43

GLT-1:

Glutamate transporter-1

GSK3b:

Glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta

IOP:

Intraocular pressure

LSE:

Late classified inclusion bodies

MNU:

Methyl-N-nitrosourea

MSC:

Mesenchymal stromal cells

mTOR:

Mammalian target of rapamycin

MVBs:

Multivesicular bodies

Pdcd4:

Programmed cell death 4

PI3K:

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase

PTEN:

Phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome ten

RGC:

Retinal ganglion cell

RVG:

Exoglycoprotein

TON:

Traumatic optic neuropathy

TSC2:

Tuberous sclerosis 2

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Funding

This work was supported by the Natural Science Grant of the Heilongjiang province of China (H2018035, No. 2020H040), and The Innovation and Development Foundation of First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University (2018L002).

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Author notes

  1. Ying Su, Feng Wang, and Feng Tao have equally contributed to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, China

    Huazhang Li & Feng Wang

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, China

    Ying Su

  3. Department of Neurology, The Hospital of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin, 150001, China

    Feng Tao

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  1. Huazhang Li
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  2. Ying Su
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  3. Feng Wang
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  4. Feng Tao
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Contributions

HZL carried out literature searches, and did data interpretation and writing; HZL did writing and editing; FW, YS, and FT conceptualized the paper, and did writing and editing. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ying Su, Feng Wang or Feng Tao.

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Li, H., Su, Y., Wang, F. et al. Exosomes: a new way of protecting and regenerating optic nerve after injury. Human Cell 35, 771–778 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13577-022-00688-3

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