The Bioactivities of Exosomes secreted by Cardiac Progenitor Cells

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Cardiac-resident progenitor cells (CPCs) and bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMCs) have cardioprotective, angiogenic and regenerative activities that promote post-injury myocardial recovery. Both cellular sources are currently being tested in clinical cell therapy trials in patients after acute myocardial infarction (MI), and encouraging initial results have been reported. The mechanism of benefit is indirect and the beneficial effects of the transplanted cells last long after these have been cleared. Soluble growth factors were traditionally thought to account for paracrine activities of the transplanted cells, but accumulating evidence highlights the crucial role of extracellular vesicles (EVs). Cells secrete EVs of various sizes and intracellular origins, including exosomes. The bioactivities of exosomes secreted by CPCs and BMCs have not been compared yet. This issue is relevant to clinical trials using these cells, as their benefit appear to largely rely on exosomes.

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